Food Stall: Customers Chase Me across the Country

Chapter 601 - 570: The Vanishing Boss Wang and the Backstabbing Mapo Tofu

At the end of the cloud of flags is a faint golden sun, as if walking along this cloud road, one could walk directly into the sun.

The awe, the craftsmanship of nature, indeed made him linger.

But the reason he was delayed for two days wasn’t just the beautiful environment; it was also because there was quite a bit of trash here.

Plastic bags, empty bottles, instant noodle cups, and other trash were thrown everywhere.

Amidst the blue sea and sky, piles of such things really made Wang Fan feel uncomfortable all over.

This is one of the biggest drawbacks of wild scenic spots. Some people just throw trash wherever they go, as long as it’s convenient for them, they don’t care if it harms the environment. You can’t stand it? Then clean it up yourself, no one’s stopping me.

So he spent a whole day thoroughly cleaning up the trash here.

For others, this might not be an easy task, given the amount of trash, but for Wang Fan, it was much easier because his RV had a small shredder.

The obstacles for men include but are not limited to Ao Debiao peeling bananas, cleaning carpets, fixing donkey hooves, knife forging competitions, and shredding everything.

The one in his car was the shredder from the speed bump.

Once shredded, the volume of this trash would be much smaller. Even so, his RV had to make three trips to clean it all up.

Looking at the green space that was clean and tidy again, his mood became much more cheerful.

As for the wheel marks on the green grass, they were there before he came, so his Sichuan friends shouldn’t blame him, right?

He did some chest exercises, took a deep breath of the air full of the fragrance of grass and soil, and the moisture in the air, and Wang Fan felt refreshed and ready to set off for the next stop.

Sichuan has so much beauty, making it hard for him to leave, even though Shu is Sichuan.

Wang Fan’s second stop was Meishan.

In France, Sichuan cuisine master Liu Fei had many exchanges with him, so coming to Sichuan without visiting would be very rude.

Meishan’s status in the chef industry is not to be underestimated; it is known as the place with the highest density of Sichuan cuisine chefs in Huaxia, and it is regarded as the "Hometown of Sichuan Chefs in Huaxia."

With this reputation and these great chefs, it’s no surprise that the food here is beyond measure. It’s also known as the hometown of Huaxia pickles, and it is considered the world’s largest pickle production base.

If there is a supply shortage here, the neighboring Korea might not even have any kimchi soup to drink.

Moreover, a well-known gourmet, Su Shi, and his brother and father hail from here.

The fate of the Su brothers is quite interesting. The elder brother Su was always offending people with his mouth, spending much of his life being demoted or en route to being demoted.

The brothers had a good relationship, so the younger had to desperately try to get promotions to rescue the elder, even though he eventually became Vice Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, almost the Vice Chancellor, he still couldn’t completely pull the elder brother out.

However, Su Shi’s life was absolutely brilliant, and almost wherever he went, he benefited the local people, leaving behind many anecdotes.

In Meishan, Dongpo has almost become a separate cuisine, showing how much everyone loves this gourmet.

Dongpo Pork, Dongpo Fish, Dongpo Elbow, Dongpo Tofu, Dongpo Lamb Ribs, Dongpo Biscuits, Dongpo Squab Tartare, Dongpo Cold Noodles...

Chef Liu is the head chef of Meizhou Dongpo Restaurant in Sichuan Province, and during dining hours, he is very busy, so Wang Fan didn’t contact him and instead directly went to one of the restaurants to taste the flavors at his old friend’s restaurant.

Meizhou Dongpo is very famous locally and has gradually opened many branches across the country, with its signature dish being Dongpo Elbow.

Wang Fan had made elbows many times before, and Dongpo Elbow was somewhat different in ingredients from what he made earlier, and he was quite looking forward to it.

But unexpectedly, the restaurant business was booming too much, he arrived a little after four, and when taking a number, it was not until six that there was a seat available.

Wang Fan had time, but as the time cost increased, he unconsciously raised his expectations a bit.

You let me wait so long, how could it not be worth the wait? Anyway, that’s how he held himself to standards.

