From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Among the Shanghai gourmets who frequently visit Feng Zhengming's Old House Restaurant is an elderly man.

The old man was different from other gourmets; he didn't come every day, and when he did, he rarely joined the other gourmets.

But every time the old man came, other gourmets in Shanghai would show him considerable respect.

The elderly always make reservations at least two days in advance when they want to come to the restaurant.

Moreover, the elderly would always ask what the main course would be when making a reservation.
At first, the staff responsible for receiving and making reservations were a bit bewildered when they encountered elderly customers.

Because most customers who make reservations don't ask what the main course will be for the day of the reservation.
The only thing the service staff could do was find Feng Zhengming and ask him how to answer.

Upon learning this, Feng Zhengming immediately realized that the old man was a connoisseur of fine food.

So later on, whenever the elderly made a reservation, Feng Zhengming would personally answer the phone.

And explain to the elderly person in detail what the main dish for the day is.

They will also teach the elderly some cooking methods for the main dishes.

Later on, the old man even started offering his own insights.

For example, the elderly man would carefully ask Feng Zhengming if he could add a certain seasoning, based on his own understanding. He would also give some suggestions on the use of certain spices.

Over time, Feng Zhengming and the old man developed a somewhat age-gap friendship.

Every time the elderly come over for a meal, they bring a bottle of their favorite wine, which they leave at the restaurant if they can't finish it.

Sometimes, Feng Zhengming would take out some of the wine that the Kaufman couple had sent him and give it to the elderly man to taste.

The old man clearly had a personality that was unwilling to take advantage of others.

So every time Feng Zhengming gave the old man a bottle of fine wine to taste, the old man would give Feng Zhengming a new bottle of wine as a gift.

This kind of gentlemanly interaction, where give and take went back, made Feng Zhengming and the old man get along very well.

The elderly man had also made a reservation in advance today. It was during the reservation that he revealed to Feng Zhengming that the Overseas Food Association had sent someone to Feng Zhengming's restaurant.

What surprised Feng Zhengming when he learned the news from the old man was what his identity was.
How did they even know that an overseas food critics association sent someone to evaluate their restaurant?

The old man arrived a little late tonight, and his attire was not his usual simple one. Instead, he wore a very well-tailored suit and shoes polished so brightly they reflected his face.

The old man even got his hair done.

The most eye-catching were the two elderly ladies who came to the restaurant with the old man.

The two elderly women were about the same age as the elderly.

She was wearing a very well-fitting and elegant old-fashioned cheongsam.

What's most surprising is that the two old ladies look almost identical.

These are twin elderly women.

The elegant and noble air they exuded made even the young waitresses in the restaurant pale in comparison.

The restaurant manager greeted the three while sending someone to the kitchen to inform Feng Zhengming.

In the kitchen, Feng Zhengming watched as a waiter rushed in.

He asked with a smile, "What's wrong? Why are you in such a hurry?"

The staff member, panting, pointed outside but couldn't utter a single word for a long time.

Feng Zhengming waited patiently, while reassuring him, "Don't rush, catch your breath first and then we'll talk slowly."

After catching his breath, the waiter quickly said, "Uncle is here outside."

Feng Zhengming nodded: "Okay, I'll go take a look in a bit."

The staff member then added, "The uncle brought two grandmothers with him."

Feng Zhengming's expression changed, and then he gave instructions to his two senior colleagues in the kitchen. He straightened his chef's uniform and walked out of the kitchen with the service staff.

The two senior brothers were somewhat surprised to see their junior brother walk out.

"Are people from overseas food associations here?"

"Maybe? But didn't they just say that some uncle was coming? And he brought two grandmothers with him?"

"It seems that Zhengming is meeting different people in Shanghai."

"Haha, that's right, it's a big city after all."

Feng Zhengming walked out with the staff and immediately saw the three elderly people who had been seated.

He walked quickly to the three elderly people, smiled and bowed slightly to greet them.

"Uncle, you've arrived."

Then Feng Zhengming looked at the two elegant old ladies.

"These two must be aunties, right? Hello, aunties."

Feng Zhengming's completely inauthentic Shanghai dialect made the two elderly ladies cover their mouths and laugh.

The old man laughed and said, "Alright, if you really want to learn Wu dialect, then you should learn it properly from me when you have time. What you're saying is so ambiguous that no one can understand you."

Feng Zhengming: "Okay, Uncle, I'll come and ask you for advice when I have time."

