He was eating too intently, not paying attention to his image.
There was still oil staining the corners of his mouth, but Eizan Etsuya didn't care, because he knew those oil stains were proof of his hearty meal!
...
"Fresh and fragrant, tender and smooth, the texture of the meat truly doesn't seem like beef."
"It feels even more delicate, and it's fresh without being gamey, the meat fibers are also very fine and tight, could this be… lamb rump?"
With his eyes closed, Eizan Etsuya kept savoring it carefully, but the more he tried to feel it, the more he found that the taste of this dish was ever-changing and magically unpredictable!
"Not right."
"It changed again."
"It's both tender and crispy, with a fresh and delicious taste."
"This is definitely not what they call lamb rump; instead, it's like the exquisite taste of a piglet's ear!"
Opening his eyes, Eizan Etsuya felt it was incredible.
Then, as if realizing something, he quickly used his chopsticks to pick up another strip of meat and bit into it: "Soft, tender, but the taste is relatively light, and there isn't that rich and strong aroma I smelled just now."
"This… this is rabbit meat?"
"Hiss!"
"What's going on?"
"The same dish, but the taste is completely different when eaten."
"Like now, the taste is milder than what I ate before, fresh, fragrant, mellow, and not greasy… Could it be muntjac meat?"
Who would have thought that making a dish with 5 different types of meat could produce such a bizarre taste effect.
Constantly changing, forever elusive, like a super-powerful delicious shockwave that can instantly shatter any taste bud on the tongue, truly:
Wonderful!
...
Gradually, Eizan Etsuya entered a realm of fantasy.
He saw himself in a dimly lit bamboo forest, holding a sharp battle saber, wearing armor, and riding a magnificent horse, like a Neon samurai with an unyielding spirit.
Opposite him stood a majestic martial artist, Sosuke!
"Hah!"
Eizan Etsuya spurred his horse forward.
Full of murderous intent, he raised his battle saber and charged towards the martial artist Sosuke.
At the critical moment, Sosuke swiftly drew his precious sword, which moved like a spiritual snake, darting unpredictably.
His feet were entangled with the scabbard, combined with his footwork for attack, with subtle changes. The sword and scabbard worked in tandem, as his sword thrust, his feet assisted with slashes, attacking swiftly, closing in for a quick kill!
His sword moves were sometimes fast, sometimes slow, with hidden dangers everywhere, and their origin was impossible to grasp, leaving one unsettled.
Ultimately, even though Eizan Etsuya was riding a magnificent horse and had every advantage, he still could not escape the fate of being struck down from his horse.
"The first bite didn't give too much surprise."
"But with the second bite, the third bite, the fourth bite, the fifth bite… with every bite, the taste in my mouth changed."
"Either rich and tender, or fresh and crisp, or sweet and refreshing, or fresh, fragrant, and mellow, it's truly impossible to capture with the tongue."
At this moment, many diners around Eizan Etsuya couldn't help but cast strange glances at him.
After all, his eating manners just now were too ugly and crude, even too ravenous, but Eizan Etsuya didn't care about their opinions.
He only knew that this dish, which he couldn't yet name, was truly overturning all his previous understanding!
...
"Shopkeeper, why is your dish so elusive?"
After finishing his meal, Eizan Etsuya let out a satisfied burp.
He looked at the empty plate in front of him, and a smile unconsciously appeared on his face.
His personality was originally prone to impatience and impulsiveness, but for some reason, after finishing this dish made from 5 different types of meat, he was able to calm down.
"As you can see."
"There are only 5 types of meat."
"But these 5 different types of meat can mix with each other to form new flavors."
"For example, chewing deer and beef together gives one taste, while chewing pork and lamb together gives another. Therefore, this involves a problem of permutation and combination in mathematics."
"If you eat 5 types of meat together, how many combinations of flavors are there?"
"It's simple to calculate with a formula; you just use C5-1 up to C5-5."
"Of course, if you don't use a formula, then I'll explain in detail: each meat by itself is one flavor, that's 5 types, namely pork, beef, lamb, rabbit, and deer."
"Chewing two types of meat together, there are a total of 10 combinations, which means 10 flavors, namely pork-beef, pork-lamb, pork-rabbit, pork-deer, beef-lamb, beef-rabbit, beef-deer, lamb-rabbit, lamb-deer, and rabbit-deer."
"Chewing three types of meat together also yields 10 flavors."
"The principle is simple: there are 5 types of meat in total, and each combination of two meats corresponds to the remaining three meats. This is a one-to-one mapping relationship."
"For example, the pork-beef combination corresponds to the lamb-rabbit-deer combination, and the pork-lamb combination corresponds to the beef-rabbit-deer combination."
"By the same logic, the number of combinations for chewing four types of meat together is the same as for chewing each type of meat individually, totaling 5. If you chew pork alone, it corresponds to chewing beef, lamb, rabbit, and deer together."
"Finally, if all are the same type of meat, and if all five meats are present, they are not counted. Summing it up: 10+10+5 = 25, a total of 25 flavors."
Sosuke explained garrulously.
But as soon as his words came out, the entire Izakaya instantly became silent.
Not to mention the Ninth Seat Eizan Etsuya, even the two assistant chefs, Kuguchi Sonoka and Kakizaki Taki, and most of the diners, were completely stunned.
Holy crap!
So you used 5 different types of meat to create 25 different flavors?
And all 25 flavors can constantly transform into one another, no wonder eating it felt much "better" than taking an aphrodisiac.
...
"So that's how it is."
"Lamb rump is mainly fresh and tender, while piglet's ear is crispy and tender."
"Calf kidney, on the other hand, is soft and crumbly, deer leg meat is firm, and rabbit meat has little fat. The 5 types of meat have vastly different textures, and the first 3 are all very tender."
"That's why you, Shopkeeper, used steaming, instead of stir-frying, deep-frying, stewing, or other cooking methods."
"Because the 5 different types of meat all have different flavors, if you were to cook them by stir-frying or pan-frying, it would definitely lead to a confusion of flavors."
"But by using steaming, you can maintain the original flavor characteristics."
"Heh!"
"How interesting."
"No matter how superb a chef's skills are, they probably wouldn't dare to use 5 types of strongly gamey meats to make a dish."
"But it wasn't until I finished eating that I realized some chefs' abilities are truly astounding."
"The taste of the entire dish is ever-changing, and each part is handled exceptionally well, always maintaining an incredibly perfect balance."
In Eizan Etsuya's eyes, no matter how good a chef's culinary skills were, if he didn't understand the art of business, he would ultimately just be an employee.
But now, the talent displayed by Sosuke, who stood before him, and the dishes he had created, had completely amazed him.
If he were to combine this with his own strong business operational capabilities, then...
Within 5 years.
No, no, 3 years.
He and Sosuke, a strong alliance, would definitely create a culinary empire that would dominate the catering industry!
...
"Shopkeeper, what is this dish called?"
Temporarily reining in his excited emotions, Eizan Etsuya asked curiously.
"Good question."
Sosuke merely smiled at this, then he took out a piece of paper and began to carefully write down a line of text:
Jade Flute, Who Hears the Plum Blossoms Falling?!
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