Gourmet of Another World

Spring Wind Pavilion was a restaurant that one would become captivated as they entered.

 Although the decor wasn’t one that would give off that kind of feeling of being in a palace, it exhibited brilliance in its own way. Its interior gave one the feeling of being in a high-end western restaurant back on Earth.

 As soon as you entered, the walls, which were made of jade-like materials, would immediately catch your eyes. They gave off a serene feeling as they glistened on the walls.

 There was also a spiral staircase that would enable one to go to any floor of the restaurant.

 Each floor of the pavilion was a wide circular area, with the spiral staircase situated in the middle of each floor. The staircase was made of obsidian, a stone that looked as smooth as water.

 Spring Wind Pavilion gave off a noble and tranquil atmosphere.

 The more Bu Fang looked around, the more peculiar things appeared.

 It was the first time that he had come to witness such a restaurant. Whether it was Hidden Dragon Continent or Immortal Cooking Realm, neither had been able to give him this kind of feeling.

 The style of the place gave Bu Fang the feeling of being in a high-end western restaurant, and he couldn’t help but think about those restaurants back on Earth.

 It was fairly obvious, however, that Spring Wind Pavilion’s decor and interior were more luxurious than that of Earth’s poshest restaurants.

 A melodious tone suddenly resounded within the pavilion. Calming everyone’s minds, everybody couldn’t help but stop what they were doing and turn towards the source of the sound.

 Bu Fang’s eyebrows furrowed as he raised his head and looked upwards.

 On every floor of the pavilion, there were women of fine age singing. At first glance, one would be able to tell that these women were properly trained. Although Bu Fang had never heard of the songs being sung, he nevertheless appreciated the performance as the songs were very fitting for the venue.

 While Bu Fang was murmuring to himself, someone approached him.

 “Hello, are you here to dine?”

 A gentle voice resounded in Bu Fang’s ears.

 Bu Fang nodded, then calmed himself and asked, “May I see the head chef of your Spring Wind Pavillion?”

 The waitress, who was wearing a rather seductive dress that accentuated her figure, was surprised to hear such a question.

 Who had the highest position in the entire Spring Wind Pavilion?

 It wasn’t the owner of Spring Wind Pavilion. It was actually the head chef.

 The chef is the lifeline of Spring Wind Pavilion. As long as the chef remained, the restaurant would always be able to provide dishes of high quality that could even satisfy the Empress.

 And yet, this unidentified person, right after they entered the restaurant, asked to see the head chef.

 How could the head chef of Spring Wind Pavilion, who was always busy, come and answer to some random person?

 “Guest, you’re joking, aren’t you?” The waitress smiled as she brought Bu Fang towards the staircase to go up to the second floor.

 The first floor of Spring Wind Pavilion, although spacious, was actually rather empty as there were no tables for dining.

 Beyond the first floor of Spring Wind Pavilion, every floor consisted of many corridors, where tables were placed. Most of the people who were currently dining were just slightly shaking their wine glasses around, enjoying the rare tranquility with their eyes closed.

 The restaurant seemed to be able to cleanse people’s souls.

 Bu Fang looked around. He remained silent and did not bother the waitress with the matter of looking for the chef.

 “Guest, please do take a seat.”

 Bu Fang was finally able to find a place of his own on the second floor.

 Although Bu Fang, who was wearing a black cloak, attracted the attention of quite a number of people, none of them gave him any trouble.

 The waitress then pulled out a seat and a white cloth to prepare the table. She shook the white cloth, covering the table gracefully as it fell.

 Bu Fang then touched the cloth, finding out that the material was of rather high quality.

 “Guest, here’s the menu. Once you’re ready, just tell me what you’d want to eat.” The waitress smiled kindly as she spoke. She did not show any sign of disdain nor annoyance for the question that Bu Fang had asked earlier.

 Bu Fang could only admit to himself that the service that Spring Wind Pavilion provided was really good.

 Whether it was the decor or the service, Spring Wind Pavilion had really thought out everything that they would have to serve the customers.

 Now, the only thing left for Bu Fang to experience was the food.

 If the dishes weren’t delicious, then Spring Wind Pavilion would not be able to become successful no matter how excellent the service or decor was.

