San Francisco's Chinatown is an east-west street, Ye Chui and his party entered from the west entrance, and the Chen Family Hotel happened to be on the west street of Chinatown, Tang Shanshan took the three of them to the front of the hotel not long after.

The Chenjia Hotel is not outstanding from the outside, not luxurious, not magnificent, the façade is not big, but clean and tidy, the hotel is divided into two floors, the hall below is placed with more than a dozen dining tables, there are private rooms upstairs, and several waiters are busy inside and out.

It was noon at the moment, and the hotel was full of guests, and business was very hot.

After Ye Chui walked into the hotel with Han Yuyan, Li Xiuyun and Tang Shanshan, a waiter immediately hurriedly greeted them and invited them to sit down on a vacant seat, the waiter spoke Cantonese dialect, I couldn't hear it clearly, Tang Shanshan said a few words to the other party, then turned her head to look at Ye Chui and said, "She asked you what you want to eat?" Oh, here's the menu. ”

Tang Shanshan took the menu from the waiter and handed it to Ye Chui.

Open the menu, the dishes in this restaurant are not much, written in Chinese traditional, there are also English introductions, most of these dishes are tofu-based, the main signature dish is naturally Chen family tofu, but the Chen family tofu here is divided into two kinds, of which ordinary Chen family tofu, is made by the chef of this hotel, and the special Chen family tofu, is to the hotel lady herself, the price must be doubled.

Tang Shanshan obviously knows this place very well, and introduced with a smile: "If you want to eat Chen's tofu, it's best to eat Chen's tofu made by the proprietress herself. You can practice the dish of Chen's tofu since you were a child, even if this dish is made by the chef of the Chen's restaurant, the eight-star master can't compare, of course, you have to eat the Chen's tofu made by the proprietress herself. It's definitely a bit more expensive, but it's definitely worth the money. ”

"Then I'm going to eat the Chen family tofu made by this proprietress herself." Ye Chui smiled and said to Tang Shanshan that he was a little interested in this tofu Shih Tzu in his heart.

Here, Tang Shanshan explained to the waiter, Ye Chui ordered a few other dishes, and the waiter went down to prepare.

"Master, this restaurant doesn't look very powerful." Han Yuyan looked around. said to Ye Chui that in Huaxia, all the hotels that have reached the grade are beautifully decorated, and it is rare to see a rustic atmosphere like the Chen Family Hotel.

"The star rating of the hotel has great requirements for decoration, but the most important thing is the quality of the dishes." Ye Trai said with a smile. "Looking at the appearance of the restaurant, it should be a decades-old restaurant."

"Boss, you're so right." Tang Shanshan automatically took over the conversation, and she shouted to Ye Chui's boss very clearly, "This store has been open for fifty years, and it has been like this from the beginning, it has been passed down for three generations, and it has never changed places." ”

"Hehe, is this shop a family heirloom?" Ye Zhuo thought of something. Just ask Tang Shanshan.

Tang Shanshan nodded: "Of course, the Chen family restaurant is opened by the Chen family. ”

Han Yuyan said strangely: "Master, why are you asking this?" ”

"If my guess is correct, the ancestor of this Chen family restaurant. It should be the creator of mapo tofu. After a pause, Ye Chui continued, "The dish of mapo tofu appeared a hundred years ago, when it was still the Tongzhi period of the Qing Dynasty, and there was a restaurant called Chen Xingsheng Restaurant in Chengdu, and the owner was called Chen Xingsheng. Wife Liu, because Liu's face has pockmarks. Therefore, it is called Chen Mapo, and the hotel business is tepid. This Liu made a dish of roasted tofu, I didn't expect this dish to be popular, and even spread to the north and south of the river, this dish was also called Chen Mapo tofu at the beginning, if I guessed correctly, this Chen family tofu should be opened by Chen Xingsheng's descendants, and it is also very appropriate to change the name to Chen family tofu. ”

Mapo tofu as a famous Sichuan dish, also spread in China, although this dish can use minced beef, but the essence is a vegetarian dish, no seasoning of minced beef, the taste is still outstanding, but the taste of this dish in China is not very authentic, Ye Chui guessed that it should be in the vegetarian movement of the recipe inheritance of this dish encountered what happened, and the origin of mapo tofu Ye Chui is very well understood, do some reasonable speculation, you can probably guess that the authentic Mapo tofu practice spread to Chinatown here during the vegetarian movement.

The original Chen family opened this Chen family restaurant.

Hearing Ye Chui's story, Han Yuyan and Li Xiuyun didn't feel anything different, but Tang Shanshan was stunned: "You are so amazing, you know so many things." ”

Han Yuyan was particularly proud: "Of course, how can you dare to come here to kick the gym without any skills?" ”

Tang Shanshan suddenly didn't understand, thinking about sightseeing or something, do you still need skills?

If she can't figure it out, she won't think about it for the time being, this girl is also a person with a wide heart, her eyes swept over the faces of the three of Ye Chui, and the smiles on her faces were indescribably bright, these three people were already fat sheep in her eyes.

The tour guide fee of 500 yuan a day can really earn a lot......

And they can also eat a lot of big meals with them, and I will introduce them to several other big restaurants here in Chinatown later......

The girl dreamed of food, and her eyes were already smiling into a crescent moon.

It didn't take long for the dishes to be served.

Braised tofu, home-style stir-fried tofu, braised tofu with cabbage, mushroom tofu balls......

Since the main dish of this restaurant is mapo tofu, most of the dishes in the whole restaurant are related to tofu.

