Chapter 2040 A Feast Good Enough To Impress Royals
After a while, the food was ready to be served and Little Shrubby handled that too.
He divided the food into five equal portions, and one massive portion that was intended for Lin Mu. "It's done!" Lin Mu said, gesturing to the plates.
On the table, a total of five dishes were present. First was the steaks that the Crown Prince Feng Shun had requested.
The second was the milk stewed fish requested by Crown Princess Shang Yingtai.
The third dish though was a hearty stew made with various organs that was mostly for Lin Mu and Little Shrubby.
The fourth dish was stir-fried immortal herbs with young Evergreen Pillars Bamboo shoots, and then layered on top of Immortal Rice. This was the vegetarian option that Lin Mu got Little Shrubby to make with Monk Hushu in mind. After all, from what he knew, most Buddhist monks didn't eat meat.
The fifth was a dessert made from various immortal fruits, which were then combined with the gelatin from bones to make a fruit jelly. This was intended for everyone to enjoy as a treat, though Lin Mu reckoned Mei Nienzhen would probably like it the most, considering what he had seen before.
And with that, a relatively 'simple' four course meal was prepared.
Of course, it was only simple when compared to what Lin Mu and Little Shrubby usually prepared for themselves. But even then, the ingredients were nothing but simple. They were fit for a king and would cost a lot if one were to get them in a restaurant at the Capital city.
Most of the time, it wasn't even something that just anyone could cook, and only the imperial court might enjoy it regularly.
And yet, a beast had managed to accomplish the same.
"MMMMM!~" Its effects were also quite prominent as all those that ate it felt pleased.
The steak had a crisp sear on the outside, while being juicy and tender on the inside. The fish on the other hand, basically melted one one's tongue, while the creaminess of the milk carried the flavor from the herbs that had been added to it.
The hearty organ soup was full of vitality that could get one's blood roaring with energy. If a mortal were to eat it, they might just find their heart exploding from all that energy. Even for immortals, they might not be able to eat more than a couple bowls of it, unless they were Body cultivators.
For body cultivators, it was the perfect tonic and would help them improve their cultivation base.
Once everyone started to eat, they found it hard to stop. Even for Feng Shun and Shang Yingtai, both of whom were royals and had luxurious food, this was something new. This was due to the fact that Lin Mu and Little Shrubby would gather ingredients wherever they went.
As such, there were many herbs and spices added that others won't normally think of using. Not to mention, Little Shrubby's own expertise had been added to it, taking it to the next level and making it unique.
For the first fifteen minutes, no one spoke as they were busy eating. Even for Monk Hushu, who had better control over his desires, the food was too good. 'I'll chant for longer after this.' Monk Hushu thought to himself.
While the Crown Prince and his companions had seen how much Lin Mu ate, and were expecting him to do the same now, they didn't expect that there would be another glutton with them today.
Mei Nienzhen's eyes were filled with stars as she continued to eat. She didn't even pay attention to the gazes on her as she stuffed her face already having finished twice as much as others. Plate after plate were cleaned out by her, and was only matched by Lin Mu, who had eaten three times what she had eaten so far. And just as Lin Mu had thought, the dish that she liked the most was none other than the fruit jelly.
This was originally a dish that Lin Mu and Little Shrubby had thought to make for the Saintess, but it was now coming in handy here too. Of course, the Fruit Jelly was also enjoyed by the others too.
"I've never had anything like this before." Crown Princess Shang couldn't help but say.
"It's indeed quite exquisite." Crown Prince Feng Shun said feeling impressed. "Say… do you want to sell the recipe? I'm sure the imperial chefs will buy it for a decent price." He asked.
"Haha, sure." Lin Mu replied. "I'll give it to you later." He felt pleased that they were enjoying it.
"Looks like we were still underestimating Little Shrubby." Crown Princess Shang spoke. "His greatest ability wasn't even his speed, but rather his ability to cook!" she was pretty much enthralled. ~Purr~
Little Shrubby showed his appreciation and rubbed his head against her hand, which made her feel quite nice too.
Most of the group enjoyed the food for about an hour, after which the Crown Prince, Crown Princess Shang, Monk Hushu and Daoist Chu were full. Only Lin Mu and Mei Nienzhen were still eating. Of course, the woman had slowed down by this time and was close to getting full.
Lin Mu noticed the way she was eyeing the tray of jelly and guessed what she was thinking.
"If you want, you can keep the fruit jelly for later." Lin Mu replied. "You don't have to finish all of it right now." He added.
"I can?" Mei Nienzhen asked.
"Yeah." Lin Mu nodded.
"Okay." Then without hesitating, Mei Nienzhen stored away the entire tray of jelly for later.
Of course, the tray had at least ten kilograms of jelly on it which would be more than enough for her to eat for a couple of weeks. But it was another question where she would be able to resist and eat it sparingly.
Lin Mu didn't know that gifting Mei Nienzhen the fruit jelly had earned him her trust as well. 'Should I bring him home like mother said?' She wondered.