 So, Bu Fang took the menu. As he looked at it, his face froze. The menu was full of extremely pricey dishes.

 The cheapest dish was already priced at four digits.

 This made Bu Fang, who only had five hundred Nether crystals, feel slightly embarrassed.

 Melodious singing then rang out, which sounded really beautiful.

 “Having come to Spring Wind Pavilion, being able to listen to such a beautiful song, this makes being here truly worthwhile.” The waitress tilted her head upwards, looking at the upper floors.

 A look of admiration appeared on Bu Fang’s face.

 Bu Fang then looked at the menu once again. Since he didn’t have enough Nether crystals, he just took a look at the variety of available dishes.

 As Bu Fang was looking through the menu, he had made some strange discoveries. There were a lot more barbecue dishes compared to other types, although the different kinds of dishes were still rather plentiful.

 “Fragrant Dragon Chops?” Bu Fang glanced at the name of the first dish on the menu and said its name out loud.

 “Hm? Does the guest wish to order this dish? That dish is one of the bestsellers of our Spring Wind Pavillion… It’s also one of the chef’s best dishes,” the waitress said with a smile. “Although it won’t be the head chef that will be cooking for you, the head chef’s apprentices should still be able to bring out its intended taste.”

 Bu Fang asked, “So, is the first dish on the menu the head chef’s best dish?”

 The waitress replied with a smile, “You could say that… but I think the head chef’s signature dish should be the whole roast dragon.”

 “Is it not on the menu?” Bu Fang doubtfully asked as he flipped through the pages.

 The waitress proudly explained to Bu Fang, “Guest, the whole roast dragon is only served at the highest floor of Spring Wind Pavilion. Also, I’m sorry to tell you that it is a dish that the chef only cooks once a month. Also, it’s the favorite dish of the Empress and is only served at the imperial feast.”

 Imperial feast?

 Bu Fang took a deep breath, then solemnly nodded. “All right, I’ll just have this dish.”

 The waitress’s eyes lit up when Bu Fang finally ordered something. However, when she saw what Bu Fang was pointing at, her face suddenly froze. She couldn’t help but read it out to make sure, “Jade Dragon’s Liver?”

 Towards the waitress’s doubts, Bu Fang could only nod his head with a blushing face.

 The Jade Dragon’s Liver was only worth five hundred Nether crystals.

 Bu Fang was no stranger to dragon liver. After all, he himself had once made a dish called Dragon Liver Strips. However, that dish needed a special mixture to be able to be truly called a delicacy.

 The waitress then said, slightly pouting, “Alright then. Your order shall be here in a while.”

 After taking a long while looking at the menu, he had ended up ordering the cheapest dish. Even though the waitress had been trained really well, she couldn’t help but show a trace of disdain.

 It was the same for both Goddess City and the outside world, people were treated differently depending on the value that they show.

 Although it was the cheapest dish, Bu Fang still held some expectations for it. There were times when a chef would be able to taste many different sides of a single dish.

 As the waitress walked away, she gave Bu Fang a disdainful glance. He had only ordered one dish and didn’t even order wine.

 The waitress had never seen a customer like him, with that ridiculous appearance and all. Bu Fang, to her, was just some random nobody who had a slightly bulky build.

 Regardless, the only people who could enter Spring Wind Pavilion were those with status or capability. If they weren’t officials, then they were very likely to be the successful merchants.

 Bu Fang remained calm. Well, he had no other choice in the matter, so all he could do was just let things run its course.

 If the dishes were to just cost immortal crystals, then he’d be able to order other dishes. However, the dishes were actually priced in Nether crystals, so he had no choice…

 Either way, Bu Fang still looked forward to having a taste of that Jade Dragon’s Liver.

 He once again heard the beautiful singing. It lingered in his ear, causing his entire being to become calm.

 “Truly wonderful…” Bu Fang couldn’t help but mutter.

 He commended not only the singing, but also its musical accompaniment.

 The instruments of this strange world were truly different. The sound that was produced seemed to be warm to one’s ears.

 Having both good music and food, Spring Wind Pavilion really had quite a good thing going for it.

