On a rainy night, the school beauty knocked on my door and asked for shelter

Chapter 121 A Precious Birthday!
The waiter slowly pushed in a carved lacquered wooden food cart, and the amber sauce in the celadon plate was flowing down the curve of the lobster tail.

"The lobster is smoked with tea, and the chef specially uses Wuyi rock tea and honey to make the sauce, which has a very mellow and sweet taste." The head chef lifted the lid of the gilded bowl with intertwined branches, and the aroma of truffle mixed with the elegant tea fragrance spread out.

"Wow, this tastes so unique!" Zhao Yueyue sniffed, her eyes sparkling.

The waiter smiled gently: "This dish was originally made with rice wine, but because Mr. Huang Mao specifically instructed us to use ten-year-aged tea instead of alcohol for marinating, children can also enjoy it without worry."

As they spoke, the waiter poured homemade plum juice, which was refreshing and appetizing, into each person's Ru kiln celadon teacup.

"Please have some soup to whet your appetite first, and then we will serve the main dishes immediately."

Huang Mao picked up his Ru kiln celadon teacup and raised it to Zhao Yueyue, saying, "Let's raise a glass together to wish the birthday girl a happy birthday."

Upon hearing Huang Mao's words, everyone immediately raised their teacups.

"Thank you everyone." Zhao Yueyue was clearly never having had a birthday party of this caliber before, so she seemed very excited.

After taking a sip of the plum juice in their glasses, everyone's faces lit up with surprise.

While a normal plum juice may feel refreshing and thirst-quenching, it can leave a slightly astringent aftertaste in the mouth.

However, the plum juice at this place didn't have that feeling at all; in fact, it felt exceptionally refreshing when combined with other drinks.

As everyone put down their teacups, the waiter had already brought the dishes to the table.

Lin Yuxi, who was next to Chen Mo, was using a silver spoon to move aside the glass cup supported by a lotus leaf. She then looked at Chen Mo excitedly and said, "Brother Mo, look! These dumplings are so beautiful!"

Chen Mo glanced at the crystal shrimp dumplings. The koi fish pattern on the dumplings was indeed exquisite, with even the scales carved as thin as cicada wings!

As the steam rises, the shrimp dumpling skin gradually becomes translucent, revealing the tender pink shrimp inside.

It looks delicious.

"The chef said these shrimp dumplings should be eaten while they're hot; the flavor will be much worse when they're cold," the head waiter explained at the right moment.

Hearing her say that, everyone took the initiative to taste the crystal shrimp dumplings.

The moment the shrimp dumpling entered her mouth, Zhao Yueyue's exclamation was silenced by the chewy skin—the translucent, translucent skin bounced on her teeth, incredibly bouncy.

The pinkish-orange shrimp inside suddenly burst open with sweet juice, mixed with the aroma of tea and honey, sliding down the side of the tongue and into the throat. The umami flavor is like waves of rising tide, washing over the taste buds in layers.

"The scales are actually crispy!" Zhao Yueyue exclaimed in a muffled voice, her mouth still full of half a shrimp dumpling she hadn't swallowed yet.

The head waiter explained with a smile, "The chef roasts the shrimp shells until crispy, grinds them into powder, and mixes it into the wheat starch, so..."

Before she could finish speaking, Su Yuqing suddenly took a deep breath—the shrimp dumpling she had bitten open contained "fish roe" seasoned with squid ink, and the salty and fresh particles burst in her mouth, creating a very diverse flavor.

"Is this what Michelin three stars are like? It looks like ordinary food, but it actually tastes like countless variations." Su Yuqing couldn't help but marvel at the amazing creativity of these chefs in creating their dishes.

"Be careful, it's hot." At this moment, the waiter pushed the matsutake mushroom and abalone rice in front of everyone. The golden soup rippled in the sunlight and smelled delicious.

While everyone was still eating, the next dish was served.

"Liquid nitrogen chilled hawthorn foie gras, it tastes like ice cream," the supervisor said with a smile to the group of girls.