Then the old man asked, "Is today's main dish catfish?"

Feng Zhengming nodded: "That's right. Today's main dish is catfish, and the side dishes include shredded eggplant, clear radish and beef brisket soup, and for the soup, I've prepared a vinegar and pepper fish soup, paired with conch slices and yam."

Upon hearing this pairing, the two elderly women immediately became curious.

One of the elderly women couldn't help but ask in her local dialect, "Yam and snail slices and vinegar-pepper fish soup? What kind of combination is that?"

Before Feng Zhengming could answer, the old man asked, "Is it Chinese yam?"

Feng Zhengming nodded: "That's right, the Chinese yam, I specially purchased it from Jiaozuo, after careful selection, using the best section."

The uncle explained to the two elderly ladies in Shanghai dialect, and then introduced Feng Zhengming to them in Mandarin.

“Our national culinary champion has created new and innovative dishes using our domestic ingredients. We’ve wanted to bring you here for a long time, but you’ve always been reluctant to come.”

The two elderly women, one of whom simply smiled and did not speak.

It was another elderly woman who spoke up and said a few words softly.

Feng Zhengming could tell that although the two old ladies were twins, they had different personalities.

Also, neither of the two elderly ladies seemed to speak Mandarin very well, so they mostly tried to keep quiet.

Feng Zhengming then had a local service worker from Shanghai whom he had specially hired come over.

Ask the staff to serve the three men in their local dialect.

Uncle told Feng Zhengming to go ahead and get busy, and asked him to prepare a bottle of slightly sweet red wine.

Feng Zhengming nodded in agreement, bid farewell to the two elderly ladies, and left.

He personally went to select a bottle of sweet wine for his uncles and the others.

This bottle of wine was supplied by a supplier that Mrs. Kaufman helped to find, and it was specially shipped to Feng Zhengming's restaurant.

The wine tastes like sweet grape juice.

Luo Qing also enjoys having a drink from time to time.

Feng Zhengming showed it to his uncle.

The old man smiled and nodded, confirming that they would use this bottle of wine tonight.

After making the arrangements, Feng Zhengming returned to the kitchen. Seeing him return, his two senior apprentices curiously gathered around him to ask what had happened.

Feng Zhengming explained with a smile: "Oh, that uncle from Shanghai is a gourmet from Shanghai. He must have eaten and seen many things in the past, but he's been keeping a low profile these days."

The old house I bought was once visited by the same gentleman who had been there when the previous owner was still alive.

The two senior brothers were somewhat surprised to hear Feng Zhengming say this.

Senior Brother: "I didn't expect there to be such a person in Shanghai!"

Sixth Senior Brother: "Would such a person have been considered a capitalist in the past?"

Feng Zhengming: "No, they should be considered petty-bourgeois intellectuals. In the past, they were also the kind of people who needed to be united in Shanghai. They all contributed to the construction and development of Shanghai."

Before his two senior brothers could speak again, Feng Zhengming continued with his explanation.

"I knew that foreign food critics would be coming to evaluate our restaurant tonight. This uncle told me in advance. Brother, Sixth Brother, you can pay attention to this uncle. Some of the Shanghai gourmets who are coming tonight will show him absolute respect."

The two senior brothers then realized that this uncle from Shanghai was indeed extraordinary.

What Feng Zhengming didn't tell his two senior brothers was...

Uncle was a truly influential figure in Shanghai back in the day.

During the war years, he also helped to raise various strategic materials and transport large quantities of medicines and supplies to Yan'an.

Later in Shanghai, Uncle Ye also organized patriotic individuals to help deal with various financial events.

Even before Hong Kong's return to China, when some Hong Kong tycoons entered the mainland, Uncle Ye was involved in liaison with them.

It can be said that Uncle's life was truly quite glorious.

The twin elderly women who came with the uncle were outside.

Feng Zhengming had heard his uncle mention that they were sisters and had both been his uncle's wives.

However, later, Uncle and all of them got divorced.

As Uncle said when he was chatting with Feng Zhengming.

He didn't want to hurt anyone, so he had no choice but to divorce, and he never remarried after that.

Even now, Uncle lives separately from the two old ladies.

In the past, whenever Uncle came, he would ask Feng Zhengming to make a few side dishes before leaving, and he would make two identical portions of each dish to take back to the two old ladies.

Today, Uncle will bring two elderly ladies with him. Feng Zhengming thinks today might be a very important day for them.

