A Stay-at-home Dad’s Restaurant In An Alternate World (WN)

Chapter 1600: If It’s Hot Pot, It’s Definitely The Red Soup Base!

On the second floor of Rena’s hot pot restaurant, there was a slightly smaller hall with tens of tables. At the circumference of the hall were private rooms that were numbered. There were a total of 32 private rooms.

As for the kitchen, it took up almost half of the area on the second floor.

Although it was not as advanced as modern kitchens, it had very clear sections—the washing section, chopping section, cooking section, and more—which were completely separated. The stove that she used was also the most advanced magical stove.

“This is what you call a big restaurant,” Mag commented in awe when he saw the kitchen that was a few times bigger than his own.

“Boss, take a seat here.” Rena pushed out a little trolley. On it was a double-flavored pot with a red soup base and a clear soup base. There were also various ingredients like vegetables, tripe, and beef plated beautifully. Basically, all the ingredients served in Mamy Restaurant were there. On top of that, they were very fresh, probably bought just this morning.

Mag automatically sat at a table nearby.

These hot pot tables were different from the induction stoves at Mamy Restaurant. They were premade to contain magical stoves. Only the heating stones had to be changed periodically, and the temperature could also be adjusted.

The heating stone was a common heating tool used in this world. It was only the size of a baby’s fist, and looked like a smooth black pebble. It was activated through spell formations to give out heat. It was not expensive, and was affordable even for normal families to use.

Using this method to heat up the hot pot was indeed a good idea.

Mag had to admit that Bennett was good at doing business. This fellow had already successfully replicated 80% of Mamy Restaurant, and all that was left was to hire someone like Rena to run the place before this hot pot restaurant could become a money-making machine.

A pity he was unable to poach Rena, and that was really an idea he should not have thought of.

The soup was still hot when Rena placed the double-flavored pot on the stove. Therefore, it took no time at all before the soup started boiling.

Mag shifted his attention to the soup in front of him. There were quite a lot of dried chili pieces and Sichuan Pepper floating in the red soup. The color of the beef fat soup was very enticing, and the fragrance of the soup base made with several spices wafted over. Initially, it was a little pungent, but as it assailed one’s nose, the smell became irresistible.

Mag took a good sniff and closed his eyes as he tried to differentiate the different spices Rena used. He did not know what were the spices Rena used, but she actually managed to replicate around 70 to 80% of the soup base that he made. The remaining 20 to 30% probably came from the difference in spices, but she did not simply let it be. Instead, she used other spices as a replacement to let this spicy hot pot soup become a little different from the one he made.

“The fragrance of the spicy hot pot is very unique. There is an obvious difference from mine, but it did not lose the style of the spicy hot pot. As for the taste, I’ll have to give it a try to find out,” Mag commented as he opened his eyes. His gaze landed on the clear soup at the side.

The most important part about the clear soup was whether the bone soup was brewed long enough, but that was something Rena needed not be worried about. The thick and white soup base could already speak for itself.

However, there were still some pieces of spring onions and a few red dried fruits floating in the soup.

“What’s this?” Mag picked up a dried fruit, which looked a little like a red date, with his chopsticks.

“This is a fruit called kada. It is a little sour, and can bring out the freshness of the soup. We would usually add a few of them when we make stews as it could make the soup even thicker and fresher. That’s why I added some to the clear soup as well. It can make the color of the plain soup a little more vibrant,” Rena explained.

“Which means that it has taken over the role of the tomato, and on top of that, it doesn’t go soft easily. This is a very creative addition to the soup.” Mag placed the kada back in the soup.

Based on just the appearance, be it the red soup base or the clear soup base, this double-flavored pot had already reached the standard of making one feel like trying. It was comparable to the hot pot at Mamy Restaurant.

In addition, judging from the smell, what Mag was happy about was that Rena was able to come up with something new and different, successfully ensuring that this hot pot restaurant would not become a cheaper version of Mamy Restaurant’s designated hot pot area.

Rena did not appear very happy. She placed the different ingredients on the table, and slightly nervously said, “Please give it a try.”

“Alright. Let me try the clear soup first.” Mag picked up a piece of sliced beef, and dipped it in the clear soup. The thinly cut fresh beef had beautiful marbling, and it quickly curled up in the boiling pot of soup. Before it could get overcooked, Mag took it out of the pot, and to better taste the soup base, he put the meat into his mouth without dipping it in any sauce.

The sliced beef was tender and succulent. It tasted even fresher after cooking in the thick bone soup that had a hint of sourness.

Mag’s taste buds were already completely triggered by the freshness of the meat without the need for any condiments. The taste of the meat still lingered in his mouth after he swallowed it.

This sliced beef must have been from the chuck roll of the best cattle. One could only cut out a few kilograms of top-grade chuck roll from 50-kilogram cattle. Therefore, that part of beef was very expensive.

Mag was very happy with Rena’s attitude towards the ingredients she served.

She did not compromise on the quality of the ingredients just because of the hot pot restaurant’s target audience.

Besides, the kada gave him quite a surprise. The sourness was not as sharp as the sourness of vinegar. It was a very mild sourness, and did very well in bringing out the freshness of the food. It was even better than using tomatoes.

After that, Mag put a few Chinese cabbages and sliced lotus roots into the pot. The Chinese cabbage turned soft very quickly. Similarly, Mag ate it without a sauce. Chinese cabbages were the freshest and sweetest in the winter. Even if it was cooked in plain water, it would still be delicious. After it was cooked in the bone soup for a while, its freshness was maximized, and it was hot and satisfying.

As for the lotus root, after taking a bite, Mag chose to dip it in the sauce that he had mixed earlier.

For ingredients that could not really absorb the taste of the soup base, the dipping sauce was still required to add some flavor so that its darn goodness could be brought out fully.

Mag put his chopsticks down, and very seriously commented, “The clear soup base became very unique because of the kada. The effect on the food is also very good. With a dipping sauce that matches each customer’s personal preference, it would be a hot pot experience that people who prefer lighter tastes would love.”

“Thank you.” Rena finally smiled. She had been thinking about how to make the seemingly simple clear soup base uniquely flavorful on its own. She was quite worried if Mag would disapprove of her decision to use kada, but she did not expect such good feedback.

“I’ll try the red soup base now.” Mag took off his outer jacket and undid his topmost button on his shirt. He rolled up his sleeve before mixing his own dipping sauce for the red soup base. He picked up his chopsticks, and was ready to start.

If it’s hot pot, it’s definitely the red soup base!