Besides that, the green color grew lighter and lighter as one start to gaze from the edges to the center. At the place where the green was almost gone, the rice crust appeared to be golden yellow. Placed in the clean white plate and in clear water, it gave a good appetite to people.
"Ka Ca". Li Wentong took up the chopsticks and picked up a piece of rice crust.
When it broke, it emitted a slight sound.
"That's just the feeling I'm looking for." Li Wentong revealed a hint of expectation in his eyes.
That's right. The Green Jade Rice Crust he had eaten before was alike to this one. Even after it was immersed in the water, it was still crisp when picked up. Now that there was another piece of evidence that could prove this rice crust was probably what he had long been looking for, he was naturally very excited.
Having stuffed it into the mouth, Li Wentong immediately savored the taste carefully. He wanted to compare the differences between the taste of this rice crust and the one he had eaten before to see if they were exactly the same.
The rice crust naturally became soft when immersed in the water. Therefore, it tasted soft the instant it first entered the mouth. It was very easy to split an entire piece of rice crust into small ones and one didn't need to spare a lot of effort to chew it.
"Um?" Li Wentong humphed in surprise.
Only then did he start to chew. That's right. The originally soft rice crust that didn't require much chewing suddenly had a crisp texture.
"Ka Ca Ka Ca". The rice crust emitted a clear and melodious sound in the mouth. That was the sound of the rice grains being chewed up. Moreover, what followed along the chewing was a unique delicate fragrance of the Babao Rice.
"It's both crisp and soft. Yes, this is the one I have been looking for." Li Wentong ate up one piece and reacted when he found out it was exactly the taste he was looking for as he savored the aftertaste for a while.
Concerning the name, Green Jade Rice Crust, green jade naturally referred to the color while rice crust was the rice crust, just as the name suggested.
There was an identifiable characteristic of the rice crust when it was eaten in the mouth. It tasted soft at the beginning but then became crisp. The crisp and fragrant inner layer and the soft and sticky outer layer caused by the broth made the rice crust fairly chewy.
As it had been immersed in the broth, the Babao Rice emitted a characteristic delicate fragrance.
The soft and sticky outer layer carried a kind of sweetness and moisture while the crisp inner layer was nevertheless fragrant and palatable, containing the fragrance of the oil.
After he confirmed it was just the taste he had been looking for, Li Wentong quickly gulped down all the rice crust in the bowl in one breath without any hesitation.
"I didn't expect to not be full." Li Wentong mocked himself with a faint smile.
Li Wentong wasn't young anymore. He was almost 50 years old. Due to the busy schedule and too much business socializing previously, his stomach had turned very weak. Therefore, he ate far less now. He could eat only half a bowl of food for each meal. And it was the very first time that he had eaten up the rice crust along with the broth and other ingredients.
"Hi. Please get me one more serving of Green Jade Rice Crust." Li Wentong pinched the menu and couldn't help ordering another serving.
"I'm sorry. Everyone can only order one type of dish for each meal in our restaurant." Zhou Jia went up and smiled with an apologetic tone.
"Oh, really? Then get me something else like bland dishes. Any recommendations?" Li Wentong felt if the rice crust was that delicious, other dishes were also acceptable.
As for rules? Those were way too common. Each place had its distinctive rules.
"I recommend the Jinling Grass for a bland vegetable dish. There is only a little oil and salt in this dish. And for the cooked wheaten food, there are Clear Broth Noodle Soup and Clear Broth Noodle Soup Set. There is also the Egg Fried Rice. Which one do you prefer?" Zhou Jia recommended some dishes to him quickly and fluently.
"One serving of Jinling Grass and Egg Fried Rice." Li Wentong chose his favorite dishes very quickly.
As usual, payment came before the meal. Only then did Li Wentong feel that the prices were really not cheap.
"I didn't expect plain white rice and the Green Jade Rice Crust to have the same price." Li Wentong whispered in the heart, but didn't really mind. After all, filling his stomach mattered most for now.
There were many people but only a few seats in Yuan Zhou's restaurant. Nonetheless, customers could always get their dishes very quickly just because Yuan Zhou started to cook faster and faster as time went by. Therefore, Li Wentong also got his dishes very quickly.
"It's fairly exquisite." This was the first reaction when li Wentong saw the plate full of green.
Li Wentong had expected that he wouldn't be able to finish it up previously, but now, he found that it wasn't enough for him. Due to his good self-restraint, however, he didn't order more. He stood up and made room for others, but didn't leave immediately.
"May I ask when the restaurant will close?" Li Wentong had already found Master Cheng who had been standing there and staring at Yuan Zhou. Thus, he asked him.
"The business time will come to an end in half an hour." Master Cheng said directly without even turning his head.
"Is this young man the boss?" Li Wentong asked him for confirmation.
"Why? What is the matter?" Upon hearing that, Master Cheng turned his head.
"Yes. I have some private matters to discuss with him." Li Wentong nodded frankly.
"Not for now. Master Yuan can never be disturbed when he is cooking." Master Cheng said solemnly.
"Then what are you standing there for?" Li Wentong said mildly, which would not offend anyone.
Even if the question he was asking wasn't really pleasant.
"I have my reasons. If you want to talk to him, you can wait until the business hours end." Master Cheng's temper wasn't considered to be good when he faced others.
"Thank you." Li Wentong thanked him courteously.
"Um." Master Cheng answered him and then turned his head back to watch Yuan Zhou cook.
After he asked that, Li Wentong found a place that didn't block anybody to stand still. He just waited there until the end of the business time.
People came and entered Yuan Zhou's restaurant. Half an hour passed very soon while Li Wentong was observing the surroundings quietly.
And in this half an hour, Li Wentong gained a little more understanding about Yuan Zhou.
For example, Yuan Zhou was nicknamed Compass because he stuck only to the rules without sparing anyone's feelings and complied with the rules very strictly. He was extremely earnest and kept everything clean when he was cooking. After all, the open kitchen was clearly seen by everybody.
Another thing was that the dishes here weren't cheap at all. In other words, Yuan Zhou didn't lack money.
"Do come back next time." It meant the end for dinner time when Yuan Zhou said this.
The customers went away one after another until only Master Cheng, Zhou Jia, Yuan Zhou and Li Wentong were left in the restaurant.
"I'm sorry. Business time for dinner has ended." Yuan Zhou said clearly to Li Wentong.
"I know. Mr. Yuan, I have some matters to talk to you about." Li Wentong said courteously and straightforwardly.
"What can I do for you?" Yuan Zhou asked blandly.
"It's like this. This Green Jade Rice Crust has a special significance to me. I want to learn how to cook this dish. Can you help me?" As far as Li Wentong knew, Yuan Zhou liked speaking straightforwardly. That was why Li Wentong asked him so directly.
"I'm sorry. I am not prepared to take on any disciples." Yuan Zhou's answer was still like that.
"That is not necessary. I don't have a cooking talent as excellent as yours. I just want to learn the cooking method of this dish. It won't take too long of your time." Li Wentong praised Yuan Zhou first and then emphasized his own purpose.
"Thank you for your compliment." Yuan Zhou nodded to thank him and then, said nothing more.
After all Li Wentong said, Yuan Zhou only heard the compliments.
"Then the dish?" Li Wentong still asked hopefully.
"It's still teaching even if there's only one dish. It is the same as ten or hundreds of dishes. But I never take disciples." Yuan Zhou said earnestly.
"I'm sorry for bothering you. Tomorrow I will come again and I hope you can consider it carefully by then." Without saying anything more, Li Wentong said that and left with a graceful bearing.