Food Wars, my food not only glows!

　"The characteristics of satay noodles are rich soup, fresh ingredients, and complex flavor."

　Seeing Tadokoro Megumi's wide-open mouth and surprised expression, Bai Yuan couldn't help but burst into laughter.

　"Teacher Bai Yuan, you're so knowledgeable! Have you eaten this before? Or have you seen it in a cookbook and felt that you know a lot about it?"

　Everyone knows that.

　Not far away, Mito Ikumi looked at Shiroyuki, who was speaking eloquently, with admiration in her eyes.

　"It's not just that I ate it; I spent a whole week practicing it. If I hadn't mastered it, you probably wouldn't be seeing me now."

　Bai Yuan shrugged with a wry smile. Back then, there was a Fujianese man in the dark cuisine world who wanted to compete with him in Fujian cuisine. At that time, he served satay noodles.

　Thanks to this, he conducted considerable research on satay noodles.

　In fact, although you can add many toppings to satay noodles, it doesn't mean you can do whatever you want.

　There are also some restrictions. Seafood with an overly strong fishy smell and offal will make the soup base taste unpleasant. Secondly, ingredients with an overly strong flavor, such as pickled bamboo shoots, are also not suitable.

　For a moment, many taboos about adding ingredients to satay noodles flashed through Bai Yuan's mind, and a melancholy expression appeared on his face.

　Driven by curiosity and a desire to create a completely new flavor of satay noodles, he ended up making a lot of bizarre dishes—not just any bizarre dishes, but dishes with an extremely dark taste that even dogs would shake their heads and walk away from.

　In Fujian, well-known satay shops usually help customers prepare their dishes in advance and specify which ingredients cannot be added together to avoid unexpected results.

　"Speaking of satay noodles, I saw a satay noodle shop over there. Let's go there!"

　As they pondered, a charming little shop appeared before them, its signboard bearing the three large characters for "Satay Noodles".

　Alice Nakiri trotted forward, stood at the shop entrance, looked left and right, her face full of excitement.

　"I don't think this place tastes very good, let's try another one."

　Sniffing the enticing aroma in the air, Erina Nakiri frowned slightly before turning to Alice Nakiri beside her.

　"Indeed, although the broth of satay noodles can be enhanced to some extent by adding toppings, it does not mean that the flavor of the broth can be completely ignored. The broth of this shop is not very good."

　Beside him, Bai Yuan nodded slightly in agreement upon hearing Nakiri Erina's words.

　Judging from the aroma wafting through the air, that old-fashioned, unchanging scent, he could basically tell that this was a chain satay noodle shop.

　The satay sauce in these shops is all transported from the main store, not made fresh by the chef. The aroma and flavor are much worse, and most importantly, they taste basically the same.

　Eating at a restaurant like this doesn't matter where you eat; there's no need to make a special trip to Fuzhou to try it.

　It's also worth mentioning that many satay noodle shops use satay sauce recipes developed many years ago, which have long been obsolete in the market.

　It is only because the brand has accumulated considerable influence and gained public recognition over the years that it has been able to survive.

　The most outrageous one is a satay sauce called Lao Gan Die.

　Their recipe was ahead of the industry for decades, dominating the national satay sauce market and on the verge of becoming the sole player.

　As a result, the founder's descendants complained about the high cost of production. Once they took office, they immediately replaced the best ingredients with cheaper ones and raised prices, causing the market share to decline at an alarming rate every year.

　"That place over there is pretty good. Although it doesn't have anything special, it uses high-quality ingredients and has a very authentic satay noodle flavor."

　As he spoke, Bai Yuan turned his gaze to a satay noodle shop behind the chain satay noodle shops.

　Because there was a luxuriously decorated shop in front of them, this shop wasn't doing well. When Bai Yuan and his group arrived, there were only two college students who had just finished eating satay noodles and were about to leave.

　Looking around, the shop's decor was quite ordinary, but the dining tables were spotlessly clean and the tableware was neatly arranged, clearly indicating that the owner was a meticulous person.

　What would the guests like?

　Upon suddenly seeing so many customers, the shop owner put down the rag in his hand, a look of surprise and uncertainty on his face.

　He seemed incredulous that his shop could receive so many customers at once, but he still stepped forward to greet and inquire, with a gentle smile on his face.

　"I want fresh shrimp, squid, oysters, and minced garlic, plus a few quail eggs and a fried egg."

　"Yes, these ingredients are enough."

　Looking at the boss in front of him, Bai Yuan spoke a little quickly, but the boss nodded lightly and looked at the girls behind Bai Yuan.

　"Crispy pork, fried tofu, and fried eggs."