Zhao Yuanyuan scooped up a spoonful of liquid nitrogen-chilled hawthorn foie gras. The moment the white mist rose, she could indeed taste a hint of ice cream.

It was like eating a smooth, creamy ice cream. Soon, the soft sound of silver bells came from outside the sandalwood lattice, and eight waiters filed in carrying vermilion-lacquered food trays.

With a slight flick of his wrist, the foreman lifted the gilded and engraved cover, releasing steam that carried the delicate aroma of Longjing shrimp across the ink-wash screen.

We had just finished enjoying the shrimp when the next dish, soup, arrived.

"First soup - snow frog wrapped in phoenix feathers." The clear soup in the jade bowl was as clear as glass, and the phoenix feathers carved from egg white were half-submerged in the soup.

Zhao Yueyue scooped up a spoonful and exclaimed in surprise upon discovering it was egg white: "You can sculpt this?!"

At this moment, everyone was convinced that this Michelin three-star Chinese restaurant truly lived up to its price and status.

The crystal-clear wing tips, sculpted from solidified egg white, sway gently on the surface of the soup, revealing the snow frog meat shaped like a peony flower underneath.

They look simple, but they are actually dishes that require a lot of skill and effort.

Huang Mao smiled and pointed to a newly served dish, saying, "This Jade Belt and Silk Robe Ginseng dish took a lot of effort to make."

On the blue and white porcelain plate, sea cucumber was cut open and wrapped in slices of winter melon as thin as cicada wings, drizzled with amber-colored abalone sauce.

He gave the foreman a look, and the foreman, understanding the situation, took out a magnifying glass and placed it in front of Zhao Yueyue. At that moment, Zhao Yueyue was astonished to see that a miniature carving of the "Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion" had appeared on the slice of winter melon.

"That's amazing! But isn't it a bit of a waste of effort? It's just eaten in one bite, it won't change the taste." Zhao Yueyue is a practical person and felt that this dish was a bit too fancy.

Su Yuqing was about to pick up the jade coral roll when she found that Chen Mo had already picked it up for her.

She stole a glance at Chen Mo, who was oblivious to what was happening, and a barely perceptible smile appeared on her face as she sweetly ate the dishes in front of her.

"Try this." Chen Mo was still feeding the animals. He pushed over a honey-glazed ham shaped like a twin lotus flower, the osmanthus sugar threads stretching out as fine, shiny gold lines in the sunlight.

When the waiter brought over the copper pot with the lotus scroll pattern, Zhao Yueyue immediately lifted the lid out of curiosity.

Twelve crystal crab shells emerged from the misty, cold air, with crushed gold leaf sprinkled on top of the steamed crab roe eggs, and underneath was a scene of a broken bridge and snow made of rice flour.

Just then, when the foreman brought out the agate plate with intricate patterns, Huang Mao immediately looked at Zhao Yueyue with anticipation.

When Zhao Yueyue was curious about his reaction, she saw that behind the red silk was a large longevity peach, and on the peach was a lifelike clay sculpture of herself.

Suddenly the curtains were drawn, and as the room darkened, a waiter pushed a glass tower with burning red candles closer.

On the top layer of the ice-crack patterned porcelain plate, the glass tower slowly unfolds, revealing a jujube paste filling wrapped in 128 layers of flaky pastry.

"This is a birthday gift specially prepared for you by Mr. Huang Mao. Happy birthday! Please make a wish and blow out the candles," the head waiter said with a smile to Zhao Yueyue.

As she spoke, the song "Happy Birthday" was played in the room at just the right moment.

Zhao Yueyue glanced at everyone present with surprise and delight. Seeing that everyone was looking at her with smiles, she looked at Huang Mao with gratitude before closing her eyes and making a wish.

At the same time, everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to Zhao Yueyue together, led by Huang Mao.

At this moment, as Zhao Yuanyuan sang, her eyes gradually welled up with tears. She was happy for her sister for being able to meet such a wonderful group of classmates, but she couldn't help but feel a little envious.

(End of this chapter)