Rebirth 07: Starting with Saving a Bankrupt Restaurant

The most common type of chicken feet I see on a daily basis are the pickled chicken feet or braised chicken feet sold in supermarkets or convenience stores.

These are made with lemons. To be precise, I've never even seen chicken feet made with lemons before, let alone eaten them.

"Try this, lemon chicken feet."

"Boss, lemon with chicken feet, how can that taste good?" Shan Wei shuddered as he finished speaking.

Shi Ying, without any hesitation, began to taste it.

I've tried ingredients like frogs, crayfish, and rabbits, as well as cuts of beef such as beef tongue, beef heart, and beef tripe.

This chicken feet dish is quite common for most people; it's just a dish with lemon added, right?

How could Shi Ying possibly doubt the taste of her own boss's cooking skills?

"Because of time constraints, some of the chicken feet had their bones removed, while others were simply cut into three pieces without any processing."

After finishing a lemon chicken foot, Shi Ying didn't say anything, but silently picked up another one and continued eating.

Seeing this, the others also silently started eating.

Shan Wei wanted to ask, but seeing everyone else tasting the food, he was too embarrassed to ask.

I also realized that I was being a bit dramatic, so I stopped waiting.

I ate a piece of lemon chicken foot that hadn't been deboned. Although it wasn't deboned, Zhou Wen had cut the chicken foot into three pieces and soaked it for a while, so it was quite flavorful.

The lemon flavor isn't actually very strong, since this sauce isn't just made with lemon juice; it also contains other seasonings.

Lemon is actually a fairly common seasoning. For seafood, meat, and fried dishes, lemon juice can mask the fishy or gamey smell of these foods.

The fruit acids in lemon juice can also enhance the natural umami flavor of food.

Lemons are used in many places as a simple seasoning.

The taste of these lemon chicken feet is truly undeniable. In fact, Shan Wei often hesitates like this, waiting for others to try them first before making a choice himself.

Although I know my boss's cooking skills are undeniable.

If Zhou Wen were to make fried insects one day, Shan Wei would never try it, no matter how it tasted.

While I acknowledge their trust, I don't have the same unconditional trust as Shi Ying; there are still some concerns.

A bowl of lemon chicken feet was devoured in less than ten minutes, leaving only some broth in the end.

"Do you think it's better to remove the bone or not?" Zhou Wen asked.

"Boneless," Shi Ying was the first to give her answer.

The boneless chicken feet were soaked in the sauce inside and out, resulting in a rich flavor.

It's also very enjoyable to eat; you no longer need to gnaw on the bones and spit them out.

Boneless chicken feet have a stronger flavor on the outermost layer, but once you get to the inside, they have almost no flavor at all.

The main reason for this is that Zhou Wen did not prepare it in advance, so the soaking time was not long enough. If it had been soaked for a longer time, the flavor would have penetrated more deeply.

Others felt the same way, preferring boneless chicken feet.

This situation was to be expected, since boneless lemon chicken feet in later generations can be considered a snack for lazy people.

Since everyone here is young, it's quite a bit of a struggle for them to eat chicken feet.

A serving of lemon chicken feet costs six yuan. If we move back in time...

Since May, the prices of many foods have been rising.

Like the most common types of meat, chicken feet are no exception.

During the spring months of March to May, the price of poultry meat might be around four or five yuan. Then, from June to August, the price of poultry meat continued to rise, reaching its peak in August.

It's going to cost seven yuan per jin now.

Fortunately, in September, the price finally rebounded somewhat, returning to around six yuan per kilogram.

After all, he runs a restaurant, and even though there are some dishes that the restaurant doesn't serve, Zhou Wen is always keeping track of market prices.

Of course, during this period, the restaurant's prices remained unchanged, and the portion sizes remained the same.

At noon, lemon chicken feet were also a new dish.

The diners who came to the restaurant were also considering whether or not to order the lemon chicken feet.

Lemon chicken feet are actually positioned more like a cold dish.

Braised dishes like braised chicken feet are usually eaten with alcohol.

However, everyone was intimidated by the name.

Lemon chicken feet? Do lemon and chicken feet taste good together?

"Would you like to try these lemon chicken feet?"

The two customers who came to the store started discussing the lemon chicken feet.

"I feel like this name is a bit strange. Maybe I should ask the staff what kind of food this lemon chicken feet is."

"Alright."

As he spoke, the man also called out to the restaurant staff.

Shi Ying saw this and quickly came to the side.

"Hello, this new lemon chicken feet is just chicken feet with lemon, right?" a customer asked.

Shi Ying thought about it and realized that this statement was not quite accurate. Lemon chicken feet do contain lemon, but the flavor is not actually that strong.

So he added, "The lemon is added to enhance the aroma."

"Oh, I see. This dish must have been developed by the owner himself, right?"

At this point in time, you probably won't be able to find a recipe for lemon chicken feet anywhere.

Shi Ying nodded as well.

"It's like braised chicken feet from outside, a kind of snack to go with drinks," Shi Ling said.

"Snacks to go with drinks?"

"Yes, that's right."

After some conversation, the two diners roughly understood what this lemon chicken feet dish meant.

However, the two did not ultimately choose the lemon chicken feet.

I was thinking of coming back tonight if I wanted to, so I decided to give it another try.

I'm also afraid that while eating, I might not be able to resist having a couple of beers.

Surprisingly, not a single serving of the lemon chicken feet was sold in the first hour before lunch.

"Boss, it seems like no one has ordered lemon chicken feet so far." Ren Xuan, who was helping out in the kitchen, also noticed this.

Zhou Wen nodded slightly, not very worried.

Given the restaurant's current capacity, even if the food doesn't sell and goes to waste, it's actually a relatively small loss.

Besides, it might not necessarily be a waste; you can make it for yourself or give it away later.

Moreover, Zhou Wen didn't think that these lemon chicken feet wouldn't sell out completely.

Soon, the order for lemon chicken feet came in.

The person who ordered the food was also a regular customer of the restaurant, the owner of a hardware store not far from the restaurant.

"These lemon chicken feet must be a new product, right?" The hardware store owner's belly was quite prominent.

Shi Ling nodded and said, "The restaurant has some new dishes today."

"How are the sales?" the hardware store owner asked as well.