From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Feng Zhengming's words surprised his wife, second aunt, and aunt-in-law.

However, her daughter, Feng Nuanyou, was very happy and cheered.

"Hehehe, I knew it. My dad is the best. He can cook all kinds of dishes."

The daughter's coaxing brought his wife, second aunt, and aunt-in-law back to their senses.

Auntie asked curiously, "Zhengming, you can cook local dishes here too? Are the local chefs here really that bad?"

Second Aunt: "It seems that there aren't any particularly famous dishes in Hangzhou?"

Feng Zhengming: "West Lake Vinegar Fish is a very famous dish here, but I came here in advance and talked with the chefs here. They said that the chefs here are not good at making West Lake Vinegar Fish now."

Luo Qing: "I've also heard of West Lake Fish in Vinegar Sauce. I think it used to be said that it was as delicious as crab."

Feng Zhengming: "The traditional way to make West Lake Vinegar Fish is with grass carp, mainly to enjoy the freshness of the grass carp."

Nowadays, due to poor water quality in various regions and the fact that most grass carp are farmed, grass carp naturally have a very strong fishy smell, so if not cooked properly, they will be extremely fishy.

Hearing her husband say this, Luo Qing was a little puzzled: "Very fishy? Don't they remove the fishy smell?"

Feng Zhengming: "This is the key point. According to the traditional way of making West Lake Vinegar Fish, the fishy smell is not removed properly, which is why the current West Lake Vinegar Fish tastes really bad."

My aunt thought for a moment and asked, "So, did they invite you here to improve the West Lake Fish in Vinegar Sauce?"

Feng Zhengming laughed: "Auntie, I didn't know you could joke like that?"

Aunt: "I'm not joking, but when you say that, it sounds very similar."

Feng Zhengming: "Hangzhou invited me here because they really wanted to improve some of their local dishes. They mainly hoped that I could improve the catering situation in Hangzhou."

After all, West Lake is a famous tourist attraction, but the food here doesn't match the beauty of West Lake, which is a bit of a downer.

My second aunt agreed: "That's right. West Lake is very famous. If it doesn't have any representative delicacies, it really doesn't feel perfect."

Feng Zhengming: "So the first thing we want to do when we come here to open a branch is to open a branch with local characteristics, and the second thing is to help them create a restaurant that can match the beautiful scenery of West Lake."

Luo Qing felt a little strange when she heard her husband say that.

"To create a restaurant that perfectly complements the beauty of West Lake? How can that be achieved?"

Feng Zhengming: "Poetic and picturesque."

These four words really did attract Luo Qing, her second aunt, and her aunt-in-law.

However, Feng Nuanyou interrupted everyone's daydreaming.

"Daddy, when are we going to eat? Youyou is hungry, her tummy is all rumbled."

Upon hearing his daughter's words, Feng Zhengming immediately smiled and said, "Okay, let's go eat first and talk while we eat."

So everyone went out together, and Feng Zhengming took them to an inconspicuous family-run shop in the old city of Hangzhou, which was a bit far from West Lake.

As everyone followed Feng Zhengming into the small shop and smelled the delicious aroma wafting from it, they knew the food wouldn't be bad.

Over the years, Luo Qing and her daughter have traveled all over the country with Feng Zhengming.

My second aunt and my aunt-in-law often ate Feng Zhengming's dishes, and the cooking skills of the chefs in his restaurants.

Everyone has their own unique way of judging the aroma of food.

The aroma of the stir-fried dishes in the restaurant tells you that the food must be delicious.

When the proprietress saw Feng Zhengming leading his group, she greeted them with a smile.

"Scholar Feng is here to eat again today? And he brought people with him. Would you like to sit in a private room inside?"

Feng Zhengming nodded: "Okay, thank you, sister. We'll sit in the private room inside."

Follow the proprietress inside; the private room was actually converted from a room in her home.

After sitting down, Auntie asked curiously, "Zhengming, how did you find such a small shop?"

Feng Zhengming: "I was just trying to find out about the food scene in Hangzhou. First, I was treated to a few days of meals at some big restaurants by local chefs, and then I went out to find a place to eat something more down-to-earth, and that's how I found this little shop."

Just then, the boss pushed open the door and walked in.

"What would you like to eat today, Scholar Feng?"

Feng Zhengming: "Let's start with some of your signature dishes. Oh, and please bring the sizzling and spicy stir-fries, as well as the seafood porridge, and two vegetable stir-fries."

The boss nodded in agreement: "Okay, Scholar Feng, please wait a moment."

