Chapter 509: Wu Henian's Change in Attitude
After waiting in line for about half an hour, as the customers ahead gradually finished their meals, it was finally Wu Henian's turn.
"Welcome! There's an empty seat over here." Meng Yun greeted him warmly.
Wu Henian smiled and nodded. As he followed behind her, he carefully observed the layout and environment inside Han Shi.
The decor is quite impressive… and the arrangement is well thought out.
Although the restaurant wasn't large, the layout was efficient. Each seat had enough space, and it didn't feel cramped or uncomfortable at all.
Silently evaluating the place in his mind, Wu Henian sat down and turned his attention to the menu on the table.
"Please take a look at the menu. Let me know if you need anything," Meng Yun said politely.
"Alright, I may take a while, please attend to the other guests first," Wu Henian replied with a faint smile, picking up the menu.
By now, his mood had improved considerably. The reason was simple: while waiting in line, he had already smelled the mixed aromas of various dishes drifting out from inside Han Shi.
Although the combined scent of multiple dishes made it hard for him to pinpoint specific flavors, he could still tell one thing clearly—
The food here definitely wouldn't be bad.
So he temporarily set aside his concerns and decided to taste the dishes first before making any judgments.
And a menu was one of the most important aspects of any restaurant. From this menu alone, he could gain a clearer understanding of Han Shi, so he needed to examine it carefully.
Meng Yun nodded and turned to serve other customers, while Wu Henian slowly opened the menu.
"Very refined…"
With just a glance at the table of contents, Wu Henian's eyes showed a hint of surprise. The paper quality was excellent, so much so that even with his experience, he couldn't identify what material it was made from.
But when he saw the dishes listed along with their prices, his surprise quickly turned into astonishment.
These… these prices?
At a glance, most of the dishes were priced in gold coins, and the most expensive one even reached a hundred gold coins. Even Bright Court Pavilion, which prided itself on elegance and prestige, wouldn't dare charge such high prices.
If he remembered correctly, the most expensive dish at Bright Court Pavilion was only around thirty gold coins.
Would customers really accept such pricing?
Curious, Wu Henian looked up at the other diners.
To his surprise, everyone was fully focused on eating, as if no one cared about the high prices at all.
So… they can accept it.
His eyes suddenly lit up.
If two restaurants had different prices, and the more expensive one had worse food, no one would go there.
Since Han Shi's dishes were even more expensive than Bright Court Pavilion's, yet still attracted so many high-ranking officials, did that mean Han Shi's food was actually better?
The moment this thought surfaced, Wu Henian found it hard to believe.
Han Shi's kitchen was semi-open, and he could clearly see that there was only one chef inside—the owner, Qi Han.
Could a young man in his twenties really create food of such quality?
At that thought, his curiosity toward Han Shi's cuisine grew even stronger.
Starting from the table of contents, Wu Henian slowly flipped through each page of the menu. Whether it was the introduction of the new utensil—chopsticks—and how to use them, or the detailed descriptions of each dish accompanied by exquisite images, everything left him deeply impressed.
This new utensil seemed more convenient and efficient… and it even freed up one hand?
And menus can actually include pictures?
He had heard that in Mingdu City, a Spirit Engineer had developed a Spirit Tool capable of capturing images. Could these beautiful pictures have been created using something similar and then printed onto the menu?
For a moment, Wu Henian even felt tempted.
If the Heavenly Star Palace also adopted this kind of menu format—allowing customers to see what the dishes looked like while browsing—it might very well improve business.
Interesting… I clearly came here to understand Han Shi, yet now it feels like I'm here to learn from them.
He couldn't help but laugh wryly.
Hmm?
Wu Henian's gaze suddenly froze on a particular dish, and he murmured softly, "Beef, fruit, vegetables?"
As a judge, he already knew the three themes of the culinary challenge. And just now, he had spotted a dish on the menu that matched one of them.
Tomato Beef Brisket.
His interest piqued, he continued flipping through the menu. Soon, his eyes landed on another dish.
Crab Stuffed with Orange.
And during his browsing, he had already noticed several dishes that matched the vegetable theme.
So… for this culinary challenge, Han Shi already had corresponding dishes prepared for every theme?
That was definitely good news. Having ready-made dishes meant they could handle the challenge much more effectively.
After finishing the menu, Wu Henian slowly closed it. Unexpectedly, he now had a bit more confidence in Han Shi's chances.
It was quite unbelievable—before entering Han Shi, he had been certain they had no chance of winning.
But now, he felt that Bright Court Pavilion might not have such an easy time winning after all.
"Excuse me—one serving of Tomato Beef Brisket, one Crab Stuffed with Orange, one smashed cucumber salad, and one bowl of white rice," he called Meng Yun over and quickly placed his order.
"Alright." Meng Yun noted it down and headed into the kitchen.
The three dishes Wu Henian chose were exactly the ones he believed Qi Han might use in the culinary challenge.
Of course, he might be wrong.
But if he was wrong, that would only mean Qi Han had even better dishes up his sleeve—making his chances of winning even higher.
So using these three dishes as a benchmark to estimate Han Shi's chances was a safe approach.
He didn't have to wait long before the dishes were served one by one. Looking at the beautifully presented food—far more enticing than even the images in the menu—Wu Henian swallowed and picked up his chopsticks to taste them.
…
Rubbing his stomach with one hand as he walked out of Han Shi, Wu Henian's expression was extremely complex.
He felt incredibly fortunate that he had refused to compete with Han Shi earlier.
At the time, he had declined out of consideration, not wanting to crush Qi Han's youthful spirit. Who would have thought that in the end, the one who benefited most was himself?
After tasting Han Shi's dishes, Wu Henian had no confidence whatsoever that he could win in a culinary challenge against them.
If he had lost, the Heavenly Star Palace would have ended up paving the way for Han Shi's rise.
What kind of young man in his twenties could possess such extraordinary culinary skill?
It was simply absurd.
And then, Wu Henian found himself filled with anticipation for the culinary challenge taking place tomorrow.
He was certain that Bright Court Pavilion had no real understanding of Han Shi's strength—otherwise, Zhao Yangfan would never have rushed in so eagerly to "offer himself up."
He wondered…
Once Zhao Yangfan realized Han Shi's true strength, would he regret it?
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Tn: I updated the story once every 2 days, but if you want to see more chapter of this story ahead of time, please go to my Patreon.
Latest Chapter: Chapter 538: Walking Straight into the Trap?[1]
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[1] https://www.patreon.com/Avicebron/posts/becoming-food-in-160492301
[2] https://www.patreon.com/Avicebron/posts/becoming-food-in-160492301