From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Following Feng Zhengming, we came to the private room of Huiquanlou.

Jiang Chengzhe was a little surprised when he went upstairs to the corridor outside the private room.

"Zhengming, the decoration here is really great."

Hearing Jiang Chengzhe's praise, Feng Zhengming just smiled indifferently.

"I just did some simple renovations here. I put up some wallpaper, redecorated all the lights, and redid the doors of each private room. There's nothing special about it."

Jiang Chengzhe shook his head and looked carefully at the decorations in the corridor.

"Zhengming, you are too modest. The decoration here is very advanced. People in Quancheng may not notice it. If compared with Jufengde, the decoration style here is very good.

The corridor on the second floor here has no natural light, so it would normally appear dark.

But you use lights to make the light here brighter, so that people feel it is very spacious when they go upstairs.

Then the wallpaper you use here is a relatively simple one, and the lighting fixtures are also decorated in a correspondingly classical style.

Plus these wooden doors, it feels like walking into an ancient corridor."

After listening to Jiang Chengzhe's analysis, Feng Zhengming was somewhat surprised at Jiang Chengzhe's understanding.

In fact, when Feng Zhengming renovated Huiquan Building.

He had indeed carefully thought out the design of the corridor outside the private rooms upstairs.

As Jiang Chengzhe analyzed, Feng Zhengming originally borrowed some design ideas of corridors from classical architecture.

These wallpapers pasted on the walls of the corridor were specially found by Feng Zhengming through his third uncle and Liu Jiasheng.

Wallpaper that is very similar to classical garden patterns.

Including the lighting decorations, Liu Jiasheng also helped to contact and specially customized a batch.

As for the doors of all private rooms, they are designed to match the wallpaper and corridor lights.

Feng Zhengming specially found an old carpenter to redesign and build each door.

If you look carefully, you will find that the patterns on each door are even slightly different.

And many people may not know that the lighting design of the corridor outside Feng Zhengming's private room was also done through the relationship found with the help of Chen Sifu, and he asked a university professor to help with the professional lighting design.

The corridor outside the private room can appear bright without the need for densely arranged lights.

At that time, Feng Zhengming found Chen Sifu and hoped that he could help find people in the relevant field of light research to help with the design.

Chen Sifu felt quite strange about his request?
Later, after listening to Feng Zhengming's explanation of the situation, Chen Sifu learned that he had indeed used his previous connections to find an old professor for help.

Feng Zhengming had some wonderful ideas in these corridors, but the guests who came to eat hardly noticed them.

But Jiang Chengzhe was very careful and discovered his design of the corridor outside the private room.

Feng Zhengming's impression of Jiang Chengzhe suddenly improved.

He saw that Jiang Chengzhe was a person who observed everything in great detail.

So when he is in the kitchen, he will point out all kinds of problems in the kitchen.

When he came to the corridor outside the private room, he immediately noticed the uniqueness of the corridor design.

Feng Zhengming didn't say much.

The reason why he made so many designs for Huiquan Building was simply to make it stand out.

Of course, another very important reason is that these fantastic ideas do not require too high design costs.

Jiang Chengzhe looked carefully in the corridor and stepped into the private room with Feng Zhengming.

Naturally, some designs have been done in the private rooms.

On the one hand, the wallpaper in the private room is different from the floor and the corridor.

On the other hand, each private room has different decoration designs according to the light coming in through the windows.

Of course, the most amazing thing in the private room must be the huge landscape photos on the wall.

Different private rooms represent cities in Qi and Lu, and the photos show very representative scenery of the cities.

Jiang Chengzhe looked at the photos and listened to Feng Zhengming's explanation.

He was surprised again.

"Zhengming, how on earth did you come up with these designs?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and replied: "When I took over Huiquanlou, I felt that as a time-honored brand, Huiquanlou should still have some characteristics.

I thought Shandong cuisine is the representative cuisine of our Qilu region, and Huiquanlou is a restaurant serving Shandong cuisine, and it is located in the provincial capital, Quancheng.

It should have the characteristics of each place, so the private rooms are designed like this, with the names of the cities in Qi and Lu as the names of the private rooms, and pictures of representative scenery of different cities are hung on the walls of the private rooms. "

After the introduction, Feng Zhengming continued talking without waiting for Jiang Chengzhe to speak.

