184: Happiness is created by contrast

The next period of time was entirely Lu Chuan's personal cooking show.

Ding Xinyang was dazzled by the sight and ecstatic from the aroma.

Even just listening to the rhythmic clanging of the spatulas against the griddle was enough to mesmerize him.

As one griddle delicacy after another emerged, the aroma gradually wafted outwards, spreading further and further.

Until... gradually, a cacophony of voices arose not far away, sounding like many people were heading in their direction.

“It smells so good, so good! Husband, I can’t take this smell anymore, are you sure it’s this way?”

“Wife, I’m very sure, the closer we get, the stronger the aroma!”

“We really made the right choice buying the buffet package at this level; the restaurant actually hired such a skilled teppanyaki chef!”

“Smelling this, I can’t eat my favorite steamed seafood at all; this chef has ruined me!”

“Mommy, I want teppanyaki, I want teppanyaki, take me to eat teppanyaki now!”

“...”

Hearing the sudden clamor, Ding Xinyang snapped back to reality.

He then looked up and saw a large, surging crowd of people approaching them from not far away.

“?”

A trace of bewilderment flashed across Ding Xinyang’s face.

But not long after, he caught the words “teppanyaki” from the noisy chatter.

“So, those people are coming for us?”

Lu Chuan raised his head, glanced at the approaching crowd, then looked at Ding Xinyang and smiled:

“It seems so.”

He Jingrui, however, paid no attention, still engrossed in eating the griddle dishes, with plates already piled into a small mountain beside him.

Looking at the two calm individuals, Ding Xinyang blinked, then looked at the increasingly close crowd, feeling a surge of emotion in his heart.

“To treat an army of foodies rushing to the battlefield as if they were nothing, simply immersing oneself in one’s own culinary world—is this the demeanor of a top culinary master?”

“And having witnessed the miracles created by the culinary master time and again, his companion has long grown accustomed to it, developing a composure that remains unfazed even when Mount Tai collapses before him.”

After sighing, Ding Xinyang thought of himself, feeling a sense of inferiority.

“No wonder the ancients often said that walking with a gentleman, over time, one’s own character will also become noble. Compared to these two in front of me, I am like someone who has never seen the world, easily flustered by external things.”

Lu Chuan did not know what Ding Xinyang was thinking at this moment; if he did, he would probably be amused.

Having run a stall for so long, when was he not surrounded by hundreds or thousands of diners begging to be fed?

What was happening now was just a small scene, as small as could be.

He held a spatula in each hand, dividing the griddle into four sections, constantly flipping the ingredients in each area.

Under his precise control, an invisible wall seemed to be set between each section.

No matter how much oil seeped from the ingredients, it did not affect the ingredients in other areas in the slightest.

And the aroma wafting through the air, fermented by the high temperature, grew even richer.

Lu Chuan’s mastery of heat was already flawless; with just a glance at the color of the ingredients, he could determine the perfect time to take them off the griddle.

“Crispy Pepper Beef Teppanyaki, Spicy Eel Slices Teppanyaki, Baked Baby Lobster, Teppanyaki Scallion-Grilled Lion’s Head Meatball, all cooked. Please enjoy!”

The freshly prepared dishes sizzled, and the rich color combinations provided a delightful visual experience.

Heat and aroma rose, intertwined and lingered, stimulating the taste buds in waves.

Ding Xinyang looked at the four plates of dishes presented to him, his throat working furiously, but he still suppressed his appetite, looked at Lu Chuan, and urged again:

“You should eat some too.”

“It’s fine; while these ingredients are still fresh, I need to process them quickly, otherwise the meat quality will deteriorate.”

Lu Chuan smiled and shook his head, then started cooking again.

Ding Xinyang looked on, lost in thought.

Perhaps, compared to the joy of enjoying delicious food, a chef enjoys the sense of accomplishment when cooking delicious food more.

He thought so and lowered his head to pick up a lion’s head meatball.

Unlike traditional lion’s head meatballs made with pork mixed with flour.

Lu Chuan used local ingredients, hand-pounding the freshest parts of Australian blue lobster and leopard coral grouper, resulting in a more tender and delicate texture.

After being seared at high temperature on the griddle, a golden, crispy crust formed on the surface, with slightly charred edges, gleaming with an attractive amber luster.

