Food: Randomly set up stalls, even the little guy is drooling.

For more than ten minutes, none of the ten recommended contestants on the east and west sides of the venue received a single vote.

The stalls in front are like layers of defense, blocking people from getting here. Those who have made it this far are either those who have already tasted one or two dishes and are half full, so they are more cautious about their last meal; or they are particularly patient diners who insist on tasting the most delicious food, and their standards are not low either.

Yang Song is such a gourmet. On the Meizhong platform, he is above Lv.5 Senior Popular Food Reviewer and Lv.6 Professional Food Reviewer.

He was clearly someone who knew all too well about the shady dealings of this competition. He already knew there were ten recommended players, so he headed straight for the westernmost side.

Sure enough, an indescribable fragrance stood out among all the other scents.

He looked in the direction of the aroma and saw that Cao Jianjia had just opened the oven.

What is it? He was starting to get excited.

The skin is golden yellow and shiny, dotted with sesame seeds.

Shortbread. Smelling the faint aroma of caramelized sugar in the air, Yang Song frowned; he didn't like sweets.

Cao Jianjia used a special small spatula to gently and accurately move each pastry on the baking tray, keeping the pastry shell intact without a single crumb falling off.

The gourmet in our group nodded in agreement, "The layers of aroma are exquisitely crafted; I must try it."

Cao Jianjia cut open a shortbread and divided it into several portions for tasting. Yang Song was right; it was filled with white sugar, and the filling had melted into an amber-colored syrup.

The fellow gourmand picked one up with a fork, and as soon as he did, the flaky crust crumbled down like scattered gold dust.

How crispy must the pastry be to bake it like this? Yang Song, who was originally going to the stall next door, became interested again and went closer to take a look. The layers of the pastry were distinct, one on top of another, which really tested the pastry chef's skills.

The gourmet in the group put the sample in his mouth, and with a soft sound, crumbs fell all over his hands.

"How is it?" Yang Song couldn't help but ask.

"Not too sweet or cloying, the amount of sugar is just right, and the best part is the taste—it's so fragrant, so incredibly fragrant!" My fellow gourmet praised it highly and immediately exchanged his ticket for another one.

Yang Song thought to himself, "With this pastry made like this, how could it not taste good? Although I don't like sweets, this pastry is worth having."

Yang Song handed over a ticket and picked up a white sugar shortbread.

Holding it in my hand, I found that the layers of flaky pastry were as thin as cicada wings. This is a test of the pastry chef's skill in layering and flaking. To achieve this effect, the most important thing is to be even. If there is even a little bit more, it will be completely different and you will not be able to achieve this crumbly effect.

He took a bite and savored it. First, there was the crispness of the pastry; he couldn't tell whether it was from his teeth breaking it open or from the pastry naturally cracking. The sugar filling melted directly in his mouth, so smooth and sweet.

Hmm, it also has a hint of buttery aroma. This is a combination of Western pastry techniques, but the flavors don't clash at all. On the contrary, it prevents the sugar filling from becoming too sticky.

He chewed on the shortbread, the crispness of the crust, the softness of the filling, and the aroma of sesame seeds mingling in his mouth.

After swallowing, a faint sweetness lingered in my throat.

Finally, he couldn't resist licking the remaining crumbs from his fingertips, still wanting more.

"It's been a long time since I've had such amazing pastries," one of my fellow gourmets couldn't help but exclaim.

Needless to say, any customer who tried Cao Jianjia's white sugar shortbread would inevitably have to exchange their ticket for one.

On the other side, Wang Sheng's location, although not as crowded as the entrance, still had a steady stream of people passing by, so the flow of customers wasn't a major issue.

He inherited his skills from Biranju, a shop ranked among the top ten in the country for steamed buns, so he naturally had plenty of confidence. The preliminary round's rule of narrowing down the contestants from 100 to 20 made him unhesitatingly choose the Lava Custard Bun.

This is Biranju's signature product, and also his most skillful and confident work.

Hu Xi even joked, "Why use a sledgehammer to crack a nut?"

No matter what, even if you're very confident, you still have to give it your all.

As the first batch of custard buns came out of the oven, Wang Sheng smelled the aroma wafting from the steam and felt that it had reached its usual standard.

Among the many savory buns around, his custard bun is like a refreshing and unique stream, which has indeed attracted a lot of attention.

"Wow, these buns look really delicate. Are they sweet?" A woman with a heavy accent leaned closer to take a look.

"It's a custard lava bun, would you like to try it?" Wang Sheng introduced with a polite smile, "It's the signature dish of our Nanbian Biyiju restaurant, with a rich, creamy custard filling."

The older sister picked up a piece and tried it. The golden, flowing center looked interesting. She chewed it, nodded, and said, "Mmm, it's sweet and has a strong milky flavor. Not bad, not bad."

After saying that, he turned around and went to a stall with a long queue not far away.

Wang Sheng's smile froze.

However, his smile had to remain unchanged. A dozen or so customers who came to sample the food left comments like "Not bad" or "Not bad," but very few were actually willing to use their tickets to buy one. He only got two tickets and sold two custard buns.

So you're just looking at the photos and not voting?

This isn't right. If this continues, we might ruin our own reputation. Wang Sheng thought about it carefully. Words like "not bad" or "not bad" sound like praise, but in this kind of competition, they just mean we're still lacking something.

As he was still thinking this, an elderly gourmand with gray hair walked up to his stall, took a bite, and shook his head.

"You're not satisfied?" Wang Sheng pressed.

"Young man, you have the skills, the dough rose well, but the lava filling is a big problem."

Wang Sheng's heart tightened: "Please enlighten me."

The old man picked up another piece with his fork, pointed to the filling, and said, "You're too focused on the appearance."

Wang Sheng looked puzzled. In a competition like this, shouldn't the first thing to do be to attract diners with aroma and appearance?

Seeing his reaction, the old man continued, "To achieve the flowing sand effect, the ratio of butter to heavy cream was slightly higher."

"Of course, this might be a plus in your usual shop, because ordinary people might not be able to taste the difference. But have you considered that this is the north, the tastes are different, and a slight difference can lead to a huge difference?"

The old man looked around and sighed at him, "Bi Ran Ju, Xie Mancang, Master Xie's craftsmanship shouldn't be like this."

These words were like a bucket of cold water poured over Wang Sheng, instantly sobering him up. He was too focused on attracting customers, and his own skills couldn't balance appearance and taste, which is a major taboo in the culinary profession.

Wang Sheng was startled; this old man actually knew his grandmaster, Xie Mancang. He quickly asked, "How should I address you?"

"I've never forgotten the custard buns he made back then. Young man, when you learn a craft, you can't just learn the shape without learning the taste." The old man chuckled, left with those words, and walked away. "My name is Qi Baiwei."

"Qi Baiwei, Qi Baiwei..." Wang Sheng murmured the name, feeling as if he had heard it somewhere before.

He couldn't resist chasing after them when he heard a joyful shout.

"Ultraman! It's Ultraman selling steamed buns!"