Chapter 337 Is this Guo Yan Miao?
Diaoyutai State Guesthouse is about 1 kilometer long from north to south and about kilometers wide from east to west. The entire park covers an area of nearly 43 square meters.
A large lake with rippling blue waves is inlaid in the park like a pearl. Sixteen reception buildings are built along the lakeside with the lake as the center and are scattered in the park in an orderly manner.
The internal environment is elegant and quiet, with pavilions, towers, bridges and flowing water, and a combination of Chinese and Western architectural styles. Every corner exudes a noble and elegant atmosphere.
Brother Nan drove slowly, enjoying the scenery along the way, and finally stopped in front of a quaint courtyard.
There were already waiters waiting in front of the majestic red gate.
As soon as the car stopped, he came forward to help open the door, and then led the three people into the courtyard.
Li Mu looked up before entering the door. On the plaque were three large gold-plated characters - "Yangyuanzhai".
It is said that this was written by Emperor Qianlong himself.
"How is it? Does it look good?" Brother Nan pointed at the waiter who was leading the way in front, turned his head and asked Li Mu in a low voice.
"Ah."
Li Mu nodded.
The waiters here all wear cheongsams and they are all very good-looking. Their looks are different from those outside. Their looks are dignified and elegant.
They are all highly educated and have received special training. They are not only knowledgeable but also proficient in the languages of many countries.
After entering the door, there is a large courtyard, a standard Beijing courtyard, with a reception room and a banquet hall.
The three of them came to eat, so they went directly to the banquet hall.
The entire hall is decorated magnificently with carved beams and painted buildings, and the floor is covered with embroidered red carpet, making you feel as if you have arrived at the emperor's palace.
There is a couplet hanging on the pillar in the hall, which reads "My deepest thoughts are placed in the springs and stones, and my joys are found in the mulberry and hemp". It is a calligraphy work copied by Qianlong's grandson.
Brother Nan let Fang Shulin sit in the main seat, and she sat next to Li Mu, and then started ordering food.
"Buddha jumps over the wall, boiled cabbage, Wensi tofu, Yangzhou lion head, Dongpo pork, white-cut chicken, crystal pigeon eggs, Luohan tripe, lotus abalone, Longjing shrimp, soft eel, squirrel mandarin fish, almond tofu, clear soup bird's nest."
"Isn't that too much?" Li Mu saw that Brother Nan had reported a long list and showed no sign of stopping.
"It sounds like a lot. The dishes here are mainly exquisite and beautiful, so the portions are quite small." Brother Nan waved his hand, "Just listen to me."
"Oh."
Li Mu listened silently as Brother Nan continued to call out the names of the dishes. Some of the dishes he had never eaten, let alone heard of.
After a while, the waiter who was responsible for recording the names of the dishes bowed and left.
Another waiter came to the table and made some tea for them. After that, he stepped aside and waited, ready to refill their tea at any time.
When Yogurt arrived at the new environment, he naturally had to patrol around to see if there were any mice.
She was seen walking leisurely in the banquet hall with her tail hanging down, jumping here to look, and jumping there to sniff.
The waiter lowered his eyes and followed her, but no one dared to speak out to stop her from running around.
The cat slowly walked to the waitress's feet, looked up at her, and continued walking forward. When passing by her feet, its body touched the corner of her cheongsam. The corner of the clothes swayed, which instantly attracted her attention. She couldn't help but raise her claws and poke it twice quickly.
Then she walked around the pillar and looked up at the words written on the couplet. She found that she knew every word, but couldn't understand their meaning when put together.
Mao'er took note of it secretly and planned to ask Nimu about it when he got back, then continued patrolling the hall.
Suddenly, a lot of people lined up outside and came in. She immediately lowered her body, took a vigilant posture, and looked up to observe them.
When he saw that each of them was holding a plate, he knew that the food was about to be served, so he trotted back to Li Mu, jumped lightly, and squatted on the table.
There were many waiters, and each of them brought a dish, and everything was served quickly.
