Culinary God in Wilderness

Erica scanned the dazzling menu. Almost every dish pictured was a fiery red, looking incredibly appetizing but also making it hard for her to choose.

"I won't pick the main dishes, since I haven't tried any of them anyway. Do you have dessert here?"

"We do, but not Western-style desserts. You can look here."

The proprietress enthusiastically flipped back two pages of the menu and pointed to a few pictures as she made her introductions.

"This is our knife-cut milky steamed buns with condensed milk dip; foreign customers love them. We also have iced red bean soup, sweet fermented rice balls, and brown sugar glutinous rice cakes. These are all very popular desserts."

"In that case, let's get one of each. They all look delicious."

Erica hadn't expected desserts in a Daxia restaurant to be like this. They looked more like sweet dishes. She decided to order one of each to try, especially since the portions in the photos didn't seem very large.

This was her first meal after returning from the wild. Just smelling the captivating aromas wafting through the restaurant air made her feel like she could eat a whole cow.

"Three bowls of red bean soup," Lin Chen added. "All iced."

"You got it! Coming right up~!"

Perhaps because celebrities had arrived, the proprietress's smile was exceptionally bright. Before she even reached the kitchen, she was already shouting at the top of her lungs.

"Quick, honey! We've got celebrities in the shop! Contestants from that Wild Survival show! One of them is one of us, a Da Xia People, the champion! He brought two foreigners to eat. One is a super pretty young lady. Whip up some impressive dishes and make our countryman proud!"

"What!?"

The man, who had been tossing a large iron wok, was startled and immediately grew excited.

"A Da Xia People can win a wilderness survival show? Awesome, awesome, awesome! I've got to make some real showstoppers to celebrate. Can't let our countryman lose face in front of a pretty girl."

The proprietress quickly ladled out three bowls of iced red bean soup, sprinkling a few golden, dried osmanthus flowers on top. She then grabbed a bag of knife-cut mantou and put them in a steamer.

Erica was just starting to get excited when she saw the proprietress walking out with three porcelain bowls.

'So fast?'

"It's all cooked and chilled in advance. We just have to ladle it out and serve."

Lin Chen helped take the red bean soup from the tray. The moment his fingers touched the side of the bowl, an icy chill shot up from his fingertips, and he subconsciously licked his lips.

As a cold-drink fanatic who hadn't touched ice for a month and a half, he couldn't hold back any longer. He quickly asked the proprietress for a bucket of ice.

The moment the full bucket of ice hit the table, three hands reached for the tongs simultaneously.

"Ladies first."

Andre was the first to pull his hand back.

'I've waited a month and a half. A few more seconds won't kill me.'

Although it was his first time at this restaurant, it wasn't his first time drinking red bean soup.

When he first had it in Panama City, he thought it was a gift from the heavens. He once drank eight glasses in a single day and still felt it wasn't enough.

He didn't even need to taste it. He just picked up the porcelain bowl and started chugging it down.

The cool red bean soup was rich and silky. The beans, cooked until they dissolved, were soft and fragrant. The added dash of osmanthus's unique aroma instantly reawakened his long-dormant taste buds.

Just as Erica finished putting ice in her own glass, she heard a sharp CLINK. Andre had already downed his entire bowl of red bean soup.

She froze, subconsciously staring at the bowl in front of her.

'Is it really that good? Even Andre is acting like this?'

She knew, of course, that Andre was a glutton. She had seen it all with her own eyes back in Alaska.

On this trip to Panama, he had even forcibly suppressed his cravings to give it his all, specifically to reduce his encounters with Lin Chen.

But for such a disciplined, veteran Hunter to down a whole bowl without a second thought, and still look like he wanted more—how could she not be curious?

"You've had this before?"

"Yeah, Lin took me to have some in Panama City before the competition started. It's delicious."

The words were barely out of his mouth before Erica also picked up her bowl and took a big gulp.

It wasn't the texture she expected from a slushie, nor did it taste like juice, and it definitely wasn't just bean soup. It was cool, moderately sweet, with a texture she couldn't describe but found incredibly refreshing.

After a few mouthfuls of the soup, she tasted the red bean paste settled at the bottom.

The completely softened red bean paste had partially dissolved into the soup, while some parts remained granular. They melted the instant they touched her tongue, the slightly sandy texture and rich red bean aroma filling her mouth.

It wasn't overly sweet, just the right amount. As she savored it, she noticed a peculiar floral scent, one that didn't match any flower she knew.

"What kind of flower is this?"

Seeing the golden petals floating on the surface of Lin Chen's untouched bowl of soup, she curiously stirred her own, finally finding a petal that had been submerged in the red bean paste.

"Osmanthus. It's a tree with a particularly strong fragrance found only in Great Xia. It usually blooms in autumn and winter, and when it does, the whole city smells of it."

Seeing that the other two were almost done, Lin Chen finally picked up his spoon and slowly took a taste.

'It's ordinary. Not amazing, but not bad either. Just tastes like homemade red bean soup with a little extra sugar.'

