The online taxi stopped in front of a shopping mall in the city center.
Lingpingan held the kitten Best and walked out of the car.
Xingfu Commercial Center.
That's the name of this mall.
"On the fourth floor?" Lingpingan took out his mobile phone and looked at it, then walked into the mall with his pet in his arms.
Today is a holiday, so there are quite a lot of people.
The whole mall was busy with people coming and going.
Lingpingan took the elevator and went straight to the fourth floor.
When he got upstairs, he followed the instructions and found the Rhine restaurant at the end of this floor.
As soon as you enter the door, you will be greeted by a strong exotic atmosphere.
I even heard bursts of melodious piano sounds.
"It looks pretty good!" Lingpingan thought.
"Sir..." A blond girl wearing a maid's dress walked up to Lingpingan and spoke fluently in federal dialect with a bit of Jiangcheng accent: "Are you alone?"
Lingpingan nodded.
"This way, please!" This girl's federal etiquette is very professional, and she must have received special training.
So Lingpingan was led by her to a small table by the window of the restaurant.
Then, a thick menu was delivered to Lingpingan.
The little girl bowed slightly and asked: "If you need anything, sir, you can press the call bell next to you, and we will come over immediately to serve you!"
"Yeah!" Lingpingan nodded, and then opened the menu.
After just one glance, his face twitched a little.
A portion of red wine foie gras costs two hundred yuan.
A portion of smoked beef costs three hundred.
A vegetable salad costs 188!
The most expensive steak Wellington is priced at 3999!
You also need to book one day in advance!
"Robbing money!" Lingpingan complained in his heart.
Fortunately, he was already prepared before coming.
He was also prepared to pay the IQ tax - generally speaking, there are only two strategies for foreign restaurants to survive in federal territories.
The first is localization.
For example, in Yangcheng, the capital of Guangnan, there is a French restaurant with a particularly good reputation.
The signature dishes of this restaurant are stir-fried snails and pan-fried oysters.
The French classmate from Lingpingan once went to eat there because of its reputation. After eating it, he came back and told everyone - it was not French at all!
Snails should be baked in red wine, and top-notch Ginado oysters should be eaten raw!
However, this French restaurant, which French people say is not French at all, is the best foreign restaurant in Guangzhou.
The chef of the restaurant even obtained permanent residency in the Federal Empire!
The second is to hunt for novelties.
Take advantage of the federal people's curiosity about foreign countries and create some gimmicks.
There are always some people willing to pay the IQ tax.
People like Lingpingan are basically their target customers.
Therefore, despite the pain, Lingpingan still ordered two dishes.
One is pan-fried beef tongue for 499, and the other is Rhine steak for 599.
Press the service bell and the waiter will come over quickly and take away the menu with a smile.
After about ten minutes, a piece of steak that was placed on the iron plate, grilled and smoking, was brought to Lingpingan.
The blond girl introduced in standard federal dialect: "Sir, this is one of the signature dishes of our restaurant, Rhine Steak. It uses the 180-day grain-fed New Qinling beef eye from your country's Southern Zhou Kingdom...
…”
"After our unique butter aging method, it matures for forty-five days in a constant temperature and humidity environment..."
"Matured butter?" Lingpingan felt like he had learned a new term.
"How do you do this?" he asked, then he picked up the knife and fork unskillfully, cut the steak in front of him, put it in his mouth and tasted a piece.
The taste is ok!
He commented.
The tenderness is okay and the flavor is good, but there is too little juice and the beef flavor is not that strong.
It is completely different from the slow-roasted beef I made two days ago.
but……
The tenderness and flavor are really good!
Better than most beef!
The little girl listened and explained with a smile: "Guest, butter aging is the latest method of beef processing invented and created by our Rhine restaurant..."
"After absorbing the surface moisture of top-quality beef, wrap it in butter and place it in a constant temperature and humidity environment for thirty to fifty days. The surface of the beef will be dehydrated and oxidized, but an amazing transformation will take place on the inside!"
"The beef processed in this way has a flavor and tenderness that far exceeds that of similar products!"
After hearing this, Lingpingan nodded and thought, "I'll give it a try when I get back!"
“Let’s see if this method can really improve the taste of beef!”
Thinking about it, it shouldn't be too much trouble to just wrap the beef in butter!
Lingpingan was about to ask what should be paid attention to when maturing butter.
Meow!
The kitten Best, who had been lying next to him, suddenly barked and jumped from the sofa to the table.
The kitten bent down low, its amber eyes seemed to be full of vigilance.
It made a low roar somewhere in the restaurant.
It seems to be a warning, and it also seems to be a threat.
"Little darling..." Lingpingan picked it up and said, "What's wrong?"
Meow!
