Jiapingguan Chronicle

Chapter 2771 Madam Shi 11.0
"Tianxiang Pavilion?" Jin Miaomiao looked blankly at Shen Cha and then at Chu Han. "What kind of place is this? It sounds a bit improper?"

Shen Cha had never heard of it before. She shook her head at Jin Miaomiao, then looked at Chu Han, and then at the Third Grandfather who had lived in Jiangnan for a long time when he was young.

"What do you mean by 'not proper' place? What are you thinking with your little heads?!" Chu Han said, both amused and exasperated. "That's a proper restaurant, and one with a hundred-year history at that."

"The name Tianxiang doesn't sound very respectable; you'd never guess it's a restaurant at first glance."

“When I heard my great-aunt say it, I had the same reaction.” Xiao Fengqi nodded to Jin Miaomiao. “I even said, how could the Miao people take such a young child to such an improper place? After hearing this, my great-aunt pinched my ear and said, ‘That’s a restaurant, a place to eat.’”

"See!" Jin Miaomiao spread her hands at Chu Han, "I'm not the only one who thinks this, am I? This Tianxiang Tower should be renamed to avoid misunderstandings."

Hearing Jin Miaomiao's words, Third Grandfather couldn't help but chuckle and said to Chu Han, "Listen to this, they even want them to change their name! Tianxiang Tower in Yangzhou is already..." He counted on his fingers, "almost two hundred years old, older than us, and they still want them to change their name!"

"Two hundred years?" Jin Miaomiao exclaimed. "It's not an easy thing for a restaurant to stay open for two hundred years."

"Really!" Xiao Fengqi was also surprised to hear this. "It's really amazing that it can be passed down for two hundred years. To be honest, gold and silver shops, clothing shops, or even pharmacies can all last this long, but restaurants..." He paused for a moment, "...it's too difficult."

“It’s really not easy.” Shen Cha nodded. “Every season, or even every ten days, we have to research new dishes, pay attention to recipes, cater to the tastes of the masses, and be original. Especially after a new dish comes out, we have to be prepared for it to be imitated.”

“That’s right.” Jin Miaomiao stroked her chin. “We also have our own teahouse, so we know very well how difficult it is to do this business. If we don’t come up with anything new for a few months, we’ll be neglected.”

"Let alone teahouses, even that little beverage shop would close down in less than a month if it didn't come up with new drinks," Shen Cha chuckled. "So, Tianxiang Restaurant must have a lot of amazing dishes to have been open for so many years, right?"

"You two..." Chu Han looked at Jin Miaomiao and Shen Cha, "Xiao Cha grew up on the border, so it's understandable that she doesn't know about Tianxiang Restaurant, but Miaomiao, you..."

“I really didn’t know. My family isn’t very interested in food and drink, so…” Jin Miaomiao shrugged. “Besides, it’s in Yangzhou, which is quite far from me. But even if my family were in Yangzhou, I probably wouldn’t go. It’s a century-old restaurant, and with the name Tianxianglou, I feel like eating there would be very expensive.”

"How should I put it?" The third master, who used to frequent Tianxianglou in his youth, stroked his chin. "It's not particularly expensive, but it's not particularly cheap either. My senior brother and I would spend about five taels of silver each time."

"Isn't this expensive?"

Jin Miaomiao and Xiao Fengqi exclaimed in unison, attracting the attention of Xia Jiu, Shen Jiu, and Qi Zhifeng, who were chatting nearby.

Three children, each carrying their own bowl, walked over to them and sat down comfortably on the ground.

"What are you talking about?" Xia Jiu looked at everyone. "What isn't expensive?"

Have you heard of Tianxianglou?

“Of course!” Xia Jiu nodded matter-of-factly. “It’s a famous century-old restaurant in Yangzhou, and it has a branch in Xi’an.” “Huh?” Jin Miaomiao was taken aback and looked at Shen Cha. “Really?”

Shen Cha didn't speak, but simply shook her head gently. Whether at the border or in Xijing City, she rarely ate at the manors outside, and knew nothing about the restaurants in the capital.

"You don't know either?" She looked at Jin Miaomiao, who still looked blank. "Didn't you say you'd eaten at every restaurant in Beijing?"

“Exactly!” Xia Jiu patted Jin Miaomiao on the shoulder. “A couple of years ago when we went back to Beijing, we ate at Su Xiang Guan, which is a branch of Tian Xiang Lou in Beijing. But,” he shrugged, “it was just so-so.”

“Branch stores are definitely not as good as the main store.” Chu Han nodded, exchanged a glance with Third Grandfather, and said, “Tianxianglou’s most famous dishes are roast duck, boiled dried bean curd, crab meat balls, and crab-stuffed oranges.”

“Yes, their braised pork hock is also good. It’s stewed until very tender and doesn’t get stuck in your teeth at all, but the portion is a bit small.” Third Grandfather nodded, wiped his drool, and said, “Besides that, there’s another dish that you must order. It’s called ‘All-Encompassing,’ which is basically a stew of many very expensive ingredients, such as chicken, duck, fish, and meat.”

"This..." Jin Miaomiao frowned. "Can it taste good?"

"Delicious!" Chu Han nodded. "It's very delicious, but it's not available every time you go. It depends on luck. And the reason this dish is so popular is because it tastes different every time."

"Not the same taste?" Xiao Fengqi asked curiously. "What does that mean? Have the ingredients been changed?"

“Yes!” Third Grandfather nodded to Xiao Fengqi. “I’ve eaten it about three or four times, and each time it was different, but it was always delicious. Generally speaking, this is the soul of the dish. Every time the owner gets some fresh ingredients, he tries them out, and the taste is different from before. It’s a very special experience.” He looked at Xia Jiu. “Hasn’t the one in the capital made it?”

“I’ve never heard of it at all.” Xia Jiu shook her head gently. “I don’t even have the boiled dried bean curd strips or crab meat balls that you’re talking about.”

“Because Xijing City isn’t by the sea, this kind of thing wouldn’t be fresh in the capital, so it definitely wouldn’t be available there.” Chu Han smiled. “However, this ‘All-Encompassing Variety’ dish is the most expensive of all.” He looked at Third Master, “Your meal cost five taels of silver, which is about the price of this dish, right?”

“That’s right. The other dishes aren’t actually that expensive. Ordinary families can afford to come here once a month. But this dish is really expensive. When we miss it, we miss it. When we do come here, we feel like we’re doing ourselves a disservice if we don’t order it.” Third Grandfather looked at Jin Miaomiao. “Your master also likes this place. The vegetarian dishes are even better.”

“I know that,” Xia Jiu raised her hand. “Tianxianglou used to specialize in making vegetarian meals for several temples in Yangzhou. Their vegetarian food tasted just like meat dishes, so it was very famous. Unfortunately, Tianxianglou no longer makes vegetarian meals; they say…”

"The chef who could cook vegetarian meals has left."

Xue Mu, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up. Seeing that everyone was looking at him, he spread his hands.

"None of you knew?"

"what do you know?"

"Old Mo!" Xue Mu looked at the group of people in front of him and smiled helplessly. "Old Mo is the chef at Tianxiang Restaurant who can cook vegetarian meals!"