Chapter 1082 Pastry Offensive
While Ning Weimin’s fruit offensive was effective, the power of the pastry offensive was equally gratifying.
Westerners originally like sweets and have the habit of drinking afternoon tea and visiting cafes.
So every time you raise your cup, you cannot do without the exquisite cookies and cream snacks, or pudding.
Of course, when it comes to sweets, we have to admit that French chefs are the best.
French desserts are world-famous, and it is recognized that they are so delicious that they scream deliciousness.
Almost all the most famous desserts in Western countries come from France, so much so that France is known as the "Kingdom of Desserts".
French bakeries have therefore opened in famous cities around the world, and have also introduced croissants, baguettes, puffs, macarons, Napoleons, crepes, butterflies, apple pie, cheesecake, Creme brûlée has been brought to every corner of the world.
So the French not only love desserts, but they also know how to appreciate the quality of desserts.
However, it must be said that as a country with great food, China’s dessert standards are actually no less than those of France.
It may even be the only country in the world that can challenge France.
If you don’t mention anything else, let’s start with the eating habits of Chinese and French people who like tea and food.
Don’t forget, drinking tea and coffee with small snacks is something that old people in the capital have long had.
Isn’t this just “advancing”?
The Internet era is called "little hunger" by our young people.
What does it mean?
Actually, it means around 10 o'clock in the morning and around 4 o'clock in the afternoon.
It makes people feel a little hungry but not too hungry, and they want to eat some snacks.
Speaking of which, we still have one more meal than Westerners.
As a Chinese, especially a Beijinger, if you want to eat as a supplement, your first choice is definitely glutinous rice cakes.
Yes, the French are good at dairy products. They make milk cakes and mousse puddings that are beautiful and delicious.
In addition to dairy products, Chinese pastries also make good use of grains, flowers and fruits and pay attention to fillings.
The raw materials are far richer and more diverse than Western pastries, and they can also distinguish the seasons. This is something Western pastries cannot compare with.
Even in sugar art modeling, China has its own unique skills, which can still make Westerners stunned.
So Ning Weimin took into account the current season and selected yokan, pea yellow, poria cake, lotus cake, jade dew cream, mung bean cake, rose cake, fire paper tube, and crispy jujube flower from Tan Gong Restaurant. , nine kinds of palace pastries with delicate and unique tastes and beautiful shapes, suitable for summer eating.
And according to the French pastry method, they are placed in the room of the French star twice a day in a metal basket.
Then it is paired with four-color liquid food using a small glass bottle as a container, frozen in crystal ice, palace cheese, almond tofu, dried fruit, and poplar nectar.
At the same time, the rooms of the two celebrities were filled with blooming lotus flowers from the Tongzi River.
To be honest, he arranged the star's room like a pastry buffet.
Not to mention the placement, the butler at the Great Wall Hotel who served the two French stars in their daily life felt infinite admiration and admiration.
Later, I would brag to my colleagues - "I am an international celebrity, that's really a show...".
Even the two French stars themselves were secretly surprised when they returned to the room and saw such sumptuous food.
We can’t help but feel honored by this unexpected and extraordinary treatment.
In addition to having the illusion of being treated like a king and queen, I was even more surprised by Ning Weimin's thoughtfulness and knowledge.
Not surprisingly, his view of him naturally changed.
And at the same time, those things that originally tasted good became even more delicious because of the improved mood and the freshness of the exotic flavors.
Just like this yokan, pea yellow and almond tofu.
One is made of adzuki beans, one is made of peas, and the other is almond agar.
The taste is as delicate as pudding, and the aftertaste is also long.
But unlike Western pudding, there is no cream or butter at all, only the unique plant fragrance
The contrast is too strong.
The novel taste felt by the French tongue is probably as amazing as the Chinese people tasting Western pudding for the first time.
There is also Yulu cream, a naturally cooling pastry, which has the effect of clearing away heat and relieving fire, and soothing the irritable and thirsty heart.
It is perfect to eat in summer. It tastes sweet but not greasy, and is cool and melts in your mouth.
But this thing is not mint, and its shape is as white as jade, just like snow frost, and translucent like jade. Even if I look for Western pastries, there is no pastry with this texture.
Naturally, it greatly subverted the perception of the two French stars.
Not to mention foreign devils, even serious Chinese people, there are not many people who have eaten this food without sighing, it is really a fairy in the world.
In comparison, although lotus cakes and jujube cakes are also very beautiful and delicious, their appearance and taste are very outstanding.
But the highlights are all superficial and can be seen at a glance. There are no surprises. Instead, they are made ordinary.
As for rose cake, poria cake, mung bean cake and dried fruits.
Although it is no stranger to Beijing residents, it is a taste that foreigners have never tasted. It also opened up a new world of taste buds for the two French stars.
Even the palace cheese, fire paper cones, and dairy products such as poplar nectar that Ning Weimin provided specifically for his liking were the same as those that the two French stars often eat on weekdays. There is something very different about a star.