The waitress who delivered the dishes stood aside with a smile, and then said something in English - after all, she is a hotel waiter, and ordinary residents of Chinatown do not know English, and they will inevitably have to receive tourists from all walks of life as hotel waiters, and English is a must - I just heard her say: "The tofu here is all home-brewed, made with the best soybeans, the taste of the tofu is absolutely good, and these dishes are also the ancestral dishes of the Chen family. Almost everyone who visits Chinatown will have to try the tofu dishes at our Chen family restaurant, but the mapo tofu cooked by the proprietress herself may have to wait a little longer. ”

Han Yuyan was looking at the dishes on the table, and when he heard her say this, he immediately asked curiously in English: "Is there a lot of people ordering mapo tofu made by your boss's wife?" ”

"Not really." The waiter was obviously also a broken mouth, and said gossip in a low voice. "Our lady is arguing with her brother, and she's getting angry, so let's do it slowly."

"I see." Han Yuyan replied in his mouth, he had already picked up a piece of braised tofu with chopsticks and put it in front of him to look at it, braised is a technique in Sichuan cuisine. Dishes are burned with rock sugar or dark soy sauce to create a deep red hue that whets the appetite.

The braised tofu here is also very delicious, at least the color and fragrance in the color and aroma can be marked with 10%.

Han Yuyan took a look, then put the tofu in his mouth and tasted it carefully.

The waiter saw that the guests had already started eating. didn't stay long and smiled and retreated, Chen's tofu has a good reputation, even if a gourmet, she will be very satisfied with the dishes, she is still very confident in her own dishes......

Fortunately, she took the initiative to retreat, otherwise if she heard what Han Yuyan said next. Maybe you're going to be upset:

"This tofu doesn't seem to be as delicious as the big brother's cooking, and the soft taste of the tofu is not good at all." Han Yuyan commented.

Tang Shanshan, who didn't regard herself as an outsider at all, got off the chopsticks before Han Yuyan, and sandwiched a piece of tofu balls for herself, just put it in her mouth, hearing Han Yuyan's words, she hurriedly swallowed the tofu balls, and said: "This tofu is from near 10,000 people, but the tofu made in all Chinatowns is the most delicious." ”

"It feels like so-so." Han Yuyan looked at Ye Hang. "Master, what do you say?"

Ye Chui was also picking up the home-style fried tofu with chopsticks, looked at it for a while, and then put it in his mouth. Then he tasted a few other dishes in turn, and after a while, he smiled and said: "I can give a score of nine to these dishes, which is about the same level as Xiao Du, as for the heavy rain, you say that the taste is not as good as Xiao Du, mainly because this tofu uses southern tofu, which is different from the northern tofu we eat on weekdays." ”

"South tofu? Northern tofu? Han Yuyan was stunned.

Ye Chui nodded: "Tofu is divided into various types. There are different preparation methods, and there is southern tofu. Northern tofu, old tofu. Tender tofu, plate tofu, original tofu, water tofu and so on, the tofu we use on weekdays is northern tofu, with less water content and harder texture, and the coagulant used is mainly salt brine, while the tofu here is southern tofu, and the coagulant used is gypsum powder, which has more water content and softer texture. ”

After a pause, Ye Chui continued: "All kinds of tofu with different textures have different tastes for different dishes, but some tofu dishes also have higher requirements for the type of tofu, mapo tofu is more suitable for making southern tofu, I think the tofu here is southern tofu for this reason, but braised tofu is also made with southern tofu, and the taste will be greatly reduced." ”

"I see." Han Yuyan and Li Xiuyun both nodded.

Tang Shanshan was already stunned: "You know a lot, are you working in a hotel?" ”

Ye Chui glanced at Tang Shanshan with a smile: "Yes, so I know more about these, of course, the saying of southern tofu and northern tofu is divided according to the region of China, and there may be no such statement here." ”

"I also work in a restaurant, but I don't know much about this, there are so many differences in tofu, and today I am taught." Tang Shanshan said with a smile, her mouth was not idle at all, and she kept stuffing various dishes into her mouth, and she ate very sweetly.

Ye Trai tasted these dishes again, and he could basically taste the quality of each dish in one bite, and it didn't take long for the waiter just now to come out with a plate of red tofu dishes and put them on the table on Ye Trai's side: "Let me keep you waiting, this is the Chen family tofu cooked by the proprietress herself, this is one of the top ten representative dishes of Chinatown, you are welcome to taste it." ”

"Wow, I finally have a chance to eat the famous Chen family tofu!" Tang Shanshan cheered, and was about to put down the chopsticks to clamp it, but she thought of something again, and glanced at Ye Chui with some sneer, "Boss, you come first, you please." ”

Ye Trai smiled disapprerovingly, and followed his gaze to this plate of mapo tofu, the appearance of this dish is dark red and bright, red, white and green are commensurate, although the tofu is made of softer southern tofu, but the shape is not rotten, from the appearance, this dish is already very outstanding, so that Ye Trai's appetite opens.

He picked up a piece of tofu and put it in his mouth and savored it.

Han Yuyan and Li Xiuyun both looked at Ye Trai nervously, they were here to kick the restaurant, and what this family had to deal with was this dish of Chen family tofu, and Ye Trai's evaluation of this dish was naturally very concerned about them.

"Master, how is this dish?" Han Yuyan saw Ye Chui eating it, so he hurriedly asked, his eyes were full of eagerness.

"This dish tastes good, but it's ......" Ye Chui suddenly frowned.

"But what?" This time, even Tang Shanshan was curious.

"Mapo tofu is a dish that pays attention to eight tricks, namely the spicy soup is crispy and fresh, and the eight characteristics are indispensable, which is the key to the success of this dish, and this dish has completely achieved seven of these eight characteristics, but ...... But the most important of these is missing. ”

Ye Chui commented with some puzzlement: "It seems that you forgot to put peppercorns in this mapo tofu?" (To be continued)

ps: Ask for a recommended ticket and ask for a monthly pass, this chapter is 3,500 words ha~~~