Jessica spread her hands. "I don't want to be biased against Chinese food, but the Mingfu Family Banquet I went to a few days ago really didn't meet my expectations."

Elena sighed. "I told you that wasn't the best Chinese food in Jingzhou."

Jessica said, "But you were also disappointed, weren't you?"

Jarno smiled, not participating too much in their conversation, simply bringing out the dishes one by one according to the scheduled timing.

First was a small appetizer, Four Seasons Cold Platter.

The Four Seasons Cold Platter included four types of appetizers: pickled cucumber, vegetarian goose, braised bamboo shoots, and candied plums, with a variety of sour, sweet, salty, and savory flavors.

Next was lettuce wraps with shrimp floss, made by dicing and stir-frying fresh shrimp, onions, celery, and other ingredients, then mixing them with golden, crispy fried dough sticks, and wrapping them in lettuce.

After that was a very famous traditional dish, Pagoda Pork.

Elena was very skilled with chopsticks, while Jessica was slightly clumsy, but that didn't stop her from enjoying the food.

Before serving each dish, Jarno introduced its characteristics and details in English.

All the introductions had been prepared in advance and were very concise.

Too short, and it wouldn't be possible to explain all the details hidden in the dish; too long, and it might affect the customer's appetite.

After all, most Chinese food is best eaten hot, and it loses its flavor if the time passes. Customers don't have time to listen to complicated processes and steps while enjoying the food.

Trying to do two things at once often results in neither tasting the flavor nor remembering the details.

Therefore, the content Jarno introduced had been carefully considered many times, and the timing was controlled very accurately, ensuring that guests could understand the characteristics of the dishes without affecting their enjoyment.

Elena listened while subtly touching the edges of the plates.

For high-end restaurants, details directly determine the experience.

Some high-end restaurants that don't pay attention to detail don't even bother to wipe off all the water stains after washing wine glasses.

If the water stains aren't wiped off, even if there's only a small amount of dust around, it will leave marks on the glass after the water dries.

Of course, not many high-end restaurants make this mistake anymore.

Another common problem is the temperature of the plates.

Cold dishes should be served on cold plates, and hot dishes on hot plates. If the dishes are served too slowly and the hot dish plates cool down, they must be removed and remade.

Elena gently touched the edges of the plates for the three dishes that had already been served and immediately felt that the temperature of the dishes was within the most appropriate range. Everything was just right.

In addition, the presentation was also a point of concern for Elena.

The combination of shapes, the harmony of colors, the types of tableware... Like painting, chefs give dishes a mood and soul through presentation, and the presentation of these dishes was a work of art, which made Elena very satisfied.

As for Jessica, she didn't understand so many details, she just felt that the Chinese food she was eating today seemed completely different from what she had eaten before.

The appearance was similar, but the subtle feeling was difficult to describe in words.

Jessica ate and said in surprise, "This so-called Pagoda Pork should be one of the two most complicated dishes we ordered, right?"

Elena shook her head. "Obviously not."

She looked at Jarno. "Lucas, although the previous dishes were also excellent, I've had them in other high-end private kitchens. For example, the Four Seasons Cold Platter, I had it in a top Chinese restaurant in Silicon Valley; and the Pagoda Pork, I had it in a top private kitchen in Xiamen. In terms of taste, each has its own merits, and although your place is in no way inferior to the previous two, it hasn't completely impressed me yet."

Jarno smiled slightly. "Then you should have also had the next Western dessert. Its name is verjusinegg."

Elena and Jessica looked at the newly served dishes in front of them.

It was... an egg.

Jessica was a little confused. "So, is it boiled eggs drizzled with verjus? Lucas, I remember you said this was a dessert."

Verjus is a sour juice made from unripe grapes, which is not common outside of England and does not suit the taste of the average Chinese person, but it was a pleasant surprise for Jessica and Elena.

To use a less-than-perfect example, it's roughly the same feeling as when someone from Beijing drinks Arctic Ocean soda in Silicon Valley.

Elena showed a surprised expression. "Yes, it's a dessert. Everything on this plate is edible."

Jarno smiled and introduced, "Miss Elena should be familiar with this dish. It has nearly a hundred steps and 70 different ingredients, and only then can such a small 'egg' be made."

Elena prompted, "Jessica, you'd better eat its 'shell,' 'yolk,' and 'white' together. The mixed flavors are the most perfect."

Jessica tried a small spoonful, and her eyes lit up instantly.

"Oh, this familiar taste! What are all these things that look like eggs?"

Jarno replied, "The egg white is actually a coconut-flavored milk pudding, the yolk is verjus cooked with spices, the shell is chocolate, the 'bird's nest' base is a dessert made with honey and syrup, and the surrounding garnish is kabosu jelly, which is a citrus fruit unique to East Asian islands."