　Yoshino Yuuki's voice rang out. Since Shirabuchi-sensei said that random combinations would affect the taste of satay noodles, then it should be fine for her to order some ingredients that can absorb the soup!

　Fish balls, beef balls, and water spinach.

　"Pork liver, lean meat slices, large intestine, and chives."

　"steak..."

　They went back and forth, making their requests, while the boss remained silent, only nodding repeatedly, making one wonder if he had actually memorized all those dishes.

　"Fresh shrimp, squid, oysters..."

　That's about it. If there are no problems, I'll go to the kitchen to prepare.

　After Bai Yuan and the others finished speaking, the shop owner repeated what they had just said. Bai Yuan and the others went from being nonchalant at first to being surprised later.

　.

　Because the owner actually repeated every single word of the dishes they ordered.

　What a terrifying memory!

　"This boss is quite capable!"

　Alice Nakiri muttered to herself, and sat down in a corner of the shop with Shirai Awakening, Erina Nakiri, and Hisako Shinomiya. The others also chose their own seats.

　In an instant, the once somewhat empty shop became unusually lively.

　"With such a memory, he's a natural-born culinary prodigy, and at his age, his skills are certainly not weak. Fuzhou is truly full of masters!"

　Looking at the old man's back, Bai Yuan's voice revealed a hint of admiration. It truly is worthy of being the capital city of Fujian Province, where hidden talents abound.

　"That's right. It should be said that China has too many hidden masters."

　Erina Nakiri's voice rang out, tinged with reverence: "If you were to ask which country has the most culinary masters in the world, it would undoubtedly be China!"

　"Not only are there many masters, but Chinese cuisine is also among the best in the world, with a wide variety of dishes and different styles in each region."

　Sichuan cuisine is known for its numbing spiciness and savory aroma, and it excels in seasoning; Cantonese cuisine emphasizes the original flavor and focuses on light and fresh tastes; Shandong cuisine is mainly savory and fresh, and it is good at cooking seafood and broths...

　Having been influenced by Shiro Awakening and having studied Chinese medicinal cuisine since elementary school, Hisako Shinto already had a biased view of Chinese food. She had a kind of fanatical worship of Chinese food, and when she heard the others talking about it, she couldn't help but chime in.

　Every country has its own unique characteristics.

　I used to think Chinese cuisine was the best in the world, but after learning about cuisines from various countries, I've discovered that their dishes all have their merits.

　Bai Yuan's voice rang out, but he did not overly affirm Hisako Shinto's words.

　When he was young, he thought Chinese cuisine was unbeatable, but now, as he gets older, he has gradually come to understand that there are always people better than you.

　Moreover, the truly skilled people are the chefs, not the cuisine of a particular country.

　If a country's cuisine, from ancient times to the present, is its body, then its chefs are its soul.

　A dish without a soul is just an empty shell, and a soul without a body will soon dissipate.

　The two complement each other and are indispensable.

　"Teacher Bai Yuan is right, this needs to be viewed dialectically."

　However, compared to China, our country's cuisine is indeed relatively weak, with very few representative dishes, and we still need to work hard to promote it.

　Erina Nakiri's voice rang out, and she could somewhat understand what Shirai had said.

　When she was a child, whenever she was eager to learn Japanese cuisine, her father would stop her and make her spend her time on foreign cuisine, especially French cuisine.

　When she got a little older, her father was kicked out of the Nakiri family by her grandfather because of her misguided education, and that's when she officially came into contact with Japanese cuisine.

　Having been influenced by French cuisine before, coupled with Azami Nakiri's improper education, Japanese cuisine seemed particularly 'simple' and lacking in character to her, making her have no desire to learn it at all.

　Later, as she grew up to be fourteen, she met Hakubuchi, who had just arrived at Totsuki Culinary Arts. Under his guidance, she gained a new understanding of Japanese cuisine and began to view its advantages and disadvantages dialectically.

　At the same time, she also realized that there is no absolutely useless culinary system in the world, only useless chefs who cannot make good use of it!

Volume 1: Transmigrating into Food Wars, Becoming Alice Nakiri's Master: Chapter 278: Kawahira Forfeits, Finalists List

　"Let's not talk about these things while we're eating, the satay noodles are here!"

　Alice Nakiri did not join the group's discussion; her gaze remained fixed on the kitchen behind them, her face revealing a strong sense of anticipation.

　"Satay noodles are here!"

　Eat it while it's hot, it tastes really good!

　Just then, a clear and bright voice came from the kitchen. Although the old man was old, he walked briskly, calling out as he carried a plate of four steaming bowls of satay towards Bai Yuan.

　"It's finally here! It looks delicious!"