After the boss left, Auntie asked curiously, "Zhengming, they all know you. Did they prepare this especially for you?"

Feng Zhengming: "What's the point of preparing something special for such a small shop like your aunt's?"

Then Feng Zhengming gave a brief introduction to everyone.

"Actually, although Hangzhou may not have any representative delicacies, the whole of Zhejiang Province still has some good food. For example, Ningcheng and Taicheng, which are close to the sea, both have representative dishes."

The owner of this small shop is from Taicheng, and he has also learned some of the specialties of Ningcheng cuisine.

His seafood is very fresh, and the cooking methods are similar to those in Ningcheng and Taicheng.

Luo Qing immediately said, "Oh, I know Taicheng. I heard there's a very famous restaurant brand there that specializes in seafood and has received a lot of praise both domestically and internationally."

Feng Zhengming: "Yes, this time in Hangzhou, I also met with their founder, Master Zhang, and we even had a friendly sparring session."

"They exchanged blows?"

This piqued the curiosity of his wife, second aunt, and aunt-in-law.

The wife pressed, "Who won?"

Feng Zhengming: "There's no such thing as winning or losing. Our match is more of an exchange. His methods of cooking seafood from Taicheng have given me a lot of inspiration. The owner here will be making a braised yellow croaker dish in a bit. You'll know once you try it."

Oh, and they also have a very unique dish here: sand onion and bean noodles. The flavor is truly delicious.

After a pause, Feng Zhengming gave a detailed account of the fight between the two.

"My exchange with Chef Zhang was a friendly one. I demonstrated some of the ways to cook seafood in Shandong cuisine, which gave Chef Zhang a lot of inspiration. So there was really no winner or loser."

My second aunt was a little puzzled: "Since the dishes from Ningcheng and Taicheng are so famous here, why did we invite you here?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "It's because people in Hangzhou want the food scene to be more diverse. Also, I'm quite famous now, so they hope that I can come here and change everyone's preconceived notion that Hangzhou has no good food."

These words made his wife, second aunt, and aunt-in-law laugh.

Amidst laughter and cheerful conversation, the shop owner served the dishes ordered by Feng Zhengming and his companions.

The first dishes served were small seafood items that had been simply blanched and then served cold.

Although Hangzhou is not located by the sea, these are all fresh seafood delivered from Ningcheng.

When Feng Zhengming saw that the boss had served this first, he asked with a smile.

"How is it? Is the recipe I gave you acceptable?"

The boss immediately gave Feng Zhengming a thumbs up: "Master Feng, your recipe is really great. It made these seafood items sell exceptionally well all of a sudden."

Feng Zhengming: "As long as it sells well, that's fine. The most important thing about seafood is that it's fresh. Boss, you need to make sure to talk to Ningcheng to guarantee the supply of seafood."

The owner assured him, "Don't worry, Mr. Feng, we've already made arrangements with our suppliers in Ningcheng. All the seafood in our shop is guaranteed to be absolutely fresh."

Feng Zhengming nodded: "That's fine then."

After the boss left, Feng Zhengming let his wife, second aunt, and aunt-in-law all try the food. He also picked out a very tender clam and personally fed it to his daughter.

Feng Nuanyou took a bite, and her little face immediately lit up with a smile.

"It's delicious! Dad, did you make this?"

Feng Zhengming: "It wasn't my dad who made it, it was the boss here. My dad just gave them a seasoning recipe."

Luo Qing, her second aunt, her aunt-in-law, and her little cousin Lu Jinghao all thought it was especially delicious after eating it.

The freshness of the seafood is preserved, and the seasoning recipe that Feng Zhengming gave to the boss further highlights the freshness and adds a unique flavor, especially a unique slight sourness, which makes people feel very comfortable eating it.

The unique flavor of the seafood convinced Luo Qing that the restaurant had been recommended by her husband.

Luo Qing felt that no other chef besides her husband could have created such a unique flavor.

After the seafood dishes, there are some very common-looking dishes, but almost all of these dishes are made with seafood.

There was also squid cooked on a hot plate and spicy stir-fried clams.

The main reason is that the ingredients are so fresh that you really can't find any fault with them.

After eating for a while, two very important dishes for the day were finally served.

One is braised yellow croaker, and the other is shallot and bean noodles.

Both of these dishes are prepared in the typical home-style way of cooking by the sea.

But once you actually eat it, you can very directly feel the deliciousness of the seafood.

The rice cake served with braised yellow croaker is also water-milled rice cake from Ningcheng.

The yellow croaker was a large, freshly caught yellow croaker from the sea.

