Food Stall: Customers Chase Me across the Country

Chapter 655 - 596: There Are Water Lilies on My Birthday Cake Too, Complete with BGM!

Wang Fan added a few pieces of rock sugar, gently stirred twice, and continued to simmer over a low flame.

The rock sugar quickly dissolved completely, and the originally pink peach skin had already lost its color, turning grayish-white.

Using chopsticks, he picked up the peach skins, lifted the glass kettle, and poured it into a nearby glass with a filter.

The peach skins cleaned with coarse salt were already free of impurities. With the filtering, the peach skin water appeared even more crystal clear.

While still hot, Wang Fan poured a pre-measured amount of white jelly powder into the cup, gently stirring it with a spoon. After letting it cool slightly, he poured it into a mold prepared nearby.

However, this mold was probably the most rudimentary Wang Fan had ever used. It was just a few small cups with a layer of food-grade plastic wrap over them.

The peach skin water from the glass was poured over the plastic wrap, and the water’s weight pressed the wrap to the bottom of the small cups. When it was about half full, Wang Fan put the glass down, took a small pickled red hibiscus flower from another cup, and gently placed it in the cup. Then, he added thin slices of peach flesh over the hibiscus flower before continuing to pour the peach skin water into the cup.

Next, he lifted the plastic wrap, tied the bag’s opening with a fine hemp string, and hung it directly on a small rack nearby.

The freshly cut peaches naturally wouldn’t go to waste. After hanging the small bags, Wang Fan placed the peaches back into the glass kettle, poured in spring water, brought it to a boil, and continued simmering over low heat.

As white steam rose from the kettle, a rich sweet and sour peach aroma filled Wang Fan’s workspace.

Zhang Tao’s somewhat anxious voice rang out: "We can see that Boss Wang’s dessert seems to be more than halfway done. However, compared to the ingredients used by the French contestant Kerry, Boss Wang’s are much simpler. He only used peaches, white jelly powder, and hibiscus flowers. Can just these ingredients really surpass the French contestant?"

Following his voice, the camera turned to show Kerry’s workstation, catching the audience’s eyes.

Kerry was intensely focused. A dark green cake resembling a lotus leaf was already set aside, while he used tweezers to piece together lotus petals onto a flower that was taking shape.

Beads of sweat began to form on his forehead. The two-hour timeframe for this dessert was indeed a bit rushed, but his competitive nature refused to allow failure. Without creating this dessert, he wasn’t confident he could defeat that formidable Huaxia contestant.

The lotus grew larger, and soon a vividly lifelike blooming lotus was born in his hands. Taking a long breath of relief, Kerry finally had a moment to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

The camera zoomed in on the lotus.

The golden chocolate-made pistil, white petals with pink tips, could truly be considered elegantly designed, akin to a work of art.

Its breathtaking appearance left all the online viewers in awe.

Carefully, Kerry placed the lotus on the dark green cake and then used sugar syrup to align a couple of drops at the edge of the cake, creating vivid, lively-looking dew drops on the lotus leaf cake.

The other nine Huaxia pastry chefs were quietly discussing.

"Hiss..."

"It feels much better than the previous one..."

"How can we even compete with this? If this cake were in a cake shop, I wouldn’t be surprised if it sold for 2000 each."

"Oh my! It seems like this could rival Boss Wang’s ’Persimmons of Joy.’ Of course, if you add ’Frostfall’ to it, Boss Wang might still stand a chance."

"Ah, if only that dessert were entered in this competition. That ’Frostfall’ technique was magical the first time, but it gets a bit stale after seeing it again."

"France truly deserves to be called the capital of desserts; the skills of these Michelin masters are truly breathtaking."

"Sigh, it seems we’ll only continue learning. We’re still far behind the world’s top pastry chefs."

Seeing this cake, Zhang Tao was astonished; this perfect design certainly rivaled Boss Wang’s.

