Huayu Chef

046 Showdown at the Dog Food Restaurant

Huang Mengying burst out laughing, unable to maintain her goddess demeanor any longer. She said with a hint of annoyance, "Brother Xuan, how can you talk about a goddess like that? Goddesses are radiant, okay?"

"The goddess shines, the madwoman goes mad."

Huang Mengying suppressed a laugh and asked, "Are you saying I'm a crazy woman?"

"I didn't say that, you said it yourself."

Zhang Jinxuan walked into the frame, standing side by side with Huang Mengying, and greeted the camera, saying, "Hello everyone, I am Zhang Jinxuan, the head chef of Wild Kitchen, an actress who possesses both beauty and talent."

"It's been a week, and we're back to meet our viewers again. Aren't you all happy? I'm happy too, because today, the 'Streetlight Goddess' Huang Mengying is once again serving as the food taster for this episode of Wild Kitchen. Welcome, Mengying!"

Huang Mengying greeted everyone with a smile: "Hello, Brother Xuan, hello, audience."

Zhang Jinxuan set the pace, "Just now, I used my Tianjin accent to reveal the city we are in right now. The clever little ones must have already noticed the Yongle Bridge Ferris Wheel behind us, also known as the 'Tianjin Eye,' which is one of Tianjin's landmark buildings."

"Don't be fooled by Mengying's transformation into a goddess using the Tianjin Eye as a backdrop. The Ferris wheel may look small, but it's actually enormous and incredibly impressive up close."

Huang Mengying continued, "I know there's the 'London Eye' on the banks of the Thames in England, but our country's Tianjin Eye is just as impressive. It has a diameter of 110 meters and a height equivalent to a 35-story building. It's so tall and breathtaking! I really want to ride on it and take a ride."

"I want to ride it too. How about we stop taking pictures and go ride the Ferris wheel instead?"

"OK."

The two turned around and leaned against the riverbank railing in perfect unison, misleading the audience. Zhang Jinxuan then asked, "Mengying, do you know why I stopped?"

Why?

"Do you see the Yongle Bridge under the Ferris wheel?"

"I saw it."

With their backs to the camera, viewers can't see their faces, so their attention will naturally be drawn to the Tianjin Eye, which can be considered as attracting visitors to Tianjin. They should be spending money overnight to do this!

"This bridge is no ordinary structure. It was designed by a renowned architect and was built in conjunction with the Tianjin Eye. It consists of two levels, with the upper level being a dedicated road for motor vehicles, featuring six lanes in both directions, and a central span of 30 meters..."

"Yongle Bridge and Tianjin Eye represent the remarkable achievements of Tianjin's modernization. In fact, Tianjin has a lot of bridges, most of which are built on the Haihe River and its tributaries."

There's an old saying in Tianjin: "Tianjin is the city at the confluence of nine rivers, with three floating bridges and two passes."

"Mengying, let me test you. What are the nine rivers?"

Huang Mengying counted on her fingers, "It seems to be the North Canal, the South Canal, the Daqing River, the Ziya River, the Yongding River..."

"Only five points were mentioned."

Huang Mengying said shyly, "I can't remember, let Brother Xuan tell me."

"Just these five."

Huang Mengying's beautiful eyes widened: "Why are five rivers called nine rivers?"

"There are eleven of the top ten universities, and two of them are number one, which is quite normal."

"That's a perfect explanation."

Zhang Jinxuan laughed and said, "Nine Rivers is a figurative number, meaning there are many rivers. The lower reaches of the Nine Rivers refers to the area where many rivers converge, specifically the Hai River basin, mainly Tianjin."

"The Haihe River runs through the urban area of ​​Tianjin and is the mother river of Tianjin. As the old saying goes, people who live by the mountains live off the mountains and people who live by the water live off the water. Tianjin is located at the lower reaches of nine rivers and three times at the estuary of the sea. It has prospered by the sea and is also an important node of the Grand Canal. It has a rich port culture, and people from all walks of life from the north and south have gathered here. It is inclusive and has profoundly influenced all aspects of the local area."

After rambling on and on, Zhang Jinxuan felt a bit dry, so he changed the subject and said, "Tianjin not only embraces the cultures of both the north and south of China, but also integrates Chinese and Western cultures. The Tianjin dialect has long been in line with international standards, and everyone in Tianjin can speak English."

Huang Mengying expressed doubt: "Really?"

"If you don't believe me, just ask anyone from Tianjin; they'll all say 'cinema'."

Huang Mengying, who had some basic English skills, confirmed, "cinema, a movie theater?"

"Yes, do you know why we say this word?"

"I don't know."

"Let me tell you a few Tianjin slang terms: cinema ins knee."

