Chapter 29 (1/2)

Chapter 29: Deceptive Yuan Zhou

“Sir, this way please.” Dressed in a matching coat and red skirt, the waitress reached out her white hand and made a “please” gesture while leading the way to the elevator.

“Ding.”

After pushing the up button, the waitress retreated to Yuan Zhou’s back, making way for him. There was an elevator operator inside that was responsible for sending customers to their designated floor. Once the waitress told the operator to head to the restaurant, the elevator door closed gradually.

The facilities and service of a 3-Star hotel were quite considerate and meticulous. A waitress came up to him immediately the instant Yuan Zhou entered the canteen. As it was not 12:00 yet, there were still many seats unoccupied.

“I’d like a seat close to the window.”

After choosing his position, Yuan Zhou followed the waitress to the arranged seat and sat down.

The yellow rectangle table was covered with a white checkered tablecloth with a fresh carnation placed on top. Tableware like cups, plates, bowls and chopsticks were arranged neatly as well.

The temperature in the restaurant was just right. Looking down from this height, although it wasn’t really high, Yuan Zhou still felt different. However, instead of landscapes, all Yuan Zhou could see were houses.

If it were at night, it might be a beautiful view, but for now, it was just nothing special.

“Sir, here’s your menu.” Two waiters approached Yuan Zhou. One collected back the remaining tableware quickly while the other handed the menu over to Yuan Zhou with a gentle voice.

“What’s the recommended dish today?”

This was Yuan Zhou’s first time having a meal here in a 3-Star hotel. Although he had worked here for 2 years, he hadn’t lived in the dormitory provided by the hotel, hence he knew none of the waiters except his colleagues in the kitchen.

As for the dishes, Yuan Zhou had only cooked them in the kitchen instead of eating any of them. It was wiser to order the recommended dish.”

“Yes, there is. The recommendation this afternoon is the Nourishing Turtle Soup, cooked by our head chef. Would you like to order one serving for a taste?” The waiter considerately turned the menu to the colored page showing the Nourishing Turtle Soup and recommended it with a smile.

“Ok. One serving, please. Anything else?” Yuan Zhou recalled that the head chef was indeed good at stewing soup. However, he had never drunk his soup nor even seen the head chef. After all, the chances for a kitchen hand to meet a head chef were small.

Yet today, the culinary skills of this former kitchen hand outclassed the head chef by miles.

“This is the head chef’s recommendation for today. Why don’t you try our specialties?” While saying that, the waiter turned the menu to the pages of the special dishes.

“Hua Hua”

Having looked carefully at the 3 pages of the specialty dishes, he said eventually, “One serving of each of these dishes. Please serve me Egg Fried Rice for the main course”

To the waiter’s surprise, Yuan Zhou ordered every specialty on the 3 pages. There were 19 dishes in total including the head chef recommendation. He reminded Yuan Zhou, “Sir, you are here alone and the dishes here are quite large. Are you certain you want to order all of them?”

“Never mind. I eat a lot.” Obviously, Yuan Zhou knew he couldn’t finish all the dishes he had ordered. But the reason why he was here today was just to fulfill his former wishes and to try the taste of the dishes from a 3-Star hotel, though he was certain they were not so delicious as his.

Since he was here to try, he would definitely go all out. If he were to order one or two dishes, he might as well go back and cook for himself.

“Ok. Please wait a moment.” Seeing Yuan Zhou insisting on ordering that much, the waiter didn’t say anything else. He then went to the kitchen to place orders, taking the menu with him.

In the kitchen of a big hotel, everyone had a clear division of work. It only took about 7 or 8 minutes from placing orders to carrying the dishes out of the kitchen.

“Sir, this is the Head Chef’s Turtle Soup, Boiled Bullfrog, Highland Mutton, Shredded Yak Meat…..” The young brother who was serving dishes introduced a name whenever he carried a dish to Yuan Zhou.