As time went by, all the guests had arrived, and the restaurant was now packed.

Feng Zhengming and his two senior apprentices led the kitchen staff to serve the guests.

The first thing served to all the guests tonight was four cold dishes.

This is a very Chinese way of serving food.

There are three tables of people from the overseas food critics association who came specifically to sample the food tonight.

The three tables were somewhat surprised to see the dishes served in this way.

After all, no restaurant abroad would serve food like this.

However, after the staff explained, the people at the three tables became curious as well.

The four cold dishes are: drunken shrimp, fern and geoduck, preserved egg and oyster, and steamed eggplant salad.

These four cold dishes were enough to impress every guest tonight.

Feng Zhengming's bold and creative approach, using ingredients from all over the world, showcases his creativity and imagination, which surpasses that of ordinary chefs.

The drunken shrimp uses Bohai prawns. The large shrimp are first steamed and then cooked using the unique drunken shrimp method found in Shanghai cuisine.

It has a rich aroma of Shaoxing wine, but the shrimp still retains a certain bouncy texture and a sweet and fresh taste mixed with the aroma of wine.

Bracken fern and geoduck is an even more unique combination. The tenderest part of the bracken fern is selected and simply processed to retain its chewiness and crispness, which is then paired with the crispness of the geoduck.

When eaten together, it truly creates a delicious fusion of delicacies from land and sea.

Century egg oysters come in two different flavors.

One type is a very Sichuan and Chongqing-style spicy flavor, which is made by mixing Sichuan peppercorns and pickled peppers in a cold salad.

Another flavor is more suited to the eastern coastal region, with a unique garlic sauce made from golden and silver garlic poured over it.

The oysters are from Rushan, a famous oyster-producing area in Shandong province.

Feng Zhengming selected only plump oysters that were not particularly large.

It goes perfectly with preserved eggs; the feeling of bursting with juice when you eat them one by one is wonderful.

Compared to the first three dishes, the last one, the shredded eggplant, looked rather ordinary.

When plating, the eggplant shreds retained the eggplant skin and were woven into a unique and beautiful twisted shape.

However, if it only looks pretty, it cannot reflect the skills of Feng Zhengming, the national culinary champion.

When everyone finally picks up this eggplant shred, they will find that the eggplant shred is actually woven together with bamboo shoot shreds.

Both types of shredded vegetables were simmered separately in advance to infuse them with flavor.

It was covered with a unique broth.

When you put it in your mouth, it has a cool and smooth feel, a bit like eating cold noodles.

However, when you put them in your mouth and chew them, the eggplant shreds and bamboo shoot shreds have two different textures.

The two elderly ladies who came with the uncle showed surprise and delight after eating the shredded eggplant.

This flavor is just like the local Shanghai-style eight-treasure chili sauce that they usually like.

However, the way bamboo shoots and eggplant shreds are woven together, resembling the feeling of eating cold noodles, combined with the unique texture, makes it a truly novel experience.

The old man also smiled.

"Our top scholar Feng is truly skilled; these four cold dishes alone are enough to win over those foreigners."

Several Shanghai gourmets who usually eat here almost every day were also amazed by the four cold dishes tonight.

"My goodness, I used to think that our top scholar Feng cooked simple, down-to-earth dishes. I never expected that he could make such ordinary dishes so different."

"Today, Feng Zhuangyuan really pulled out all the stops, with all sorts of surprises right from the start."

"King prawns, geoduck clams, and oysters—it's a truly unique combination of cold dishes."

"I like these shredded eggplant and bamboo shoots; the weaving technique is truly unique."

"Yes, I like it too, especially the slightly sour taste of the eggplant and bamboo shoots, which is sweet and refreshing and helps to cut through the greasiness of the previous dishes."

"I'm starting to get excited. I really want to see what surprises await us today!"

The judges from the three tables of overseas food critics associations were also astonished by these four cold dishes.

First of all, the presentation alone allowed them to experience the magnificence of Chinese style.

Secondly, the combination of ingredients also showed them the abundance of ingredients used in Chinese cuisine.

Finally, and most surprisingly to them, were the four cold dishes, each with a completely different flavor.

Four different flavors, flavors they had never tasted abroad, yet they didn't find them off-putting at all; on the contrary, they quite liked them.

What surprised the judges from several international food associations the most was that the four cold dishes were merely appetizers. (End of Chapter)