"I think that every customer who comes to Huiquanlou can not only taste our good craftsmanship, but also feel the customs and cultural connotations of our Qilu in Huiquanlou."

After hearing this, Jiang Chengzhe turned his head and looked at Feng Zhengming in surprise.

At this moment, he suddenly realized that there seemed to be a big gap between him and Feng Zhengming.

Originally, he thought that Feng Zhengming, like himself, was a person who devoted himself to cooking.

But after seeing the private rooms upstairs, Jiang Chengzhe realized that he was wrong.

Feng Zhengming is not only a skilled cook, he is also a person with great artistic appreciation.

He can use his appreciation of art to complement his dishes with various other arts.

Just like the design of these private rooms in front of us.

When you walk in, you will feel very beautiful and comfortable.

Naturally, it will make guests willing to sit down and wait patiently for the food.

This is something that many restaurants and even many skilled chefs tend to overlook.

The objective environment often affects the mood of customers.

It will naturally affect the customers' experience of tasting food.

Jiang Chengzhe knew that such a design did not exist even in Hong Kong City, let alone Quancheng City.

However, Jiang Chengzhe is well aware of the advantages of this design.

Because Jiang Chengzhe had been abroad and had seen restaurants with similar designs there.

He also consulted chefs from restaurants abroad.

The answer I got was very similar to what Feng Zhengming said.

Chefs all said that delicious food needs to be tasted in the right environment.

If the environment does not make guests comfortable, how can they be in a good mood to enjoy the food?

Jiang Chengzhe found it hard to understand how Feng Zhengming, a Shandong cuisine chef from Quanzhou, could know all these things?
Now Jiang Chengzhe is very impressed with Feng Zhengming, the champion of the national cooking competition.

My previous admiration was for his craftsmanship.

The ability to learn and integrate demonstrated at the national cooking competition.

Now Jiang Chengzhe is convinced because Feng Zhengming not only knows cooking, but also knows things in other fields.

We visited each private room one by one.

Jiang Chengzhe carefully discovered that each private room had a different layout. Even the lighting design of each private room was different.

All these designs and arrangements are intended to make customers feel comfortable when entering the private rooms.

This will allow customers to be more patient and savor the food.

After the visit, Jiang Chengzhe said to Feng Zhengming earnestly: "I really admire you. I didn't know it before, but after visiting your Huiquan Building, I realized how great you are."

Feng Zhengming saw Jiang Chengzhe say this so seriously.

He couldn't help but feel a little amused.

"You don't have to say that, right? I'm not that great. Although I am a little better than you all in the national cooking competition, I still think I still have a lot of room for improvement."

When Jiang Chengzhe heard this, he was stunned at first, then he raised his head and looked at Feng Zhengming in disbelief.

"I thought you were a very modest person, but I didn't expect you to be so rude."

Feng Zhengming responded with a smile: "Well, I'm telling the truth. I do have a lot to learn and room for improvement, but I'm still better than you."

Jiang Chengzhe really couldn't refute it.

Who says he is indeed the top scorer?

Besides, the dishes prepared in national competitions are indeed difficult to surpass.

Feng Zhengming smiled and put his arm around Jiang Chengzhe's shoulders, and as they walked out, he told him some of his new ideas.

"I've been researching some other ways to cook lobsters. I was wondering if I could chop the lobster into shrimp paste, then beat it into shrimp paste, and then make it into lobster balls? The inside should be runny.

It is coated with bread cubes and fried to a crispy outside, with lobster meat in the middle that is chewy and runny in the center.”

Hearing Feng Zhengming's idea, Jiang Chengzhe couldn't help but feel it was somewhat unique.

"Do you want to make lava lobster balls?"

Feng Zhengming nodded: "Yes, it doesn't have to be made into balls, you can also make them into oval lobster buns, and they should taste good when fried."

Jiang Chengzhe thought for a moment and said, "Then can we use other shrimps as the shrimp paste in the middle? The lobster outside can be chopped into granules, so that the taste of the lobster can be better preserved."

Feng Zhengming nodded, but after thinking about it, he came up with another approach.

"Do you think it would be better to slice the lobster into thin slices, stick them all on the outside of the shrimp paste balls, wrap the shrimp paste balls, and then coat the lobster slices with a layer of crispy batter, and slowly fry them in low oil temperature?"

Jiang Chengzhe was shocked by Feng Zhengming's bold idea. He had never thought of such an approach.