'It definitely can't compare to the one from the restaurant in Panama City, but to find this flavor in such a run-down city is pretty good.'

The owner's husband was fast. They didn't have to wait long before a steaming plate of stir-fried twice-cooked pork was brought out.

The slices of pork belly were perfectly thick, their surfaces seared to a crisp. Almost all the excess fat had been rendered out, pooling into a thick layer at the bottom of the plate.

Segments of red pepper and green garlic leaves were exceptionally eye-catching. Every slice of pork belly was coated in red chili oil, and you could faintly see bits of fermented black beans.

Just from its appearance and the savory, soy-sauce aroma that wafted over, the three of them couldn't stop themselves from swallowing.

"Rice is here~"

The proprietress, ever perceptive, brought out a large basin of rice. "Eat it while it's hot. Twice-cooked pork doesn't taste as good when it's cold."

This comment, of course, was directed at Erica and Andre.

Already starving, Erica couldn't wait. She picked up a glistening slice of pork belly with her chopsticks, not caring if it was fatty, and stuffed it into her mouth.

A rich, savory flavor exploded in her mouth. The slice, which looked entirely fatty, wasn't greasy at all. Instead, it was springy, especially the crispy, seared edges, while the center retained some of the meat's tenderness.

Paired with the salty and spicy sauce, that single bite instantly awakened her palate.

Without Lin Chen needing to say a word, she proactively scooped a heaping bowl of rice for herself and began to dig in.

In just two or three minutes, the plate of twice-cooked pork was devoured by the trio.

Andre didn't even spare the oil at the bottom of the plate. He scooped up several spoonfuls, along with the remaining sauce, and mixed it into his rice.

The grains of rice, coated in pork lard, were distinct and glossy. It looked remarkably similar to the buttered rice sold by the popular fast-food chain in the mall food court that was a favorite among white people.

*GULP*

Erica stared intently at the glistening lard-mixed rice in his bowl, swallowing hard. She was just about to make a bowl for herself.

Just then, the proprietress made another grand entrance with a tray.

"This is our restaurant's signature dish, Braised Spicy Pork Hock! It's enough for four people and is very photogenic."

The whole table trembled as she set the heavy platter down.

An entire, enormous pork hock had been braised to a glossy, reddish-brown. The skin on top was so tender it jiggled with the proprietress's every move. You could tell just by looking how fall-apart tender it was.

A thick, rich sauce pooled at the bottom of the plate, glistening like resin under the light. A layer of red chili oil was clearly floating on top.

Erica had eaten German pork knuckle with sauerkraut before, but that was only about the size of her palm. This behemoth in front of her was almost bigger than her head. 'And it's just a single dish?'

'If this amount of meat were served in a high-end French restaurant, it would probably be enough for a ten-person tasting menu, wouldn't it?'

Next, Yuxiang Shredded Pork, Stir-fried Beef, Steamed Buns with Spicy Beef Tallow Filling, Garlic A-Choy, Dry Pot Cauliflower, and all the desserts Erica had ordered arrived one after another, until they had to pull over an adjacent table to make enough room.

Gazing at the tables laden with dishes that were a feast for the eyes, nose, and palate, even Andre—let alone a Daxia cuisine novice like Erica—was dumbfounded. He gaped, silently took out his phone to snap a picture, and prepared to send it to Mia, giving her an update on his whereabouts at the same time.

"I finally understand why Daxia cuisine is considered world-class," Erica mused. "Just the visual impact alone rivals a high-end restaurant, and on top of that, every single dish looks so appetizing."

This was just a small roadside shop in a relatively underdeveloped Central American city. She couldn't begin to imagine what the food would be like at the more famous and popular restaurants in a major city.

The meal itself didn't take too long. After all the dishes arrived, the actual eating part lasted only about half an hour. The rest of the time was spent mostly chatting.

It couldn't be helped. The dishes were just too perfect with rice. A couple of spoonfuls of any dish were enough to top a big bowl of rice, and it was unbelievably delicious all mixed together. Plus, all three of them were in a "just released" state, each trying to out-eat the others.

The handmade steamed buns with the spicy beef tallow hot pot flavor, in particular, completely opened up a new world for Erica.

Even though her stomach was already round and full, she couldn't stop herself from stuffing more into her mouth.

The unique numbing and spicy flavor of the beef tallow hot pot seemed to have a special magic. Combined with the rich, mellow aroma of the beef tallow itself, the tender and juicy meat filling, and the fluffy fragrance of the white bun, the combination of flavors hit her palate perfectly.

"So this is the flavor of that numbing and spicy beef tallow hot pot base you were talking about! If you used this as a soup base for hot pot, it would definitely be delicious."

Shoving the last little bun, soaked through with red chili oil, into her mouth, Erica picked up a bowl of piping hot sweet fermented rice balls and began to sip it slowly. At the same time, she didn't forget to wave to the proprietress.

"Could I please have another bowl of iced red bean soup? Thank you~"