Today is Thursday, and there are still not many pedestrians on the street. There's still some time before the 11 o'clock movie ends.
Lin Chen wasn't in a rush and parked the car in a spot.
First, he brought the noodle broth to a boil on high heat, then lowered it to keep it warm.
He has been busy since the afternoon rush and hasn't stopped. He decided to make himself a fragrant bowl of noodles to warm up his stomach.
He removed the plastic wrap and took out four pieces...thought for a moment, then put one back.
He gently pressed the long strip of dough flat with his palm, rolled it back and forth, and then grasped both ends with both hands, using a clever force to pull them apart at a steady speed, while vigorously bouncing it onto the table.
Biang~
Biang~
The wide noodles hitting the table made a pleasant bouncing sound.
He folded the noodles in half, pulled them apart again, and gave them a couple more bounces, then they were ready to go into the pot.
The dough made according to the system's recipe was incredibly resilient. Even though this was his first time pulling noodles, he managed to do it without breaking them.
Don't be fooled by how simple it looks. He had watched the world-renowned chef Gou Dan learn noodle-pulling skills in the Great Xia noodle shop, and he failed several times.
It's said that to fully master the technique and achieve ease and precision, it takes at least ten years of experience.
The system's recipe was indeed something special.
Although the task didn't specify what to sell, he planned to base his future dishes on the system's recipes as much as possible because the flavor was guaranteed, exceptions being the dishes he already knew how to make.
He scooped two spoonfuls of the secret sauce onto the bottom of a plastic bowl. He liked chewy noodles, so cooking them for just over three minutes was enough.
He took them out and soaked them in the sauce to let the noodles fully absorb its complex aroma.
He added a spoonful of diced potatoes, a spoonful of diced carrots, a spoonful of tomato scrambled eggs, blanched three pieces of greens, sprinkled four or five spoonfuls of chili powder, a bit of sesame seeds and chopped scallions, and drizzled hot oil over them.
"Sizzle"
He poured hot oil a couple of times, fully releasing the aroma of the chili powder, sesame seeds, and scallions.
It was important to stir quickly while it was hot to prevent the noodles from sticking together.
The broad noodles, as wide and thin as a belt, were soon coated with red oil. The aroma of the secret sauce, combined with the scallions and sesame seeds, steamed up with the heat, making his mouth water uncontrollably.
He couldn't wait to pick up a strand.
"Slurp"
The handmade wide noodles were smooth and elastic. Every bite gave a clear sense of the noodle's unique resilience resisting the teeth's intrusion.
The sauce coating the surface was salty, savory, sweet, and sour, with a mild spicy aroma from the chili powder. It was both rich and light, paired with the sweet and sour tomato scrambled egg sauce, making it quite appetizing.
Even though it was just three strands of noodles, they cooked into a big bowlful, enough to satisfy an average adult man's appetite.
Although foreigners appeared tall and strong, seeming to have a large appetite, that was not the case. They just had large frames and ate high-calorie foods, but their actual food intake wasn't much.
Just as he was about to slurp up a few bites, the light in front of him dimmed.
"Oh my dear mom, it's the three-in-one! Boss, you're my real dad!!"
Upon hearing the sudden authentic accent, Lin Chen almost choked. He quietly put down the bowl, put on gloves, and pulled out three pieces of dough from the metal tray beside him.
"What are you doing, what are you doing, looking down on me? Add more noodles! Add three more!"
"...Can't you order two bowls?"
"Huh? True! That's actually a good idea!"
Skillfully, he pulled apart six pieces of dough and dropped them into the noodle broth, then took out two plastic bowls and added two spoonfuls of sauce to each.
During the brief noodle cooking time, Lin Chen quickly finished his own bowl of noodles, worried he wouldn't have time to eat once he got busy.
Behind Lucas were his couple of good friends and another couple. The five of them looked like they had just returned from a music festival, with colored paint still smeared on their cheeks.
"Hello."
Seeing Lin Chen looking over, Jade squeezed out a smile and waved generously.
Amber nodded slightly, as a polite greeting.
"Is this the Great Xia chef Lucas mentioned, with amazing skills?"
"I lined up at the newly opened popular Great Xia Restaurant in Chinatown, and it was indeed delicious. I wonder how this compares. Boss, I want a Great Xia burger."
Lin Chen shook his head, "Sorry, no roujiamo today, only noodles."
"None??"
Jade and Amber's faces clearly showed disappointment. Heaven knows how they made it through the night after tasting the crispy, juicy roujiamo yesterday.
Especially Jade, who didn't get to eat much, now felt restless as if she had several cats scratching inside her heart.
"Hey, don't show that face, my dear Jade, you should know, noodles are the essence of us Old Xia!"
Lucas beckoned her over, making room, and also waved to the other girl.
"Come on, dear Lina, let me show you the magic of Great Xia!"
"Hey buddy, two more bowls!"
Lucas's fluent language switch made him the center of attention, even attracting several Great Xia tourists who hadn't noticed around them.
"Boss, what kind of noodles are these?"
"Biangbiang noodles, three-in-one or two-in-one, guaranteed authentic."
Lin Chen hadn't expected to meet a fellow countryman, so he smiled and nodded, continuing with his work.
Three presses, two rolls, one pull, one bounce.
The smooth action was like that of a street artist, with wide noodles slapping against the table, making elastic sounds.
Seeing this noodle-pulling action, several Great Xia tourists immediately decided to try a bowl.
"I'll have a bowl, how much is it?"
"I want a bowl too, with extra chili."
"5 euros, just put it in the basket over there, thank you."
Lin Chen suddenly realized he forgot to write the menu today, but he was too busy now, so he gave Lucas a look.
"Hey buddy, there's a pen over there, can you help write the prices and dish names? I'll treat you to a bowl."
"Hey! Am I that kind of person?"
Without a word, Lucas grabbed the pen, took out the cardboard used yesterday, flipped it over, and without hesitation wrote large, scribbled characters in the blank space.
"?"
"??"
"????"
Seeing those characters, several Great Xia tourists wore expressions as if they had seen a ghost.
Is this a character a normal person can remember?
Forget writing it, even just looking at it, normal people wouldn't recognize it.
Who exactly is the Great Xia person here?
Lin Chen secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
He almost exposed the fact that he hadn't been educated, thank goodness.
"All done! Don't forget the free bowl, okay!"
Facing Lucas's bright smile, Lin Chen's mouth twitched slightly, as he silently fished up the first six noodles, adding the new ones.
He picked three pieces into a bowl, then looked up, "Do your friends have any dietary restrictions or allergies?"
"Yes, but not here, mix up the three-in-one!"
He nodded, sprinkled a bit of chili powder, sesame seeds, and scallions, then added vegetarian toppings and tomato scrambled eggs in order.
He picked up some preheated hot oil and gently poured it over.
"Sizzle——"
"Sizzle——"
"Sizzle——"