Moreover, cake is something that can easily be compared to ordinary cakes, which made this cake appear extraordinarily refined.

No, this won’t do. This directly lets the foreigners take the lead, and Boss Wang’s confidence, built up through a hard-fought victory, cannot be destroyed by this cake.

What to do?

What to do?

Ah, got it!

A light bulb went off in Zhang Tao’s mind, and he opened his mouth in admiration, "What an exquisite lotus, just like a real one placed on the cake. Speaking of lotuses, I’ve often had cakes with them too, which are more advanced than Kerry’s. Not only can they bloom with a slight touch, but they also sing for three days and nights without stopping."

He immediately added with a laugh, "Just a joke, of course, that lotus can’t compare with Kerry’s lotus. This is beautifully like an artwork."

Silence.

The other nine contestants fell silent instantly, and viewers of the live broadcast also quieted down.

In their minds appeared an image of a plastic lotus, akin to an awkward electronic gadget.

Light it, it blooms, "Happy Birthday to You..."

Afterwards, how is it possible to turn off this darn thing?!

Smashing it doesn’t work, neither does throwing it nor burning it. Toss it into an outdoor trash can, and it can become a source of noise pollution, still hearing the neighbor’s curses in the dead of night.

Shaking his head to try to rid the lotus from his mind, he prepared to look once more at the exquisite lotus in the video...

"Damn it! To hell with it, no going back now!"

"No going back; my mind is full of that plastic lotus, there’s no going back."

"Bring back my lotus, you bastard!"

Some sharper individuals immediately caught onto Zhang Tao’s intentions.

"Pfft... this host is vicious. With just one remark, the grandeur of the French contestant’s lotus is gone."

"Was it intentional or accidental? Remember to bring along that lotus with its built-in BGM when going to court."

"This host is truly impressive; no wonder they’re a talent out of our Spring Festival Gala."

"I feel like a millionaire driving a Porsche suddenly turned into an ordinary person driving a Zotye."

"The host must be rewarded with a pig’s knuckle for dinner; a chicken leg isn’t enough."

The smiles and laughter from the live audience told Zhang Tao that his scheme had succeeded.

He certainly didn’t see himself as some neutral host. If not supporting his own people, then who else but these foreigners?

"Alright, we’ve seen that both Boss Wang’s and Kerry’s desserts are covered with cloche domes. Next up is the tasting and judging session by the reviewers, where we’ll soon discover who wins this second round of the KOF competition."

The ups and downs in Zhang Tao’s voice perfectly matched the audience’s rhythm, keeping all the viewers in tune with the flow of the competition. This kind of control ability is not something just any host could possess.

Director Xiang was very pleased with this effect, having personally invited him was worth it.

Wang Fan’s and Kerry’s desserts were once again placed before the three judges.

Everyone knew that the moment the cloche domes were lifted, two perfect desserts would appear before their eyes.

One was the simple-ingredient dessert by Boss Wang, while the other...

Darn it! That damn lotus!

Now the brain is filled with "di-di-di-di-da-da, di-di-di-di-da-da" you bastard!

Curse it!

The enraged audience was practically cursing, but this didn’t stop the lotus from making noise in their minds.

Allen spoke up, "The contestant winning this round can decide whether the judges taste their dessert or their opponent’s first. Mr. Wang Fan, whose creation do you want us to taste first?"

Wang Fan gave a somewhat apologetic glance to Kerry, leaving the latter baffled. Just whose dessert to taste first, isn’t that gaze a bit much?

Wang Fan took the microphone and said, "In that case, please have the three judges taste my dessert first. It originates from a thousand years ago during the Tang Dynasty, and it’s called—"

Wang Fan paused before announcing loudly, "Spring Water."

With that, Allen lifted the cloche dome.

"Oh, damn it!"

"Ah, my eyes! My 24K titanium-alloy dog eyes!"

"It’s special effects, special effects once again!"

"The familiar BGM, my damned DNA is stirring again!"