To be honest, looking at the bag handed over by He Ruochu, Li Xiao really wanted to refuse.
After all, he knew that tea of this quality must be expensive.
But what's inside is so tempting.
Feeling the sweetness in my mouth, I politely declined, but I really couldn't say it out loud.
After hesitating for a long time, Li Xiao showed a shy smile and stretched out his hand to take the gift from the other party.
"Thank you. Logically speaking, I shouldn't accept such a valuable thing."
"But this tea is really delicious, thank you."
He Ruochu waved his hand and said in a calm tone:
"It's just a few cans of tea, as long as Mr. Li likes it."
"And Mr. Li supports the country's public welfare so much, so this small gift is regarded as my thanks."
"In that case, thank you Miss He."
The two of them were polite, Li Xiao accepted each other's gift, and then the young lady served the next dish.
This main dish was not served directly to the table because it was only a semi-finished product.
Li Xiao glanced at the golden fish placed on lemon leaves and artichokes.
Artichoke, also known as fresh thistle and French lily, is a perennial herb of the Asteraceae family.
It looks like a green blooming flower.
It is native to the Mediterranean coast, and its main edible part is the fat and tender bracts in the flower buds.
It is a valuable and healthy vegetable with high nutritional value, and is known as the "King of Vegetables" abroad.
It has a very strong and strange aroma, and tastes like a light corn flavor.
It is usually used to cook spices or make snacks with dipping sauce, which has a very special taste.
Kingfish, a precious fish unique to Sakura Country, has a long production and growth cycle.
Together with pufferfish and angler, they are also known as the three famous fish of Sakura Country, and they are also the main source of income of Sakura Country.
The reason why the goldfish is precious is that it can only be caught in the inland bays of Sakura Country.
This is one of the two rare deep bays in Sakura Country, with the highest depth reaching more than 1,000 meters.
This kind of golden fish lives in the deep sea between about 500 and 800 meters. Currently, it can only be caught by purely artificial sea fishing.
The fishing efficiency is very low, and the production capacity is very unstable. In the event of heavy rain or big waves, fishing is impossible.
Currently, about 13% of the fishermen in Sakura Country rely on sea fishing for this kind of goldfish to maintain their basic livelihood.
There is another reason why this fish is so expensive and it lives in the deep sea.
Once it leaves its original habitat, the body will die instantly due to air pressure problems.
Therefore, after this kind of fish is caught, it must be transported and shipped as quickly as possible.
Currently, only the main island of Sakura Country and several surrounding countries such as Dahan Country can purchase this golden fish.
Because of its rarity, many people from other countries are even willing to fly for more than ten hours to come to the local area to taste the freshest goldfish.
The golden fish in front of me has been pan-fried in the back kitchen.
However, only the side with the fish skin was fried, while the other side was in a perfect state of being almost cooked but not yet cooked.
The specific method is to sprinkle cooking wine on the edge of the pan while frying the fish.
Then quickly cover the pot with a lid, let the cooking wine evaporate into steam inside the lid, and the fish will be cooked through the steam.
The piece of fish in front of you is not yet cooked, and the heat is simply wonderful.
As expected of a senior chef with a five-star rating, he indeed has a few skills.
I saw the waitress putting two pieces of bamboo charcoal that were smoking like smoke on the iron plate.
Then the lady used a special small shovel to shovel the fish meat, along with the mint leaves and artichokes underneath it, onto the bamboo charcoal.
Cover with a transparent glass lid and smoke the aroma of mint leaves and artichokes, as well as the flavor of the bamboo charcoal itself, into the fish through the heat of bamboo charcoal.
The smoke continued for about 5 minutes. When the smoke under the glass lid began to dissipate, the young lady picked up the lid.
Finally, the smoked goldfish is placed on top of the golden jelly made from goldfish stock.
"Hello, two distinguished guests, [Smoked Kingfish], please use it slowly."
The sides of the fish meat are slightly raised, and there are dots of gold foil on them.
There is a circle of small black balls next to the Jinji fish jelly.
Li Xiao picked up one of the small black beads with chopsticks and put it into his mouth. The bead shattered on his tongue with a snap.
A faint sour taste spreads on the tip of the tongue. These are small black balls that are pelletized mature vinegar. The sour taste has a unique sweet taste.
When customers eat the gel, they can easily choose the amount of vinegar to add, which is very convenient.
Scoop up a small spoonful of jelly, and the umami bomb of the jelly will instantly release on your taste buds.
A super rich soup made from fish bones, fish meat, fish heads, pork bones, and chicken bones.
Use a centrifuge to separate the fat and solids, take only the liquid and add gelatine sheets to make stock jelly.
The process is very cumbersome. Even if the technology is mature, it may take 67 hours to get such a serving of gel.
But in Li Xiao's opinion, the wait is worth it because the taste is so amazing.
There is no trace of other flavors here, just umami, sweetness, and a touch of wine.
Pick up the fish meat on it with chopsticks. Because the heat is just right, the texture of the fish meat is very fresh and tender.
Because Jinji fish is located in the deep sea, the fat content in its body is extremely high.
When you take a bite, the oily aroma is overflowing, and the juices and fat flowing out of the fish are quite satisfying.
The smoking time is sufficient, so the smoky flavor does not just stay on the surface.
The enclosed space allows the fresh aroma of bamboo charcoal, mint and artichokes to be mixed into the fish, and the aroma goes straight to the top of the head.
The complex taste and texture made Li Xiao move a little faster.
I have to say that after the arrangement of the cold dishes and the blending of the table wine,
The taste buds on the tongue have been completely opened, and the stomach is at its best.
The main course that appeared at this time made Li Xiao very satisfied.
If he had to give him a score, Li Xiao would give him a high score of 95.
The next table wine served is a red wine from a top Italian winery.
Sassicaia, the first of the four major wineries in Italy.
It ranks alongside the top five wineries in France and is very well-known internationally.
However, the bottle of Sassicaia in front of me is not a very old Tibetan wine. It has only been 4 years since it was produced.
It is a very young new wine, but the taste is no worse than those famous old wines.
The smell is very lively, with aromas of strawberries, cherries, and blueberries.
The tannins are very smooth, with fruity woody aromas and a hint of bitter almond.
Smelling the remaining aroma of wine in the cup, Li Xiao nodded with satisfaction.
It is indeed a famous wine produced by the four major wineries. Even if it is just a new wine, the taste is quite outstanding.