A little after six, finally a spot opened up, and it happened to be a secluded corner. Wang Fan ordered Dongpo Elbow, Mapo Tofu, Classic Spicy Chicken with Large Fries, Traditional Sizzling Rice, and a bowl of white rice.

He had been looking forward to Meizhou Dongpo even before meeting Chef Liu. Though it’s not the main restaurant, the craftsmanship should be better than other places, right?

But when the dishes started to arrive, Wang Fan began to question whether you should really not go to major restaurants to eat local specialties?

The first dish to arrive was Mapo Tofu.

Wang Fan didn’t need to eat it; just by looking at the dish’s surface and touching the plate, he lost all expectations for the large plate of spicy tofu in front of him.

The plate was not small, and the quantity was decent. The white tender tofu was covered in red broth, with green scallions sprinkled on top, matching the saucy brown minced meat.

Wang Fan reached out to touch the plate and sighed speechlessly.

The plate was cold!

Moreover, what was on the dish were scallions and minced meat!

Using chopsticks to pick up some tofu, along with the broth and minced meat, that hard texture just told him that the meat used was still pork.

Wang Fan was a bit doubtful about life.

Seriously, even in Japanese anime, they know that authentic Mapo Tofu is made with beef, and it should be crispy, yet here in what is claimed to be its birthplace, Meishan, they’re using pork!

Innovation is not unacceptable, but innovation should at least be in a good direction, right? You’re even using premade minced meat from a central kitchen!

Even I, who read Sichuan cuisine recipes for a few days, know that traditional Mapo Tofu is made with minced beef, not pork, and it emphasizes numbness, spiciness, freshness, heat, tenderness, consistency, and crispness.

Consistency means the tofu remains intact and not mushy, while crispness means the beef should be crispy and fragrant.

This small plate of Mapo Tofu, while simple, has quite a few criteria, but the one in front of me has nothing worth praising except for its quantity!

Setting aside the taste, the first thing about Mapo Tofu is that it should be "hot"!

This dish is oily, and once the temperature drops, the texture deteriorates dramatically; without the support of heat, the numbness and spiciness hardly exist.

A proper plate of Mapo Tofu should be served steaming hot. If there’s no steam and the plate is cold, it’s purely fooling around.

Furthermore, the proper Mapo Tofu should be topped with green garlic and Sichuan pepper powder. What’s with the scallions and minced meat?

Wang Fan was a bit angry and waved the waitress over.

The young waitress came over with a smile and asked, "Hello, is there anything I can help with?"

Wang Fan politely said, "Could you please help me heat this plate of Mapo Tofu?"

His temper naturally wouldn’t be directed at the young waitress.

The young waitress nodded, a bit puzzled as to why the freshly served dish needed reheating, but she still took the dish back to the kitchen.

After less than two minutes, the dish was brought back, and Wang Fan, with just a glance, knew that this thing hadn’t even been back in the pot.

Probably just spun a few times in the microwave and was brought back to him.

Sighing in his heart, Wang Fan said "thank you" to the waiting young waitress and then picked up a piece to taste.

The tofu was still soft and tender, and the seasoning wasn’t bad, but it just wasn’t flavorful enough.

The most crucial thing about this dish is the heat. Without heat, it can’t be numb; the beauty is in the sizzling hot sensation, and with that heat, you get the numbing, electrifying sensation afterward.

Have Meishan’s dishes degenerated to this extent?

To be honest, if this dish were called Meizhou Tofu or some other tofu, Wang Fan wouldn’t be so picky; that’s your dish, you can modify it however you want. But since you call it Mapo Tofu, there should be some heritage in it, making such a mess of it is just ruining your reputation.

He had heard that Sichuan cuisine’s status was declining because making Sichuan cuisine takes time and effort, and doesn’t earn as much as making hotpot, so the excellent chefs are all going into hotpot, and fewer people are making Sichuan cuisine.

But never did he expect that in this place, claimed to be the cradle of Sichuan chefs, he would taste such unorthodox Mapo Tofu.

As a child, the cartoon he watched most was "Cooking Master Boy," giving him great affection for Sichuan and Sichuan cuisine. But unexpectedly, just after arriving in Sichuan, he was betrayed by a well-known local restaurant.

Could it be that this Sichuan trip of his is going to be a journey of kicking establishments?