Mai Ge's two orders of roast meat arrived quickly, and the waiter even offered a complimentary pot of tea.
"Daddy, may we start eating now?" Amy's eyes lit up as she looked at the roasted lamb chops laid out in front of her.
"Eat up, be careful it's hot." Mai Ge smiled and nodded, also looking at the plate of sliced grilled steak in front of him.
This grilled steak is somewhere between a beef skewer and a Western-style grilled steak. It's supposed to be a beef skewer, but it wasn't skewered with bamboo sticks. It's supposed to be a steak, but it was cut open and grilled. The beefy smell was a little weaker, but the sauce was still brushed on very roughly. The seasoning powder was sprinkled on too early, and after grilling it over the fire for a long time, the surface turned a little black. The seasoning powder smelled a bit pungent.
Having grown accustomed to fine dining, Mai Ge had a rather poor first impression of this grilled steak. Even when he occasionally ate skewers at a roadside stall, they never serve this kind of thing.
"Okay." Amy nodded, picked up a fork from the table, struggled a bit to fork up a lamb chop, blew on it a few times, then took a bite and chewed happily, her eating manner quite adorable.
"Is it good?" Mai Ge, who hadn't had much of an appetite initially, became interested again watching Amy eat with relish and asked with a smile.
"Hmm, not bad, but of course it's not as good as Daddy's rainbow fried rice and Rou Jia Mo. When will Daddy start making roast meat?" Amy nodded, swallowed the meat in her mouth, and looked at Mai Ge expectantly.
"There will be some in the future." Mai Ge nodded with a smile. He was also looking forward to having skewers with Amy at his own restaurant, but he didn't know when the system would release a recipe for kebabs. That was not something he could control.
"Perhaps I can let Amy eat when the guests arrive. She eats everything with great relish, and she can make even a sweet crispy biscuit taste like the most delicious thing in the world. That's more appealing than any advertisement." Watching Amy eat with such relish, Mai Ge thought to himself that when he comes up with a new dish, he can try having Amy make it this way, no one can make it better than Amy.
After being out all morning, he was indeed a bit hungry. Although the appearance was a bit disappointing, the way Amy ate the food really enhanced its appeal. At least it made Mai Ge want to try it. He forked a piece of steak, put it in his mouth, chewed it a few times, and his brows furrowed.
The meat must have been grilling on the grill for a long time. In order to be ready to serve at any time, they didn't take into account the problem of grilling it for too long and making the meat dry and tough.
The sauce was a bit hard to describe. It was hard to say exactly how many kinds of seasonings were combined: Peppercorns, sugar, salt, ginger juice... The proportions seemed a bit arbitrary. It was quite stimulating, but it completely masked the original sweetness of the beef. All he could feel was a tingling sensation in his mouth and on his tongue from the stimulation of the various seasonings.
It can only be said that diners who like strong flavors might like it more; they might set aside the pursuit of deliciousness and just want the thrill.
In his past life, Mai Ge would have taken one bite and immediately gotten up to pay and leave. But seeing Amy sitting across from him, thoroughly enjoying her meal, he silently put down his fork. It was Amy's first time eating roast meat, and seeing her so happy, he couldn't bear to spoil her mood. He picked up the tea on the table, poured himself a cup, and took a sip.
"Hmm?" The complimentary tea caught Mai Ge's eye. It had a slightly sweet and sour taste, somewhat like lemon juice, and a clear, orange color, similar to honey water. It quickly suppressed the numbing and spicy sensation in his mouth, and he couldn't help but pour himself another cup and take a couple more sips.
"Excuse me, what kind of water is this?" Mai Ge asked a waiter passing by.
"Guest, this is water infused with lime." the waiter replied with a smile.
"Okay, thank you." Mai Ge nodded. Although he didn't know what lime fruit was, lime water did taste pretty good. He could go into a fruit shop when he passed by later and may be serve the customers a glass of lime water as well. After all, everyone was a bit thirsty after eating fried rice and Rou Jia Mo and some of them had asked him for plain water earlier.
"Host, this system solemnly reminds you that the restaurant is not allowed to sell any food, including beverages, other than those listed in the system's menu!" The system's voice rang in Mai Ge's mind.
"Who said I was going to sell it?" Mai Ge smiled. "I was planning to give it away."
"…" An ellipsis silently flashed through Mai Ge's mind. After a while, the system's roar echoed: "Host, your behavior is undoubtedly a serious provocation against this system! You are lowering the restaurant's standards! You are giving up on yourself! You are…"
"System, do you sell higher-end limes?" Mai Ge calmly interrupted.
"Not for now." The system abruptly stopped the roar, its voice somewhat complicated.
"That's fine then. You won't sell them, so I can't buy them?" Mai Ge pouted, but after thinking for a moment, he added, "Fine, I don't have the recipe or experience pack anyway, I'll just buy a few and try it myself."
Recalling his past life, he had tried making lemon water at home on a whim a few times. No matter whether he added honey or sugar, the taste was always indescribable. Mai Ge felt that it was unlikely that he could figure out a drinkable lime water on his own.
Mai Ge poured Amy a glass of water, and after eating two more pieces of steak, he decided to give up. He'd just make himself some Yang Zhou Fried Rice when he got home, compared to that, the steak was utterly tasteless.
"Daddy, aren't you going to eat anymore?" Amy asked curiously, looking at Mai Ge's still-full plate.
"Mmm, I'm full." Mai Ge nodded.
"Then Amy finish the rest for Daddy." Amy's eyes lit up as she looked at the plate of steak in front of Mai Ge.
"Okay." Mai Ge switched the two plates, looking at Amy with doting eyes. It seemed the little one quite liked the roast meat, which was her first time eating it. This should represent an above average level of roast meat in this world. The chefs had some grilling skills and knew how to use various seasonings and sauces, but it was too rough and not refined enough.
"Daddy, today's roast meat was so delicious! So, this is what roast meat tastes like!" Amy said happily as they paid the bill and left.
"I'll make you roast meat a hundred times better than this in the future." Mai Ge said with a smile, patting Amy's head. This level of roast meat wasn't even beginner level.
To make truly delicious beef skewers, they should be grilled until crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, so that with one bite, the rich sauce and tender beef blend perfectly, offering both deliciousness and a satisfying chewiness.
The customers who waited outside the Restaurant Mai Mi at noon, knocking on the door for a long time without getting a response, left somewhat disappointed. Today they truly witnessed how true Mai Ge is; if he says he won't open, he really goes out having fun. They probably won't come here on their days off anymore.
Mai Ge played with Amy and the Ugly Duckling, who had just woken up, in the square for two hours. After the two little ones had had their fill of fun, he bought a few limes on the way and took them home.
"Daddy, look! There's someone lying in front of our restaurant. Is she the little match girl?" Amy pointed to a figure lying on her back in front of the restaurant from afar and said with great surprise.