Brother Nan is right, the dishes here are very exquisite and the presentation is particularly particular.
Li Mu had never seen many of the dishes before, and the tableware used was also very beautiful, like antiques. The chopsticks were inlaid with gold and printed with the words "Diaoyutai", which looked very high-end.
Fang Shulin took out her cell phone and took a few photos.
Li Mu also took several photos. It is no exaggeration to say that if these photos were posted online, they would be better than 99% of the people in the country. Brother Nan had eaten it too many times and was used to it. He did not take photos himself, but watched Li Mu take photos while holding the yogurt, and occasionally gave him advice on the shooting angle.
After shooting, we started eating.
The waiter also provided Yogurt with a set of tableware. Li Mu picked up a piece of squirrel mandarin fish and put it in Mao'er's bowl: "Master Yogurt, try this."
"Okay!" The cat lowered its head and started eating.
"Is it tasty?"
"Delicious!" The cat licked his lips, looked at the table full of delicious dishes, and looked up at him, "Is this the Guoyan Miao you mentioned?"
"state banquet."
"State Banquet~"
“I don’t know if it counts.”
"Then you're not smart."
".Eat this."
Li Mu picked up a Longjing shrimp and a crystal pigeon egg for the kitten.
A state banquet refers specifically to a banquet held by the government to entertain state guests, VIPs, or people from all walks of life on important holidays. Generally speaking, it can be divided into state cuisine and Taiwanese cuisine.
Tang cuisine refers to food eaten in the Great Hall of the People, and Taiwanese cuisine refers to food eaten in the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse.
Li Mu was not quite sure whether today's meal could be considered a state banquet.
It should be calculated.
Because Nan said that when she came to eat, the chef prepared all the food himself, and the dishes she ordered were all from the state banquet menu.
Today's table can be said to be no different from a state banquet except that there are fewer people and there are no reporters taking photos.
"How do you think it tastes?" Brother Nan asked Li Mu beside him.
"It's delicious."
"You are not a honest person." Brother Nan shook his head and looked at Fang Shulin, "Auntie, what do you think?"
"It looks good and tastes good, but the overall taste is a little light and not satisfying enough," said Fang Shulin.
"Yeah, I've felt that way for a long time." Brother Nan nodded in agreement, then turned to look at Li Mu, "Look, even Auntie is more honest than you."
"emm"
Li Mu didn't say anything, just ate his meal.
But as Brother Nan said, these dishes are delicious, but the taste is too fresh and elegant.
This is completely opposite to the heavy oil and spicy taste in fly restaurants, especially Brother Nan ordered boiled beef, which is a Sichuan dish famous for its heavy oil and spicy taste, but here it is made into a less spicy and less oily version, which is obviously deliberately catering to the tastes of the elderly and the style of a "state banquet".
However, I learned a lot from this meal.
State banquets draw on the strengths of the eight major cuisines and also absorb the essence of dishes from all over the world, from ancient imperial court banquets to folk snacks. Some dishes can be traced back thousands of years.
Sometimes we also adjust the dishes or even create our own dishes according to the tastes of foreign leaders.
Some dishes are even closely related to current affairs at the time. For example, during the 08 Olympic Games, my country hosted a banquet for leaders of various countries, and there was a dish of baked steak with mustard, the shape and color of which both symbolized the Olympic gold medal. It was golden and looked like jade.
It can be said that there is a story behind every dish.
Sister Nan was good at this, and while eating, she introduced to Li Mu and Fang Shulin the birth time and background of each dish on the table, telling them which chef created it and under what circumstances, or what folk rumors there were.
Li Mu listened with great interest, but at the same time couldn't help but glance at Brother Nan.
She knows it so clearly, she must have come here often.
Thanks to 湘_dB for the monthly ticket! Thanks to 木有鱼丸_bd for the monthly ticket! Thanks to 故事那也只是故事 for the monthly ticket! Thanks to 曹桥北园 for the monthly ticket! Thanks to 不念则忘i for the monthly ticket! 弓揭胸
(End of this chapter)