"This is a very complex dish. Each process is like a chemical experiment, requiring precision from the preparation of materials to the making. Many details, such as the proportion of materials, temperature, and heating time, need to be carried out carefully using laboratory standards. Otherwise, a small oversight, maybe just a degree or two higher in temperature, or a gram or two more of material, can lead to failure."

Elena added, "Even in England, very few restaurants can make this dish."

This dessert clearly exceeded Jessica's expectations, and she said in surprise, "It's so delicious, thank you for bringing me such a surprise! But... this dish also makes me even more determined to stand on the side of supporting Western food."

If Chinese people eat this dish, they may not find it very delicious, but will only be amazed at the complexity of the craftsmanship and the exquisite appearance.

The "egg's" shell, white, and yolk are completely realistic, especially the shell, which is very thin and no different from a real eggshell.

However, Chinese people cannot adapt to its taste very well, because the verjus is too sour, which most people do not like.

But this taste has a taste of home for Jessica.

Originally, there were two complex dishes at the end, but the first dish had already infinitely raised Jessica's taste threshold, and Elena couldn't help but worry whether the next dish could hold the line.

If not, it would not help to reverse Jessica's stereotype of Chinese food. Although she had eaten a very good dish, in Jessica's heart, this verjusinegg Western dish was obviously the most impressive.

A waiter brought up a shallow pot and placed it in the center of the table.

Elena's eyes widened slightly.

In the pot, four or five spread-out leaves lined a large water lily-like... cabbage?

The stalk and leaves of the cabbage did not have any traces of being stewed or blanched. It looked like raw cabbage.

The pot was filled with clear soup, without any oil or color, but it was visibly steaming, and it seemed no different from ordinary boiled water.

At first glance, this dish gave the impression of peeling a raw cabbage into the shape of a water lily, placing it in a pot, and then pouring boiling water over it.

Elena was a little surprised, because she knew that cabbage was one of the cheapest ingredients, so much so that to describe something as very cheap, people say it's "cabbage price."

Jarno was not in a hurry to introduce how it was made, but raised his hand to signal, "This dish is called 'Boiled Cabbage in Supreme Soup'. Please try it first, and I will explain it later."

Elena picked up a small piece of cabbage leaf with suspicion and put it in her mouth.

However, the cool, crisp taste she expected did not appear. Instead, it was a soft and tender feeling that soothed the mouth. It was clearly fully cooked, but it also had an unexpectedly fresh and tender taste. This refreshing and savory flavor was completely different from any flavor she had ever tasted!

Elena gently scooped up a spoonful of soup, and an indescribable wonderful taste stimulated her taste buds, so moving.

Jessica's expression also froze. She obviously couldn't imagine that the taste of this dish could be so outstanding.

Jarno smiled and explained, "This dish originally required using the cabbage that had just curled tightly in late autumn, after the ground began to frost, and removing it from the soil on the same day. Although the season is not right now, we can achieve this effect by precisely controlling the ambient temperature."

"At least two outer layers must be removed, leaving only the white and tender leaves inside, about the size of a fist. Soak the root part in the prepared soup to soften the stem. Peel off four or five leaves like a blooming water lily and lay them flat on a mesh strainer. Then, repeatedly poke deep into the cabbage heart with silver needles to fill the cabbage with invisible pores from the inside out."

"To make the soup, choose a chicken that is neither too fat nor too lean, neither too oily nor too overcooked. Remove all the abdominal fat from the whole chicken and repeatedly wash away the blood. First, blanch it in boiling water, then put it into boiling clear water, add abalone slices, white mushroom shreds and other ingredients, and simmer over low heat for four to five hours. When the soup is rich and savory, remove the whole chicken. Then, use chicken floss to absorb the oil in the soup, and poach the minced chicken breast in the soup. Finally, filter out the soup with a fine gauze."

"The combination of soup and cabbage is the most important step. It requires two fires and two pots. One pot is placed on top of the other, with the cabbage in a mesh strainer. The other pot contains the prepared supreme soup. Keep the pot with the mesh strainer warm over low heat. The fire under the supreme soup should be even smaller, keeping the soup at 70-80 degrees Celsius at all times, without any errors. Then, use a large spoon to repeatedly pour the warm soup onto the cabbage. When one pot of soup is almost finished, switch pots and continue pouring until the outermost layer of cabbage stems is completely cooked and soft. Only then can the cabbage be placed in a shallow pot and slowly ladle in the hot soup. Only by doing this can it be called true Boiled Cabbage in Supreme Soup."