"I haven't thought of this method, but is it better to cut it into dices or slice it into thin slices and wrap it? Maybe you need to try it to know."

Feng Zhengming then came up with a new idea.

"If you slice the lobster into thin slices and wrap it outside, you can fill something between the lobster meat and the shrimp paste balls, so that the whole ball can present a layered effect."

Jiang Chengzhe just felt that Feng Zhengming's ideas were becoming more and more unexpected.

Jiang Chengzhe himself had never thought of doing something like this.

But Feng Zhengming dared to think so boldly.

The key lies in Feng Zhengming's attitude. He seems to really want to give it a try.

This also makes Jiang Chengzhe a little bit looking forward to it.

He also wanted to see what Feng Zhengming would make the molten lobster ball look like.
Before Jiang Chengzhe could digest Feng Zhengming's bizarre idea about lobsters.

Feng Zhengming then suddenly thought: "Perhaps sea cucumbers can be cooked in a similar way. Wipe the surface of the sea cucumber dry, spread a layer of flour on it, coat it with a layer of crispy batter, fry it, and finally pour sauce on it."

Jiang Chengzhe was a little stunned by what Feng Zhengming said.

He didn't quite understand why Feng Zhengming suddenly came up with these two new dishes.

Then Jiang Chengzhe thought to himself: Is he going to combine these two dishes?

Feng Zhengming immediately said, "We can combine the two dishes and make a golden dragon spitting golden beads."

When Jiang Chengzhe heard this, he could only smile bitterly in his heart: As expected.

He also helped Feng Zhengming think carefully about the dish he had conceived.

"But isn't your method a bit too difficult? Especially slicing the lobster meat into thin slices and sticking them on the outside of the shrimp paste balls. You also have to add a layer of something in the middle. This is extremely difficult."

Feng Zhengming smiled and replied: "If it is done in a restaurant, the process can be simplified as much as possible."

Jiang Chengzhe was shocked when he heard this: "Could it be that you are planning to use this idea in some kind of competition?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and nodded: "Yes, if this wonderful idea can be successful, it must be tried once in the competition. I think it is really feasible."

At this moment, Jiang Chengzhe couldn't laugh.

Because when he thought about it carefully, Feng Zhengming's idea was indeed not bad.

Just being able to make molten lobster balls is definitely amazing to many people.

He then coats the outside in a crispy batter and deep- fries it, making the crust golden brown.

It is also paired with sea cucumbers that are also coated with crispy batter and fried to a golden crispy shell.

Make it into what he called a golden dragon spitting golden beads.

If such a dish were really made, Jiang Chengzhe felt that even the worldly tycoons in Hong Kong would not be able to resist the temptation of such a dish.

As long as Feng Zhengming's design is clever and the dish tastes good enough, Jiang Chengzhe believes that with just this one dish, he will win the favor of many wealthy people.

Which wealthy person would not want to eat a dish that symbolizes wealth?

Jiang Chengzhe was a little surprised when he thought of this and asked, "Did you just come up with these two dishes?"

Feng Zhengming shook his head and said, "How could it be that I just thought of it? I have thought of many ideas recently. Today, you are here, so I will talk to you about it and see if it is really feasible."

After thinking about it carefully again, Jiang Chengzhe was still not sure whether it was feasible.

"I'm afraid we still need to make it and see the effect."

Feng Zhengming nodded: "Yes, we really need to try it out to know the effect."

Feng Zhengming then asked, "By the way, how do you usually cook lobsters in Hong Kong?"

Jiang Chengzhe told Feng Zhengming some common methods of cooking lobster in Hong Kong.

After listening to Jiang Chengzhe's story, Feng Zhengming felt that overall the practices were quite common.

Such as fresh lobster sashimi, stir-fried lobster slices, and baked lobster.

Of course, in Hong Kong, there is also the practice of battering and deep-frying lobsters, and then stewing and stir-frying them.

Jiang Chengzhe also talked about a trick he learned from abroad.

How to cook lobster balls in thick soup.

After listening to what Jiang Chengzhe said, Feng Zhengming still felt that they were too ordinary.

He became more certain of his idea.

Use some innovative ways to cook lobster.

The two people came down from upstairs and then returned to the kitchen together.

At this time, the kitchen has already started to get busy, preparing various ingredients for the evening business.

Jiang Chengzhe took a look and couldn't help but feel eager to try it. (End of this chapter)