Chapter 1226: The First Experience Of The Mala Hot Pot
Everyone had gone out, and only Camilla and Connie were left in the restaurant.
The two of them sat facing each other, separated by a bubbling soup pot in the center. They were staring at each other, but nobody was taking the first step.
Camilla took the initiative and asked, “Do you know how to cook?”
Connie shook her head. “We have our food raw sometimes.”
“I usually only drink fresh blood too.” Camilla frowned slightly.
The two of them sighed at the same time as they stared at the trolley full of all kinds of ingredients.
Then, both of them turned to look out of the glass panes at the rest of the staff, who were sitting in a circle and making their own dipping sauces under Mag’s instructions, enviously.
“I think it shouldn’t be that hard. Why don’t we read up on this manual first?” Connie retrieved her gaze, and passed a copy of the hot pot manual to Camilla before taking one up and read it intently.
“Tripe: use the chopsticks to place it in the boiling soup pot for one second, and then take it out of the soup pot for one second. Repeat this action eight times, and it will be ready to eat. Do not cook it for too long, or it will lose its soul,” Connie read it out softly.
Their gazes landed on the first plate on the top shelf of the trolley, which held some thin slices. The brownish-black slices were soaked in water, and they looked wrinkled.
“Is that something from the cow’s stomach?” Camilla frowned. As a noble vampire countess, she only had the freshest virgin blood. Even the second best had to be the cleanest pigeon blood.
Things coming from an animal’s stomach sounded dirty, and Mag was actually getting them to eat that?
“Yes. It’s so special. I have never eaten something like this before.” Connie was very curious. Even the orcs removed the intestines when they ate animals. They had never tried eating any intestines by themselves.
Furthermore, the cooking style of dipping it in the pot for eight times was very special, and it sounded very simple.
“Why don’t I try it out?” Connie picked up the long chopsticks excitedly. She had just learnt how to use the chopsticks a few days ago, so she picked up a piece of the tripe rather shakily, and put it into the boiling soup pot. The soup moved a little when the tripe was put in, but when she took the chopsticks out, there was nothing on it anymore.
“Woah!”
Connie stared at the empty chopsticks, stunned. Oh dear, it went in but never came up.
There was a layer of dried cut chilis and sichuan peppers in the red soup pot, and the thin tripe disappeared in the pot as soon as it went in.
Connie tried to find the tripe in the soup pot by dragging the chopsticks around, but she couldn’t find it at all.
“You can quit looking for it. That piece of tripe had already lost its soul.” Camilla pointed at the alarm clock at the side.
“I am sorry, tripe. Please rest in peace.” Connie retrieved the chopsticks with grief. It seemed like this piece of tripe was not meant to be hers. Her chopstick skills simply wouldn’t allow her to complete the eight dips action, so she had to give up on tripe, this novel food item. She picked up the hot pot manual again.
“Duck intestine. Use the chopsticks… Repeat this action for eight times until the duck intestine curls up.”
Connie was speechless for a moment as she stared at that long and narrow duck intestine. Then, she raised her head and asked Camilla, “Will we be starved to death?”
Camilla pondered that seriously before she stared at Connie’s throat. “Why not let me have a bite then?”
“No, no. Let us continue eating the hot pot instead.” Connie retracted her neck, and continued to flip through the manual.
***
Different from the two clueless people in the restaurant, the others outside had already sat around the table, and made their own individual dipping sauces with Mag’s instructions.
The customers in the line had already surrounded the table in three loops, and looked at them curiously. Boss Mag said they were going to show them what was hot pot dipping.
At first, everyone thought he was going to show them how he cooked, but looking at the situation now, it didn’t look like it.
“Boss Mag is actually so young.” Vanessa, who was standing in the front, was sizing up Mag curiously. She had been to the royal kitchen a few times, and the top chefs were old. Even the youngest was a greasy middle-aged man.
However, this Boss Mag only looked like he was in his early thirties. He was tall and had good skin. He definitely didn’t feel greasy at all. The two thin mustaches on his upper lips even added on to his mature charisma. There was always a warm smile on his face, which gave people a good impression.
“Moreover, there are so many beautiful maidens.” Lola was staring at those maidens. Every one of them was so beautiful that they were comparable to the princess, and they were just the service staff of the restaurant?
“Boss Mag, are you going to show us how you eat it?” Harrison asked.
“Yes. The hot pot is a new way to enjoy good food. However, everyone might not be familiar with it, so we are going to demonstrate it first. When the hot pot is released officially, everyone will know how to eat it,” Mag said with a smile.
“It was bad enough when it was only Little Boss eating in front of us. Now, everyone in the restaurant is going to eat in front of us. This is going to be really bad,” Harrison said aggrievedly.
The other customers also seemed to suddenly realize what was going to happen soon. Their expressions all began to become weird.
“First of all, we are going to make a dipping sauce that we like for ourselves. This will make the food that was cooked in the same pot better suited to your taste.” Mag showed his dipping sauce’s saucer to the crowd before holding the manual up in his hands. “This is a manual on how to eat the hot pot. It has listed all the ingredients’ cooking methods and time. Just follow the instructions, and then dip the cooked food in the dipping sauce. The delicacy will be ready to enjoy.”
“So, this also means that for this hot pot, we got to cook the food by ourselves?
“We still have to do it ourselves? Can’t we have it ready made?”
“I am a killer in the kitchen. I’m afraid I might kill myself.”
“It sounds so troublesome. I am only 18, am I able to do that?”
All of them began to have a discussion after hearing that. They were very doubtful about this new method of eating.
“The soul and fun of the hot pot is in the participation. You can chitchat while you wait. Slow down the pace of life and enjoy the good food is the true essence of the hot pot.” Mag shook his head smilingly before he placed his finger to his lips. “Please keep quiet while watching others eat.”
“Be good and keep quiet.” Amy turned around and gravely said to everyone, “I am very hungry now.”
All of them kept quiet after seeing the dancing purplish-blue flame in Amy’s hand. However, they were still looking at Mag with a suspicious gaze. If they could make delicious food by themselves, why would they have come to Mamy Restaurant?
Mag retrieved his gaze from the customers, and said to the people sitting at the table, “You can cook anything in the hot pot, but when it comes to the top three most scrumptious items, the tripe and duck intestine could take up two of the spots.
“Use the chopsticks to pick up a piece of tripe and place it into the boiling soup pot. Make sure the tripe is submerged in boiling red soup and wait for one second. Then, take it out of the soup pot immediately and let it cool for one second before putting it back into the pot again quickly. Repeat this action eight times until the tripe has blisters, and that will be the perfect timing. Roll the tripe one round in the dipping sauce, and blow at it gently twice before putting it into your mouth…”
Mag was chewing the spicy and fragrant tripe. Every mouthful was crisp and bouncy. The spicy taste blossomed at the tip of his tongue, and all the sweat glands on his body opened up in the agitation. Tiny drops of sweat began to appear on his forehead…