Huang Mengying was stunned. "What? The grammar is all wrong!"

"What's wrong with that? Who the hell knows you? Just say it in a Tianjin accent, isn't that right?"

Huang Mengying took a moment to react, then burst into laughter and collapsed against the railing, completely speechless.

Zhuangzhuang's lips twitched violently, and strange grunting sounds came from his throat. His face turned red from holding it in. Luckily, the camera was on a tripod, otherwise the lens would have been shaken terribly.

"Let me tell you one more thing, Jenny Mars sei ya."

Zhuangzhuang asked, "What does that mean?"

"Who the hell is this?"

"Haha, Brother Xuan, you're so talented."

Huang Mengying slowly slid down from the railing, squatted on the ground, buried her head in her knees, her shoulders trembling violently, laughing uncontrollably.

"One last thing, nine say say."

"What do you mean?"

"Whatever."

"Haha, no, no, let me laugh for a bit first, we can't take it anymore. We'll film later."

Zhang Jinxuan looked at the two people who were laughing so hard they were practically incapacitated, feeling quite helpless. Their sense of humor was far too low; this was a pun that had been overused in his previous life.

A few minutes later, Huang Mengying and Zhuangzhuang finished laughing and went back to work.

"Mengying, why are you facing away from the camera? Turn around."

"No, my makeup will be ruined, and I'll look terrible." Huang Mengying said coquettishly, "Brother Xuan, I have a low threshold for laughter, so please don't keep telling me jokes to make me laugh."

"In the last episode, he even said he had a high threshold for laughter."

"I don't care."

"Okay, shoot with your back to the camera."

Zhang Jinxuan stood sideways facing Huang Mengying, occasionally turning his head to look at the camera before getting to the point.

"I was just joking when I said those few English words, so please don't take them seriously, but the influence of Tianjin's inclusiveness is indeed very profound. Especially in terms of food culture, Tianjin cuisine has five characteristics: it excels at cooking fresh seafood, pays attention to seasonality, is skilled in seasoning, has unique techniques, and is widely adaptable."

"Tianjin cuisine is heavily influenced by Huaiyang cuisine, Shandong cuisine, and Northeastern cuisine, and its flavors tend to be sweet and salty due to the strong local dock culture."

"Some viewers might not understand, what does taste have to do with dock culture?"

"This is because dockworkers have high-intensity jobs and many do manual labor. They need to ensure sufficient intake of salt and carbohydrates to have the energy to work. Over time, their tastes become more pungent."

"In addition, there are many other factors such as the saline-alkali land and groundwater within the territory, which determine the local people's environment."

"Since we're in Tianjin today, we'll naturally be cooking Tianjin cuisine. I'm not from Tianjin myself, so I can't accurately grasp the local tastes, and the dishes I make might turn out badly."

"So, the question is, what dish should I cook today?"

"Old Explosive Three".

"This dish, along with Kung Pao Chicken, Yu Xiang Rou Si (shredded pork with garlic sauce), and Mu Shu Pork, is known as one of the four most common Tianjin dishes and is very representative of Tianjin cuisine."

"To make Lao Bao San, you need pork tenderloin, pork liver, and pork kidney. As you've seen in the last two videos, we know that we need to get the main ingredients ourselves for each dish. So where are we going to get these three ingredients today?"

"Luckily, someone was willing to provide the ingredients. Unfortunately, I'm in big trouble."

"A 15-year-old culinary prodigy challenged me to make a dish of 'Lao Bao San' (a type of stir-fried pork belly) each, and we'd see who could make the better one."

Zhang Jinxuan's expression was serious. "Everyone, don't underestimate him. This kid started cooking at the age of 6 and has been cooking for 9 years. His cooking experience is several times longer than mine. He's definitely a formidable person."

When making videos, even if you don't care about winning or losing, you still have to do your best to create an atmosphere, highlight key points, and increase the audience's tension, immersion, and anticipation.

"The worst part is that he's a native of Tianjin, and his family runs a dog food restaurant—basically a tiny, roadside eatery. He's very familiar with Tianjin cuisine. My gut feeling tells me this trip to Tianjin is likely to be a disaster..."

Even more coincidentally, the moment he finished speaking, the young master called.

Zhang Jinxuan's expression was strange. He thought to himself, "No way, with such perfect coordination, are we going to slide on our knees?"

Impossible, absolutely impossible.

22 years old versus 15 years old, 10 years of cooking experience across two generations versus 9 years, the advantage lies with me.

"The kid called, I'll answer and hear what he has to say."

Huang Mengying covered her mouth with her hand, tilted her head slightly, and looked at her with concern.

Zhang Jinxuan answered the phone, "Hello, Little Master."