Gourmet Food Supplier

“Little Yuan, are you done ordering?” Xiao Xing asked when he saw Yuan Zhou stop.

“No, please wait a moment,” Yuan Zhou shook his head and continued concentrating on the conversation behind him.

“You will feel better after drinking some of the hot water on the table,” said Xiao Xing as he pointed toward a glass with steam floating up of it.

“Um, thank you,” Yuan Zhou nodded and thanked.

“You’re welcome. Just doing my part,” said Xiao Xing.

This time, Yuan Zhou gave no answer and only smiled before passing over the menu.

“Take a look and see what you want to eat,” Yuan Zhou said.

“Ok. I’ll pass the order to the waiter after I’m done,” Xiao Xing said with a nod.

“Um.” Yuan Zhou nodded his head.

While Yuan Zhou and Xiao Xing spoke, the man and woman behind them were also ordering. They no longer spoke about Yuan Zhou’s restaurant.

However, Yuan Zhou discovered that the two had good English as they could communicate properly with the waiter, even though the waiter spoke English with a heavy accent.

When Yuan Zhou could no longer hold his curiosity and turned around to look at them, the two spoke again.

“You know Yuan Zhou’s restaurant as well?” the woman asked in astonishment.

“Of course I do. He’s very popular recently and you’re a foodie,” the man spoke in a pampering manner.

“After I get back, I’m going to hang out at the restaurant for three whole days, and not one day less,” the woman declared resolutely.

“I don’t think that restaurant is open for 24 hours a day, right?” the man asked doubtfully.

Yuan Zhou nodded by reflex when he heard that. His restaurant was not open for 24 hours a day.

“I know. But I only want to stay here. Even smelling the smell of that place is enough for me,” the woman said, clearly in some sort of reverie.

Barely after she spoke, she sneezed.

“Shit, why is the smell of spices everywhere? I’m dying here,” the woman said helplessly.

“Fine, fine. I will bring you to Yuan Zhou’s restaurant when we got back. We will be eating three meals per day there,” the man consoled.

“That’s more like it. Sigh, I really miss Boss Yuan’s cooking,” the woman sighed.

Then, the man shifted the topic. He was probably trying to shift her attention to something else. Yuan Zhou stopped listening to them.

Just as Yuan Zhou was feeling somewhat smug, Xiao Xing spoke.

“Little Yuan, why are you smiling?” Xiao Xing asked in astonishment.

That’s right, Yuan Zhou had suddenly smiled earlier.

“Um, I’m in a good mood,” Yuan Zhou did not deny it and nodded his head.

“So what good thing is happening?” Xiao Xing asked, clearly getting interested.

“Someone was praising me earlier,” Yuan Zhou said.

“Praising? When?” Xiao Xing was confused.

During the past few days, Xiao Xing already noted that Yuan Zhou was not a person who would use his mobile phone all the time. He would not use his mobile phone while in the car or while eating. Essentially, apart from when making a phone call, Yuan Zhou would never take his phone out.

Of course, he would also be taking his phone out when he was sending text messages, but the number of messages he sent was even fewer than him making calls.

Yuan Zhou was sitting opposite him without his phone yet he was claiming that someone had praised him. This confused Xiao Xing.

Xiao Xing looked around and did not find anything. He then looked at Yuan Zhou doubtfully.

“Just now. It was someone you didn’t know,” Yuan Zhou explained.

This explanation confused Xiao Xing even more.

“I was replying text earlier. Did you speak to someone while I was doing that?” Xiao Xing asked.

“No, I only overheard the praise,” Yuan Zhou shook his head.

Xiao Xing was still confused. Just as he was about to continue asking, the waiter arrived with their food.

“Let’s eat first,” Yuan Zhou said as he gestured at the waiter.

“Oh, ok,” Xiao Xing nodded.

The moment the food arrived, Xiao Xing started introducing them one by one. Yuan Zhou was holding his chopsticks. After each introduction, Yuan Zhou would take a mouthful of the dish before writing something down.

Dish name: Thai Lemon Shrimp, a huge amount of lime is used. Some tiny lime and peppermint have also been boiled and mixed into the sauce as well.

Taste: A thick flavor of spice with medium-sized shrimps used. The texture of the meat is not bad, but the taste of the spice is too heavy. However, it has a unique flavor to it as well.

Deliciousness rating: Not suited for my taste.

Yuan Zhou recorded after he ate a shrimp. This notebook was one that Yuan Zhou had prepared in advance. The notebook was as thick as a finger and half of it was already filled with notes.

When eating in restaurants, Yuan Zhou would quickly write down notes on the spot. When eating snacks from vendors outside, Yuan Zhou would only write his notes when he was back in his hotel room.

Just like that, Yuan Zhou ate while writing notes. Meanwhile, Xiao Xing only ate after introducing the dishes.

They ate at a decent speed. In a short while, they finished eating and prepared to leave.

“Tour guide, is your surname Xing?” Yuan Zhou suddenly asked.

“Yes, Xing is my surname,” Xiao Xing answered while driving.

“This is quite a rare surname.” Only now did Yuan Zhou realized that he had been calling this tour guide’s name wrongly. Fortunately, the character Xing that he called sounded the same as the character Xing that was the actual surname of Xiao Xing. Otherwise, the good impression the tour guide had of him would have been ruined.

Xiao Xing started explaining, “I think this surname originated from the ancient criminal bureaucrats. Xing is a minor surname that is very rare. Apart from my relatives, I have never met anyone with the same surname.”

Yuan Zhou nodded. This tour guide was quite good at making conversations.

“By the way, I asked my colleague earlier. The food market you mentioned is under renovation and has probably moved away,” Xiao Xing said to Yuan Zhou.

“Um, don’t worry about it. We will still continue with our eating trip,” Yuan Zhou said after taking a sip from his bottle of mineral water.

“Eating again?” Xiao Xing asked in astonishment.

“Um. Continue,” Yuan Zhou nodded.

After arriving at Thailand, Yuan Zhou had not eaten anything he truly liked. He felt like that was most probably because he had no experienced person bringing him around.

Therefore, Yuan Zhou decided to consult the tour guide on what to eat for dinner, and if there would be anything good that would suit the taste buds of a Chinese.

Xiao Xing replied, “There are plenty of good cuisines in Thailand. For example, Tomyam food, or seafood, and so on. It depends on what you want.”

“Since I’m in Thailand, of course I’m eating signature…” Yuan Zhou was about to say that he wanted to eat signature Thai dishes before his nose caught a whiff of a thick spice smell. He instantly choked on his own words.

“I am not a picky person. As long as the dishes are delicious, the chef is good, the ingredients fit the taste buds of the general population, and the eating environment is clean, I will be fine,” Yuan Zhou said.

Xiao Xing sank into silence as he listed all the restaurants he knew inwardly. Then, 80% of them were eliminated, leaving only 20% of them that met the criteria specified by Yuan Zhou.

Xiao Xing said, “The Three Fishes Restaurant is not bad. The chef there is popular, and the restaurant has a unique style. For example, customers are free to adjust the flavor they want such as spicy or bland, and the restaurant would adjust the dish accordingly.”

“That’s not bad,” Yuan Zhou said, his interest piqued.