From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

After all the guests arrived, Feng Zhengming returned to the kitchen to begin cooking and serving the dishes.

One dish after another was served to the guests.

Different dishes will be offered to suit different guests’ needs.

This may also be what distinguishes Feng Zhengming's Old House Restaurant from other high-end restaurants.

Since the beginning of the 21st century, Shanghai has seen a number of upscale restaurants.

In particular, some foreign Western restaurants have entered the domestic market.

It has also had a significant impact on many domestic restaurants in Shanghai.

But Feng Zhengming has always stood firm.

The main reason is that the menus of other high-end restaurants are often customized.

In other words, you can't order food according to your own preferences when you arrive at the restaurant.

You can only choose one menu, and then you can only taste the dishes on that menu.

This approach is not wrong. After all, many ingredients in high-end restaurants need to be prepared in advance. In order to ensure quality and freshness, it is impossible to prepare a lot of high-end ingredients in advance.

Therefore, a menu is definitely determined based on the specific ingredients that the restaurant purchases today.

The menus at different price levels only vary in a few dishes, with little difference in the overall ingredients used.

This way, we can save a lot of procurement costs and avoid stockpiling a lot of materials in the warehouse.

Feng Zhengming's approach is different from theirs; he allows guests to order according to their own needs.

You can choose from the menu prepared by Feng Zhengming, or you can order dishes one by one yourself.

His approach has won him a lot of popularity in China.

Even some foreigners who have tried it have gradually come to like this style of ordering.

Feng Zhengming dared to let customers order dishes individually.

In reality, he doesn't hoard a lot of raw materials.

The main reason is that he can make different dishes using the same main ingredient.

Therefore, when he makes purchases, he will buy more of the main ingredients.

Then, based on the most abundant main ingredient today, determine today's main menu.

While it appears to be a menu where customers can order their own food, it actually focuses on the main ingredients that Feng Zhengming has chosen for today.

However, because of Feng Zhengming's superb skills, he was able to let his guests taste different flavors.

Different dishes, even those using the same main ingredient, can produce different flavors.

Just like tonight, a batch of large yellow croakers that Feng Zhengming had ordered in advance were delivered.

So there will be quite a few dishes featuring large yellow croaker on tonight's menu.

Feng Zhengming can indeed make some different dishes with large yellow croaker.

For example, the simplest and most unpretentious way to cook at home.

There's also the braising method used in Shandong cuisine.

And a traditional classic dish in Shandong cuisine, yellow croaker in soup.

There's even sweet and sour yellow croaker, which is also a Shandong dish from the Jiaodong region.

There are so many ways to cook just one yellow croaker, making tonight's customers feel that their trip was well worth it.

Besides yellow croaker, Feng Zhengming also prepared some fine beef for tonight.

I specially prepared a stir-fried beef with scallions for my family.

The beef is Wudi's Black King Kong, made from the tenderest cuts, sliced ​​thinly, and stir-fried with the best scallions from Zhangqiu.

The resulting beef was incredibly tender, complemented by the subtle sweetness of the scallions and the aroma of black pepper.

It could absolutely be called the pinnacle of stir-fried beef with scallions.

Not only my family, but also some of the Shanghai gourmets who came to eat tonight really enjoyed this dish.

The unique sweetness of scallions, the rich aroma of scallions, and the tender slices of beef.

In particular, the addition of black pepper after Feng Zhengming's improvements further enhanced the flavor of this dish.

A key point to this dish is to avoid letting the scallions release too much water.

Therefore, after the dish is plated, it should be in a state where there is almost no broth at the bottom of the plate.

The broth coats the beef and scallions.

That's how you make it taste better.

In the private room where the two grandfathers were, they were enjoying the stir-fried beef with scallions and were quite satisfied with the dish.

Grandpa Feng: "This dish shows that Zhengming's skills have not been lost."

Grandpa Situ: "It's definitely not lost. His stir-fried beef with scallions is probably unmatched by many restaurants in Jinan."

Uncle Feng Jiandong ate several bites in a row, and was quite satisfied.

"This beef is great. Nowadays, a lot of beef doesn't taste like beef at all, but this beef has a really good beef flavor. Paired with the scallions from Zhangqiu, it's a perfect match."

Auntie looked at the dish with some curiosity: "How did Zhengming manage to make this? How come it doesn't have any broth?"

Uncle San laughed: "Hahaha, if you can make it, wouldn't you become a master chef?"

Grandpa Situ chuckled and explained, "It's difficult to do at home, mainly because the firepower of the stove isn't strong enough to quickly cook the scallions and beef, thus locking in the moisture and preventing the soup from simmering."