The kitten stuck out its tongue and licked the back of its owner's hand.
Lingpingan knew that this was how this little guy behaved every time he felt uneasy or threatened.
"Be good... don't be afraid!" He smiled and reassured: "As long as my brother is here, no one can hurt you!"
…………………………………………
Wearing a princess dress and holding a small scepter.
For some reason, I was walking in the restaurant.
Behind her, servants in holy robes followed closely.
Suddenly, she turned her head and looked at a corner of the restaurant.
A young federal man, holding a small black cat, was sitting there, seemingly having a meal.
"Duke..." an old retainer asked: "What's wrong?"
"Nothing!" For some reason, Rat remembered that this was the homeland of the Orientals, so he turned around and said, "Let's go!"
The duchess lifted up her skirt, stepped on her glass slippers, and walked forward.
There, someone was already waiting for her.
A dozen men and women in formal attire appeared in front of a private room in the front.
"Welcome!" They all smiled when they saw Lat for some reason, and knelt down one by one: "Representatives of Butania's subjects who are studying, doing business and settling in the Federal Empire, sincerely welcome His Excellency the Duke!"
"May God bless you! Dear Duchess!"
For some reason Rat looked at these people.
She lifted her skirt slightly, held the scepter, and stepped forward.
"All my subjects, please rise!" The little duchess, although she is young, behaves like an adult: "On behalf of Her Majesty the Queen, I would like to express my gratitude to all my subjects for all the contributions I have made to the United Kingdom of Butania in the Eastern world.
,Express thankfulness!"
In Qinlu, even in the mobile Internet era.
But the nobles are still the supreme rulers.
Especially the United Kingdom of Butania.
……………………………………………………
After eating, Lingpingan wiped his mouth with a napkin.
Then I called the waiter to pay.
A total of 1300 was spent!
Ordering food cost 1098.
The remaining 102 is service fee and tableware fee.
To be honest, the taste is okay! Not bad! But the price/performance ratio is a bit low!
Compared to the Fusang takeout I eat every day in Lingpingan, it’s so different!
A meal of Fuso beef rice bowl only costs 40 yuan. Recently, they are giving away all kinds of fish, shrimp, sea urchin and sushi.
As for Aunt Cai's steamed dumplings next door, two baskets are only 20 yuan, plus the tofu dumplings are 22 yuan!
But the taste of the three is almost the same.
so……
"I won't come next time!" Lingpingan said.
This is why he only eats at two fixed places - he has tried almost all well-known and unknown restaurants in the city.
I have been fooled countless times by someone who took advantage of me like I did today.
The ending is - the cheap ones taste terrible!
And in general, like this one today, the price-performance ratio is too low!
That is, Qianyejiang’s takeout and Aunt Cai’s steamed dumplings next door, which are both cheap and delicious.
This is the price you have to pay for having a sensitive tongue.
"Go home! Go home!" Lingpingan hugged the kitten Best and walked out of the restaurant.
"Thank you for your patronage!" At the door, two blond ladies bowed in unison: "Welcome to come again next time!"
Lingpingan walked out with a smile, but his heart was bleeding: "I spent more than half a month's living expenses..."
He lamented: "If I don't sell a few books, I'm afraid it will be difficult for me to survive until the allowance arrives on the 10th of next month..."
But...
"I learned a new skill this time..." He said: "Butter ripening..."
“It’s not too bad!”
He could only comfort his wallet in this way.
…………………………………………
For some reason, Rat stood in front of the blinds and watched the young oriental man walk out of the mall holding the kitten in his hand.
The top of her cane was inlaid with gems, and Accardo's shadow appeared from it.
"Cat goddess Best..."
"Everyone thought that he should have fallen into the hands of the Brotherhood!"
"but……"
"But He appeared in the East and was still a pet beside a seemingly ordinary Oriental..."
"This is so interesting!"
For some reason Latte listened and said nothing.
"Duchess!" A retainer in holy robes came forward and asked, "Do you want to send someone to check on that young man?"
For some reason Rat said nothing.
But not speaking is an attitude in itself.
So, he bowed deeply, turned around and went to arrange it.
The United Kingdom of Butania is still one of the top ten countries in the world!
Although this is a far cry from the empire that suppressed the world at its peak two hundred years ago, the sun never sets.
But it still has enough influence and strength.
Even in this eastern land, it still has a certain influence.
Therefore, when he thought about it, it should be effortless to check up on an ordinary-looking Oriental.
but……
Half an hour later, he got the news.
The two Butanians who were entrusted by him to investigate have been arrested.
The crime is - conspiring to spy on federal and imperial secrets and endangering national security!
Who knows why investigating an ordinary young man turned into spying on federal and imperial secrets and endangering national security?!