　Erina Nakiri pulled out a few pairs of chopsticks and distributed them to the people at the table. Lately, because she had been hanging out with Bai Yuan and the others, she had been frequenting these small, unassuming restaurants.

　A year ago, Erina Nakiri could never have imagined that she, who used to be extremely picky about the ingredients served in high-end restaurants, would now be so looking forward to the food at a small street-side eatery.

　The person who changed her personality was the young man in front of her, Bai Yuan.

　"Eat it quickly, you can already clearly feel how delicious it is just from the aroma."

　Feeling the strange gaze from Erina Nakiri, Bai Yuan smiled faintly and then looked down at the satay noodles in front of him.

　The orange-red satay soup had a slight sheen of oil, with a few golden garlic bits and bright green chives floating on the surface.

　Tender pink shrimp, white squid rings, and plump oysters float among the ingredients, accompanied by fried tofu soaked in broth and smooth alkaline noodles. Just looking at them makes your mouth water!

　Besides that, there's the irresistible aroma.

　The piping hot satay broth releases a rich aroma of peanuts, dried shrimp, and garlic, along with the sweet and savory scent of seafood.

　.

　The aroma of garlic, the freshness of chives, and the richness of satay sauce intertwine in layers, captivating the senses of the group even before tasting the food.

　Scoop up a spoonful of satay sauce, and the salty, savory, and slightly spicy flavor bursts on your tongue. The unique richness of peanuts blends perfectly with the sweetness of seafood, and the aroma of minced garlic lingers in your throat. It's rich yet not greasy.

　Bai Yuan picked up a piece of shrimp and took a bite. The firm, bouncy texture of the shrimp meat immediately filled his mouth, and a sweet juice seeped out as he bit into it. This juice, combined with the rich aroma of the satay sauce, enhanced the umami flavor even more. The squid was crisp and tender, with slightly curled edges. Dipped in satay soup, it was sweet and savory, becoming more fragrant with each chew—absolutely amazing!

　He ate quickly, swallowing a large bowl of satay noodles without even leaving a drop of soup in the bowl. Bai Yuan's face was full of enjoyment.

　There's nothing more satisfying than enjoying a big bowl of juicy and flavorful satay noodles after watching a game!

　Everyone else was also eating with satisfied expressions, their eyes filled with surprise. They clearly hadn't expected to find such delicious food on the street, and their bellies were all round from eating.

　After eating and drinking to their hearts' content, they leaned against the wall like Ge You in a relaxed pose, while Bai Yuan got up to pay the bill. Next to them, Nakiri Alice looked at the owner and asked him a question.

　"Boss, your skills are so good, you could easily be the head chef at a big restaurant, or at least be in charge of the noodle soup.

　Why forgo a fancy restaurant and instead open a small, sparsely populated shop in such a remote location?

　Alice Nakiri voiced her doubts, her face filled with curiosity.

　Although the satay noodles made by the old man in front of me are not top-grade, they are still a superior quality among first-grade dishes, which shows the old man's skill.

　Such a talented chef would be highly sought after anywhere; he shouldn't be buried in such a small place!

　If you're retired and have nothing to do, then opening a small shop is a way to pass the time.

　But looking at the faded, patched clothes he was wearing, he didn't seem like the kind of well-off old man who had nothing better to do than look for something to do.

　He most likely opened this shop to make a living.

　Why would an elderly man with such strength be reduced to running a small shop in a place that can't even be considered a street corner? It's behind that satay noodle chain store, and he probably doesn't get many customers all day!

　"Sigh, this is a long story, and the situation is a bit complicated. It won't do you any good to know, so please don't ask any more questions."

　The old man opened his mouth as if he wanted to tell them his troubles, but after hesitating for a long time, he didn't say anything in the end and just sighed.

　"It's okay, tell us what you've been through. Maybe we can actually help. Even if we can't be of much help, we can still be good listeners."

　Bai Yuan's voice rang out, and he sensed from the old man that there seemed to be more to the story.

　Although I'm too lazy to deal with these trivial matters, since I've already asked, I might as well get to the bottom of it and see if I can be a good person for once.

　Given Bai Yuan's current size, managing this matter shouldn't be too difficult for him.

　After all, he is the youngest seven-star chef in history. As long as it doesn't violate any principles, everyone is willing to give him face.

　"Actually, it's also my fault. I was too impatient when I was working back then, and I was overly critical of some issues, which offended the son of the head chef at the restaurant where I worked."

　Looking into the sincere eyes of the young man before him, the old man hesitated for a few seconds before finally speaking.

　Over the years, he has been suppressed by his peers and fallen to this state. Only he knows the bitterness he has suffered. Now that someone is willing to listen and let him speak out about what has been weighing on his mind, it is a good thing.