A dish of dragon and phoenix, duck slices and peonies, plus butterfly shrimp rolls and magpie plum blossoms. These are the four main pillars of the appetizers. They are all delicious in color and flavor, especially the most beautiful appetizers.
The main dishes here are cold dishes, such as Dragon and Phoenix Chengxiang and Butterfly Shrimp Rolls. There is only one roast duck that can barely be considered a hot dish. The purpose of these appetizers is to appetize the guests appropriately and to showcase the excellent knife skills of Chinese cuisine.
Not to mention the dragon and phoenix in auspiciousness and the duck slices with peony. These two dishes have already made the guests speechless. The butterfly shrimp roll and the magpie in the plum are even more exquisite and compact models, which are in stark contrast to the elegance and elegance of the first two dishes. contrast.
When Montauban saw these four appetizers, he cursed in his heart, "Damn it, why didn't Prince Gong entertain me with such dishes? I'm just a fool. It turns out that Prince Gong entertained me with inferior Chinese cuisine!"
Montauban was right or wrong. First of all, Guiziliu was scolded by the court after the contract was signed. He was not in a good mood to prepare top-notch delicacies for these invaders.
But they are not inferior. The chefs in the palace are also good at their craftsmanship. They are also considered to be the leading people in Forty-Nine City, but they consider themselves inferior compared to the imperial chefs in the Forbidden City.
At that time, all the real imperial chefs were brought to the Chengde Summer Resort by Xianfeng. Even if Prince Gong wanted to prepare a full banquet of Manchu and Han Dynasties, he had no one who could handle it.
Montauban did not wait for Xiao Letian and the Queen to take action first. He rudely went up and took a pair of chopsticks, and directly took away the reddest pieces of duck on the peony stamens.
It was dipped in sweet flour sauce and wrapped in spring pancakes. It seemed that he was an expert. The various vegetables were rolled up and swallowed in one bite without leaving any part behind.
The familiar taste once again awakened his taste buds, and all the beautiful memories in Beijing suddenly came to mind. China's food, beauty, and beauties were all so worth recalling. Over the years, he woke up from his dreams several times, and all the memories in his dreams came to mind. It's a scene from that year.
"Roast duck...the Chinese call this cheap housing...this is a market dish, not expensive at all. Xiao Letian is fooling people!"
"The dragon and the phoenix are auspicious..." Montauban cut off the dragon head carved from the radish with a chopstick, put it in his mouth and chewed it "Oh my God, it's a radish, it's not delicious at all. It looks great!”
Everyone at the table frowned at him. What a beautiful dish, but this guy ruined it with just a few chopsticks, which made everyone feel bad.
At this banquet, all the European guests were dumbfounded, because at that time Europe had a separate meal system, and the food was placed on everyone's plate, right in front of them.
When eating, just move the knife and fork around you. During the entire meal, other than toasting each other, there will be no major body movements.
But Chinese food is not a separate meal system. Everyone's portions are lumped together. If you want to eat, you have to take the initiative to get it from the communal plate like Montauban.
This is really embarrassing for these nobles. First of all, making a too big move is very rude according to the etiquette of the time. Secondly, these people can only use knives and forks, not chopsticks at all.
Stand up with a knife and fork to grab the meat? This scene is so barbaric!
The host had already thought of this problem. After the four main dishes and six side dishes were served, the trained maids took serving chopsticks to share the meals with the distinguished guests.
First, the queen was given a golden roast duck. The dexterous maid rolled up a beautiful duck roll with chopsticks and placed it on the queen's dinner plate.
Xiao Letian smiled and said, "The roast duck of Biianfang is a traditional flavor of old Beijing. The taste is very unique. Please try it..."
The roll of duck is so small that the queen doesn't have to cut it herself. She can just pick it up with a fork and put it all into her mouth. When the roll of duck meat enters her mouth, the queen's expression suddenly changes!
Oh, God! What a unique taste this is, with a rich aroma of fresh and sweet sauce, the smoothness of duck meat and the fragrance of vegetables, coupled with the aroma of spring cake flour to neutralize the grease, one bite will fill your mouth with happiness.
The queen almost burst into laughter. She showed a smile that was conquered by the delicious food, but the slightly raised corners of her mouth could not fool anyone. Xiao Letian knew at a glance that this dish suited the queen's temper.
"Please, please! Gentlemen and ladies, please taste the oriental delicacies I brought..."
After the head of state gave an order, the three maids were in charge of a table. Their serving chopsticks could deftly distribute the food to everyone without the guests having to do anything.
Duck burrito, shrimp roll, dragon and phoenix, sweet and sour lotus root, spiced beef...the dishes are divided equally on the plates in front of each distinguished guest, and then the guests can share the food with their own knives and forks.
Of course, some guests wanted to try Chinese chopsticks. At this time, the beautiful maid acted as a temporary training teacher, teaching these guests how to use chopsticks step by step, and made a lot of jokes for a while.
The quality of these maids who can participate in the state banquet is no less than that of the waiters in the great hall of later generations. Each of these girls has eyes and ears, and the responsible guests around them only need to look at a certain dish for more than three seconds. In seconds, she will immediately take the initiative to share meals for the guests.
Jonas tasted the delicious roast duck rolls and rolled his eyes at Montauban and Ivan with disdain. "Did you see it? This is quality dining etiquette. These beauties use serving chopsticks. I understand serving chopsticks." Don’t you understand? It’s not like you. You’re using your chopsticks to put food on the big plate, and you’re asking us to eat your saliva?”
"It's unhygienic and acts like a barbarian!"
Montauban almost made Jonas angry and said, "Fart! I have been to China in person. Why haven't I seen anyone using public chopsticks? Everyone reaches directly for the dishes..."
Jonas pretended to slap under his nose, "What a fart...it stinks so much! You are probably dining with a group of barbarians at your level. Who are the truly civilized and polite Chinese people who will talk to you!"
If the queen hadn't been present, Montauban would have exploded on the spot, but he took a cold look and when he and Jonas were competing, there were a lot less dishes on the table in an instant.
Eating is the most important thing in the world, so quarrels can be put aside for a while. "I'm too lazy to pay attention to you..." After saying this, he reached forward with his chopsticks and threw another butterfly-shaped shrimp roll into his mouth.
Jonas was not willing to let him go. He pointed at Montauban's hand and whispered, "Look, everyone, he really put his chopsticks directly into the public dish. How dirty! It's so unhygienic..."
What was not a disgusting thing at first, was told by Jonas to describe it in a more eloquent way. All the guests around him suddenly lost their appetites, and this table suddenly became the slowest in serving food.
At this moment, the queen at the head table picked up the wine glass. The attendant behind her quickly tapped an empty wine glass with a silver spoon. The clear and melodious knocking sound reminded everyone that the queen was about to speak.
"It really amazes me. The food is simply beautiful. It's amazing how the food can be made into such a beautiful form!"
Note: Updates have been added, thanks to the red envelopes and book friends who stamped to remind me of updates!