You must know that palace cheese is a dairy product invented by our ethnic minorities. Although it is also called cheese, the production method, taste and texture are not the same as Western cheese. This is a semi-solidified food made from glutinous rice wine, milk and sugar, freshly baked and then iced.
Smooth and tender, cool and light, overflowing with milky aroma, and elegant The name, the elegant style.
During the Republic of China, Cheese Wei, which introduced palace cheese to the people, became famous because of this. Cheese Wei was reported by World Journal in the United States and Japanese newspapers.
The Chinese in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan even take what they like and take it away after eating.
This shows that international people recognize this flavor food.
There is also the fire paper tube, which is a brioche egg roll invented in the Yuan Dynasty.
The time of appearance is similar to the history of the Tumusu Gun in the Southern Song Dynasty.
It got its name from the shape of a kindling made from paper strips coated with saltpeter, just like the capital city's trousers burning.
It is divided into two types: thick and thin.
The thick ones are thicker than your thumb, and the thin ones are as thin as chopsticks. They are all baked with butter, crispy and fragrant.
It is said that people in the Yuan Dynasty drank milk tea after recovering from serious illness, which was both nourishing and strong.
In today's society, there are people selling this stuff in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, and the sales are quite good.
In the future, an international brand supermarket will also use this butter egg roll and Swiss roll as best-selling products.
But despite this, no matter how proud people from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan are to call this kind of Hong Kong-style dim sum.
How can the Western world brag about this thing as a Swiss pastry?
If we have to trace the origins from history, I am afraid that in the end we will have to trace it to the capital of the Yuan Dynasty.
The pastry shops in Beijing are the ancestors of making this stuff, and the natural flavor is different from those of their disciples.
As for Yangzhi Manna, Ning Weimin stole it from the south, and he imitated it by relying on his knowledge in his previous life.
However, this kind of Cantonese dessert has a very wide audience. It seems that no one has ever said it tastes bad and no one dislikes it.
And the format is very similar to Western punch. Once you taste it, you will never forget it.
All in all, these pastries carefully prepared by Ning Weimin are both special and novel to the two French stars. Almost all of them are desserts they have never tasted before.
But each of them is a classic taste that has been passed down through generations and has been loved by countless people.
They can naturally feel the difference and beauty of Chinese and Western refreshments, which will create stimulation and excitement that touches their souls.
So subtly, this undoubtedly changed their prejudices about Chinese food.
From the initial disdain, I became surprised and curious, and even a little obsessed, wanting to explore more things.
And this is the most shrewd thing about Ning Weimin. He used an honest conspiracy to catch the two foreign devils in the palm of his hand.
Because food, although it can be felt directly through the senses, is also a process of gradual upgrading from shallow to deep, from simple to complex.
For example, when Ning Weimin took Kang Shude to Jinmen to eat Shilin, the old man once told him this.
The same is true even for Chinese food. When the specialty food of any place is operated in another place, it often takes time for large dishes to be accepted by people.
Snacks are the easiest to take root in other places and gain recognition.
Why?
Just because the snacks are simple and straightforward, the prices are low.
Later, Ning Weimin went to Tokyo to open a store. Based on what he saw and learned, the more he thought about it, the more he realized this.
Among other things, American burgers, French fries, milkshakes, hot dogs, British fish fillets, Italian macaroni, pizza, and French desserts are all sold around the world and accepted by everyone. Isn’t it essentially just a snack?
Let alone Japanese food, ramen, sushi, and tempura should be placed on a Chinese banquet. None of them can be used as the main course, and they are not worthy of being the main dish.
Isn’t it just a snack?
This seemed to solve many problems that he couldn't understand at once.
Why is it that while we have such a strong foundation in Chinese food, we become acclimatized when we go overseas?
Why do the Chinese food categories that make money overseas have to rely on those mutated fake Chinese food?
That is undoubtedly a major problem in the business method and promotion model!
Yes, because of cultural barriers, when it comes to Chinese food overseas, the more extensive and sophisticated it is, the worse it is.
To put it bluntly, there are different levels of food and different audiences.
If you don't know what five-flavor blending is, and don't even know how to pick out fish bones or crack melon seeds, if you come directly to the "Eight Major Cuisines", why don't you find yourself in trouble?
Actually, the foreigner is just a kindergarten kid who only knows how to eat sweet, sour, salty and savory food.
Their tongues are not yet civilized and cannot accept other more advanced tastes.
If you compare them with our domestic traffickers and lackeys, they are overestimated.
Isn’t it easiest to get fooled by some candies, pastries, fruits and the like?
Facts have proved that what Ning Weimin did was right.
Successfully aroused the curiosity and thirst for knowledge of the two French stars.
The next step is for these two French stars to be introduced to Chinese food in elementary school to receive enlightenment education.
(End of this chapter)