Auntie San reached out and gently patted Uncle San: "Look, Uncle Situ said it's the stove at home that's faulty."

My third uncle joked, "Why don't you go downstairs and try using Zhengming's kitchen stove?"

Grandpa couldn't help but scold, "What nonsense are you spouting now? Do you think you can just casually try out the stove in the kitchen?"

Upon hearing this, Feng Jiandong knew his father was a little angry, so he quickly changed his tune: "I was just joking. Actually, my wife, your cooking at home is also very delicious. I love your braised beef."

Feng Shengnan immediately followed her father's lead and flattered her mother: "Yes, Mom, your braised beef is delicious."

Lin Yun smiled as she was praised by both father and daughter.

"Okay, okay, if you two praise me together, I won't be angry anymore."

The second aunt seized the opportunity to speak up: "The third son is praising you because he wants you to continue cooking for him at home."

Auntie glared at Uncle and said, "I'm not doing this anymore. Everyone should eat at Zhengming's restaurant."

Grandpa Situ nodded: "What the third brother's family said is right. From now on, we should eat at Zhengming's restaurant. It will save you from having to work at home. You are already busy with work, and it is too hard to cook at home."

Grandpa agreed, saying, "That's good too, at least we don't have to work so hard cooking."

As dish after dish was served, some of the later dishes began to feature innovative designs by Feng Zhengming.

For example, stir-fried conch slices and cabbage with water chestnuts.

This dish further demonstrates Feng Zhengming's mastery of both knife skills and cooking techniques.

The conch shells are very thin, almost as thin as lotus leaves or cabbage leaves.

The stir-frying process requires extremely precise control of the heat.

After cooking, the cabbage should not release water, and the conch slices should also retain their crispness and tenderness.

When you eat it, the crispness of the cabbage and the snail slices blend together.

The seasoning is very light, and it doesn't overpower the flavors of the conch slices and cabbage.

This dish was also very popular with both grandfathers.

"Maybe it's because I'm getting old, I don't like those greasy dishes anymore, but this stir-fried cabbage is really good."

"I never expected that the conch slices paired with the cabbage would taste so good."

Aunt nodded: "Yes, the conch slices are sweet, and the cabbage also has a faint sweetness. Eating them together makes for a very refreshing taste."

Feng Zhengming knew that his two grandfathers preferred lighter dishes, but it couldn't be too bland. So, after the stir-fried conch slices and cabbage, came a richer, more flavorful braised catfish.

Feng Zhengming selected the highest quality part of the catfish.

This part of the fish also contains some oil, which will make the broth thicken after braising.

Placing it after the stir-fried snail slices and cabbage, the flavor is just right.

That evening, Feng Zhengming and his two senior brothers cooked a sumptuous dinner for their families.

This allowed the wives and children of the eldest and sixth senior brothers to finally enjoy the cooking skills of their two senior brothers.

Feng Zhengming made a special arrangement for his two senior brothers to cook some dishes for their families.

In the past, my two senior brothers rarely cooked at home.

Tonight was a treat for my family, so my two senior brothers prepared the dishes with great care.

My eldest brother made a stir-fried chicken dish for the family.

This dish is also a favorite of the eldest brother's son.

The sixth senior brother made a dish of crab with hibiscus.

This dish isn't one that the kids like to eat, but it's one that Sixth Sister-in-law really enjoys.

Feng Zhengming even prepared very fresh sea crabs especially for his sixth senior brother.

Feng Zhengming personally carried the dishes prepared by his two senior brothers upstairs to his two wives.

The eldest sister-in-law and the sixth sister-in-law both smiled when they saw the dishes their husbands had prepared.

"Your eldest brother still cares more about his son."

"Sister-in-law, you can't say that. The dishes that my eldest brother and Minghai cooked, when put together, didn't they take care of us and the children?"

Feng Zhengming chimed in, "That's right, both senior brothers are definitely as good to you as the other two. It's just that it's impossible for them to cook the same dishes. So the eldest brother cooks for the children, and the sixth brother cooks for the two sisters-in-law."

Hearing this, the eldest sister-in-law smiled and said, "You really know how to make excuses for your eldest brother."

Just then, the eldest and sixth senior brothers each carried in a plate of food.

Li Huidong: "I knew it. Making only one dish of stir-fried chicken with soy sauce wouldn't be enough. Your sister-in-law would definitely scold me."

Zhang Minghai: "Haha, we're back again. This time we've prepared a different dish for everyone."