The fish and shrimp inside, steamed by the heat, revealed a natural pinkish-white and orange-red intermingling, with faint visible strands of fish meat and the springy texture of shrimp meat.

As he picked up the lion’s head meatball, he also picked up a segment of scallion.

Under the action of heat, the white part of the scallion appeared slightly translucent, while the green leaves turned dark green, blending with the rich reddish-brown of the sauce, making the overall hue of the lion’s head meatball even brighter.

“Gulp.”

Beautiful as a painting, this phrase not only refers to beautiful scenery but can also refer to delicious food.

Ding Xinyang took a deep breath; the fragrant scallion oil, stir-fried from the scallion segment, had permeated the lion's head meatball, blending with the complex aroma of rice wine, soy sauce, and sugar, forming a rich, savory scent that lingered at his nostrils, intoxicating him with its fragrance before he even tasted it.

Munch~

With one bite, the crisp sound of the outer crispy shell breaking echoed in his ears.

Then, a soft and tender texture emerged; the chewiness of the shrimp and the richness of the fish intertwined on his tongue, and the umami flavor exploded instantly.

Subsequently, the pungent and sweet notes of the scallions were released during chewing, both brightening the overall flavor and skillfully balancing the richness of the seafood.

Secondly, the sauce permeated the meat fibers, bringing a moderately sweet and savory taste, with a slight wine aroma lingering in the throat, leaving a long aftertaste.

Finally, the charred aroma from the high-temperature griddle imparted a unique charcoal flavor to the dish, adding layers to the texture.

This baby-fist-sized lion’s head meatball had absorbed the essence of scallion oil and sauce, with every bite a perfect fusion of freshness, aroma, crispiness, and tenderness; one bite warmed both the stomach and the heart.

Its rich flavor was truly unforgettable.

Just as Ding Xinyang was lost in awe of this lion's head meatball, the surrounding area had unknowingly filled with restaurant guests.

They had come, drawn by the aroma that permeated half the restaurant, initially thinking it was a teppanyaki chef's workstation.

But upon closer inspection, they discovered that the other party was a customer, just like themselves, which left them somewhat disappointed, realizing they had probably come for nothing.

Yet, smelling that incredibly enticing aroma, their feet simply refused to move.

Those who could afford to spend two thousand to eat a buffet here, besides seasoned foodies, were basically people who had no worries about food and drink, and had already tried most kinds of delicious food.

In other words, their threshold for so-called gourmet food had long risen to a considerably high level.

But the griddle dishes cooked by the young man before them completely subverted their past understanding of gourmet food.

Even though they hadn't tasted it themselves, just looking at the dishes' presentation and the aroma they emitted was enough to make them drool.

Not to mention the intoxicated expression Ding Xinyang unconsciously displayed while savoring the lion's head meatball, which made some with weaker willpower unable to extricate themselves.

Gulp!

Grrr... Sounds of swallowing saliva and rumbling stomachs filled the air.

This suddenly woke Ding Xinyang up.

He turned around and saw that the area behind him was already packed with people, which almost made him jump.

But as he calmed down and saw these people desperately swallowing their saliva, a sense of superiority filled his heart, followed by a feeling of immense happiness.

They say happiness is relative.

He could sit here, freely enjoying the delicious food personally cooked by Lu Chuan, while all these people behind him could only watch with longing eyes.

From this perspective, that saying truly makes sense; it's practically a golden maxim.

So, those who often feel unhappy should read more collections of tragic stories; perhaps their pessimistic emotions will change.

Ding Xinyang's mind wandered with various thoughts, but in reality, his posture was ramrod straight, and he carefully controlled the upward curve of his lips.

He understood that he couldn't be too smug at this moment, otherwise he would surely incur public wrath.

But, he really wanted to laugh, what should he do... He looked at He Jingrui, who was still engrossed in eating and drinking, feeling extremely envious.

If only he had that kind of mindset!

Ding Xinyang tried his best to manage his expressions, but sometimes, the more one deliberately ignores something, the more one's attention shifts towards it.

Just as he was about to break his composure, Lu Chuan had already finished cooking a new round of griddle dishes.

“Teppanyaki Octopus, Teppanyaki Crispy Fish Tofu, Teppanyaki Vermicelli Scallops, Cheese Bacon Burger, all cooked. Please enjoy!”