 Suddenly, the striking sound of heels hitting with the floor disturbed the meditative state that Bu Fang was in.

 Bu Fang slightly opened his eyes, seeing the waitress from before approaching him.

 “Guest, here’s the dish you ordered,” the waitress said with no enthusiasm and without a smile.

 She placed the dish down, then turned. There were no chopsticks, a knife, nor a fork. The waitress didn’t give Bu Fang any utensils.

 Bu Fang only watched as the waitress prepared to leave. He then gently tapped on the table.

 Tap. Tap. Tap.

 After a while, Bu Fang stopped looking at the waitress, and instead, laid his eyes on the dish before him.

 The waitress then she started humming as she left.

 Bu Fang knew that the waitress looked down on him, but he didn’t care a bit.

 Jade Dragon’s Liver.

 Bu Fang’s order laid on the table, glittering. The plate was made of jade-like material and had pale gold patterns around its edges.

 He frowned. “This is a western dish?”

 Since the waitress didn’t give Bu Fang any utensils for eating, he had to prepare them for himself.

 Buzz…

 A knife and a fork appeared in Bu Fang’s hands. He had cooked dragon steak before, so he knew that he would have needed a knife and a fork to eat it, and that was why he had prepared the utensils beforehand.

 The knife and the fork gently collided, producing a rather crisp sound.

 That sound attracted the attention of several people, causing them to look over.

 Standing in the distance, the waitress saw Bu Fang holding a knife and a fork, her face showing a tinge of surprise. In the end, however, she merely pouted and looked on in contempt.

 After the collision of the two utensils, the fork slid across the knife, producing a sharp sound. In the next moment, the knife moved in Bu Fang’s hand.

 The fork then struck the dragon liver as the knife slightly sliced through it, cutting off a piece of it. He then brought the dragon’s liver into his mouth.

 Eh?

 As the dragon liver entered his mouth, Bu Fang’s eyebrows furrowed.

 It wasn’t that the dragon liver tasted bad. Rather, it tasted exactly like that dragon liver that he had in the past.

 The dragon liver was tender—it was fried just right. When the knife cut down, one would be able to see its beautiful color.

 As it entered his mouth, it gave off a warm taste. When he bit into it, the aroma of the dragon liver burst in his mouth. It seemed to have melted, coating his taste buds.

 This cooking process… was done by crushing the dragon liver and then directly roasted over a high-temperature flame. The temperature was good, but the dish was just too rough and had too many flaws.

 Indeed, Bu Fang had judged after tasting the dish.

 Nevertheless, he wasn’t in a hurry, so he merely continued to eat the dragon liver, placing one piece after the other into his mouth. The taste continued to pervade his mouth.

 ‘The way it was cooked was exquisite, but it lacked… the chef’s intention…’ This was Bu Fang’s final judgment.

 The dish could only, at best, be an appetizer.

 Bu Fang continued eating when suddenly, the sound of footsteps once again resounded. Bu Fang couldn’t help but frown, having doubts about what had happened.

 Two figures stood right beside Bu Fang’s table. The waitress who had attended to Bu Fang was smiling at the woman, who stood right beside her and said, “Please wait for a moment, Mistress Liu. This guest will soon be done with his meal. Spring Wind Pavilion’s business today is really good, so it isn’t that easy to find a seat.”

 The woman, who was called Mistress Liu, glanced at the dish that was on Bu Fang’s table. She couldn’t help but smirk and laugh disdainfully as she said, “Come on, I’m already hungry.”

 The pointed stare from the waitress’ eyes grew stronger and stronger as she continued to look at Bu Fang.

 “Guest…”

 However, before she could even finish what she was about to say, she was coldly interrupted by Bu Fang. “Shut your mouth. Did your boss not teach you that you shouldn’t interrupt the meal of a customer?”

 Bu Fang then placed another dragon liver inside his mouth while looking at the waitress.

 Afterward, using a single hand, Bu Fang slammed his knife on the table, causing the table to shake and create a loud noise.

The waitress could only stare incredulously.

 Mistress Liu, who was still beside her, also looked shocked.

 Many eyes looked over.

 In an instant, the atmosphere became tense.