When the two dishes were placed down.

The eldest brother made boiled shrimp pieces this time, while the sixth brother made stir-fried liver tips.

Of these two dishes, the braised shrimp pieces are one of my sister-in-law's favorites.

Stir-fried liver tips was a dish that Sixth Brother made for the children, as a way to nourish them.

Feng Zhengming smiled: "Sister-in-law, look, does your brother still remember your favorite shrimp dish?"

The eldest sister-in-law smiled when she saw the cooked shrimp pieces placed in front of her.

"At least he has a conscience; he still remembers what I like to eat."

Luo Qing smiled and comforted him, "Senior Brother is just not good at expressing himself. Actually, Senior Brother has always had Sister-in-law in his heart."

Sixth Sister-in-law: "Yes, the eldest brother looks serious, but he has always been very thoughtful. For example, when we go shopping together, the eldest brother will carefully help you pick out things, while my Minghai will just wander around with the kids."

Zhang Minghai quickly corrected him: "I was just offering to help you take care of the kids so you could choose carefully, wasn't I?"

Sixth Sister-in-law: "Don't give me that. You just didn't want to help me pick things out, so you took the kids and ran off."

Hearing that Sixth Brother's little scheme had been exposed by Sixth Sister-in-law, Feng Zhengming and the others couldn't help but laugh.

The children in the private room listened to their parents' conversation and quietly smiled.

Feng Zhengming: "No matter what, men from Shandong will still care about their families."

That's absolutely true; Feng Zhengming and his fellow apprentices have always taken great care of their families.

In recent years, while Li Huidong has been in charge of Feng Zhengming's Huiquanlou, he still takes care of his family, and even his sister's family.

Zhang Minghai brought his parents and in-laws to live in the urban area of ​​Yancheng, mainly for the convenience of taking care of them.

Today's meal was a thoughtful arrangement by Feng Zhengming.

This will allow the two senior brothers to show off in front of their families.

The taste of the food is no longer important; it's the thought that matters most to the family.

That evening, Feng Zhengming and his two senior apprentices, along with everyone in the kitchen, not only wanted their families to feel their sincerity.

Similarly, customers who made reservations for the restaurant tonight also tasted the flavors of home from the various home-style dishes.

The store wasn't open very late that night.

Around 9 p.m., most of the restaurant's guests had already left.

Upon learning that the guests had left, Feng Nuanyou immediately became smug.

She called the children who had come with her that evening, and they went upstairs to the attic to play.

Although Feng Shengnan followed them out, she hesitated when she learned that they were going to the attic.

"Youyou, let's not go up there. We might have to go back soon. What if something happens if we go up there to play like this?"

Feng Nuanyou: "It's okay, Auntie, we can go up and play. There are no guests now."

Feng Shengnan still hesitated: "Why don't we ask your mother?"

Just as he finished speaking, Feng Zhengming walked up.

Hearing Feng Shengnan's words, he smiled and said, "It's alright. If you want to go up and play, I'll take you up to have a look."

The children immediately looked at Feng Zhengming.

Feng Nuanyou rushed to her father and hugged him immediately.

"Hehehe, Dad, are you done with your work?"

Feng Zhengming: "I'm almost done with my work. If you want to go up to the attic to play, I'll take you up there to have a look."

Feng Nuanyou immediately cheered, "Great! Great!"

The other children, especially several boys, were eager to go up.

Feng Zhengming led the children up to the third floor and to the ladder leading to the attic.

Feng Zhengming reached down from the roof and pulled a rope down with all his might.

In front of the children, a folding wooden ladder was pulled down from above.

Seeing this scene, the group of children couldn't help but gasp in surprise.

Even Feng Shengnan thought the design was ingenious.

Feng Zhengming had the children line up, with the older children going up first to help the younger ones, and then he himself would go up last.

The children found the attic very novel.

When Feng Zhengming came up, he saw that the children still didn't know where to go.
He beckoned the children to follow him, and he walked to the large window on the roof of the attic, reaching out to push it open.

Then the children looked in amazement at the starry night sky outside.

If you sit in the attic at night, it feels like you're having dinner under the stars.

Looking up at the starry sky, Feng Shengnan couldn't help but exclaim, "It's so beautiful!"

Feng Zhengming: "Next time we have a chance, I'll take you guys to eat here, okay?"

Upon hearing this question, the children all answered in unison, "Yes."

After playing in the attic for a while, the children all rushed to tell their parents about their experience in the attic.

Amidst laughter and cheerful conversation, the old-style restaurant closed for the evening. (End of Chapter)