This dish really surprised everyone.

Feng Nuanyou ate with great enthusiasm, gesturing wildly: "Daddy, Daddy, Youyou likes to eat this. These sticky pieces are delicious, and these fish are delicious too."

Hearing that his daughter liked it, Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "I'm glad Youyou likes it."

Luo Qing asked curiously, "This tastes really good, is it difficult to make?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and shook his head: "The method is really not difficult. The reason it tastes so good is simply because the ingredients are good enough."

My second aunt was a little puzzled: "How can such a small shop get such good ingredients?"

Feng Zhengming: "The owner of this shop is from Ningcheng. Her family used to make a living by fishing at sea, so she can get some good products that other shops can't get."

Of course, such high-quality yellow croaker does need to be ordered in advance; otherwise, the restaurant won't prepare it specially.

Auntie immediately understood: "Did you pre-order this large yellow croaker from them?"

Feng Zhengming nodded: "Yes, I made a reservation in advance. I chatted with the owner of this restaurant quite a bit beforehand and I felt that his cooking skills were really good, so I reserved this big yellow croaker."

Aunt: "This owner's cooking skills are really good."

"Right, so every place has its own unique flavor. Whether a city has good food depends on people to discover it, rather than focusing on the shops that are right in front of them."

Feng Zhengming's words made his wife, second aunt, and aunt-in-law instantly understand his thinking.

Most people, when traveling to a city, don't have much time to explore the hidden gems of restaurants in the city.

So they can only eat near tourist attractions, or even just grab a bite at any random restaurant.

This is a very common tourist mentality.

After all, traveling often involves physical exertion, especially when exploring unfamiliar cities.

After visiting tourist attractions, who has time to specifically choose a restaurant based on its quality?
So the problem that Feng Zhengming needs to solve is very simple and straightforward.

Arrange for some shops near the tourist attractions to prepare their dishes.

Not only must it be done well, but it must also have local characteristics.

This approach is exactly the same as his acquisition of old shops near tourist attractions in Beijing.

My wife, second aunt, and aunt-in-law have been in Beijing recently and know very well that this approach is indeed very good.

After being acquired and renovated by Feng Zhengming, the old shops in those tourist attractions in Beijing were all renovated.

Business is booming right now, and they've received a lot of positive feedback from tourists in Beijing.

Many even believe that Feng Zhengming might release his guide to small restaurants and street food recommendations in Beijing this year.

At that time, the small shops that Feng Zhengming acquired near tourist attractions in Beijing should all have a chance to be recommended.

Feng Zhengming could repeat the same process in Hangzhou.

Near the main attractions by West Lake in Hangzhou, various small shops have been reorganized.

However, this time Feng Zhengming clearly doesn't intend to acquire everything and run it himself.

Instead, he plans to take the lead and open his own branch first.

Add some local specialties to your shop.

This will encourage other stores in the surrounding area to make changes.

This tactic is somewhat similar to that of the shop in Hongcheng, Jiangxi Province.

The difference is that Feng Zhengming has already discovered some small shops in Hangzhou. He plans to support these shops so that these delicious shops can appear near tourist attractions or be known by tourists.

So this time, Feng Zhengming came to Hangzhou to open a branch with a plan in mind.

He wants to try a completely new model in Hangzhou, or rather, in the entire Zhejiang province.

This brand-new model is different from his other stores.

Use your own store to drive changes in the surrounding stores, or even the entire city's catering industry.

When Feng Zhengming and his group left after finishing their meal, the restaurant was almost full of people.

Some customers would even greet Feng Zhengming when they saw him.

This greeting wasn't a formality to Feng Zhengming; it was more like a casual meeting between neighbors.

Feng Zhengming greeted everyone and introduced his daughter and younger cousin to them.

The customers who come to eat are clearly locals from the neighborhood.

They all praised the girl for being beautiful and the little boy for being handsome.

On the way back from the shop, Feng Zhengming introduced the shop to his wife, second aunt, and aunt-in-law.

"Don't be fooled by how simply the customers in the shop dress. The people who eat there are all legitimate business owners. Each of them owns a factory or a company."

These words initially surprised his wife, second aunt, and aunt-in-law.

However, my second aunt and my aunt-in-law quickly realized what was going on.

"After all, it's Zhejiang Province, so it's not surprising."

"Yes, Zhejiang merchants have always been very famous."

Back at the hotel, Feng Zhengming and the others went to their rooms to rest, preparing to visit the shop location Feng Zhengming had chosen the next day. (End of Chapter)