Even though the foreign friends heard the poem recited by Su Xiaotian, they couldn't help but sigh with admiration.
Speaking of which, Su Xiaotian changed the subject.
"However, today we are mainly here to taste delicious food, and fine wine is just the icing on the cake!"
Joking aside, the red wine was not meant to steal the spotlight, but only to win favor!
Grandma Su's cooking was indeed excellent, meticulous, and perfect in color, aroma, and taste.
Today, under Su Xiaotian's special instructions, the plating was even more exquisite and beautiful.
The little foodie Christina was the first to cheer.
For such a long time, listening to these people talk had made her feel stifled.
Fortunately, the dishes were served now.
She hoped these people wouldn't continue discussing meaningless topics.
"Dear Tian, this dish smells so good, my mouth is watering!"
Christina's expression was very exaggerated, while Auguste did not show much interest.
The cold dishes did not have a very strong aroma.
Christina's exaggerated expression of emotion was more because she had been holding back for more than half an hour.
"Miss Christina, what do you think of these dishes?"
"Exquisite, beautiful, and they look delicious. Tian, I like them so much!"
As Christina was enthusiastically praising, the waiter came in again.
This time, hot dishes were served.
From the moment the first hot dish was served, the subsequent dishes were served one after another, which was truly eye-opening.
Especially Christina, who just stared at the dishes on the table with wide eyes.
She watched the exquisite dishes without missing a single one, her expression becoming more and more exaggerated.
After a while, when all the dishes were served, Christina was completely speechless.
Seeing the petrified expressions of a few people, Su Xiaotian called out again.
Did they not like it?
Otherwise, why weren't they picking up their chopsticks?
"Oh, my goodness, dear Tian, I have never seen such exquisite dishes!"
Were these not works of art meant to be admired?
Su Xiaotian's hanging heart finally relaxed.
"Most honored Miss Christina, please allow me to introduce these dishes to you."
Christina nodded like a pecking chick.
In fact, it wasn't just Christina; even Auguste, who considered himself well-traveled, was quietly waiting for Su Xiaotian's introduction.
It had to be said that these dishes had successfully aroused his interest.
"The names of these four cold dishes are Magpie Perched on Plum Blossoms, Butterfly Shrimp Rolls, Ginger Fish Slices, and Five-Spice Young Pigeon. Cold dishes are also called appetizers in a banquet."
Su Xiaotian gave a brief introduction to the cold dishes, as the dishes she really wanted to introduce were yet to come.
"The dishes I want to focus on today are these later ones. These are dishes from true imperial banquets, and also part of the Manchu-Han Imperial Feast."
"This dish is called Braised Deer Tendon in Clay Pot. As the name suggests, the main ingredient is deer tendon. Deer tendon is a very rare ingredient. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that deer tendon has the effects of nourishing blood and unblocking collaterals, strengthening tendons and bones, and generating essence and marrow."
Seeing that the foreign guests were clearly not very interested, Su Xiaotian continued, "In your country's terms, deer tendon contains various amino acids such as proline and glycine, and various elements such as sodium, iron, manganese, and zinc, which are beneficial to the body."
Su Xiaotian's words left Auguste and Christina bewildered.
It was just eating, why were there so many considerations?
Traditional Chinese medicine could be ignored, but could a dish contain so many trace elements?
Su Xiaotian didn't care what they were thinking and continued her introduction.
Grandma Su had prepared four cold dishes, eight hot dishes, twelve dishes in total, and one soup!
Su Xiaotian introduced the other dishes to everyone one by one.
In addition to the previously introduced Braised Deer Tendon, there were also Shredded Chicken with Tremella, Osmanthus Fish Strips, Eight-Treasure Rabbit Cubes, Arhat Prawns, Deep-Fried Scallops, Stir-fried Beef with Scallions, Stir-fried Vegetable Hearts with Mushrooms, and First-Grade Tofu.
It had to be said that Su Xiaotian's table of dishes was indeed very well-matched, with everything from the mountains to the ground and swimming in the water, providing comprehensive nutrition.
By the time she finished introducing all the dishes, Christina was speechless.
She took a deep breath.
"Tian, do people in your country have so many sayings about eating? I thought delicious food just needed to be delicious!"
"Miss Christina, China is a country with a long history. These are precious treasures accumulated over thousands of years, which have formed today's cuisine."
Su Xiaotian was very proud of this, and even her tone was full of pride when she introduced it.
This composure, confidence, and pride were something that Auguste and the others had never seen in China.
The Chinese people they met were always a bit fawning towards them, and their tone of voice would carry a hint of humility and flattery.
However, the girl in front of them behaved completely differently; her attitude was not at all fawning or flattering.
Yet, this kind of confidence did not make him feel any aversion; instead, it earned her more respect.
After thanking her, Christina and Auguste picked up their chopsticks first.
However, the small pair of chopsticks, which were very nimble in Su Xiaotian's hands, were more awkward in the hands of these two siblings than holding a gun.
What Su Xiaotian had originally expected to be a perfect meal completely descended into chaos when they started using chopsticks.
Out of the seven people at the table, four of them did not know how to use chopsticks.
Moreover, none of them could learn!
Even the most capable Auguste could not learn to use chopsticks.
In the end, Su Xiaotian had no choice but to ask the waiter to prepare forks and spoons for them.
Only then did they manage to get these delicacies into their mouths.
Before they were put into their mouths, although they were fumbling with chopsticks, they still maintained basic table manners.
After the first bite of delicacy reached their mouths, everyone's eyes widened a little more.
"Tian, it's too delicious!"
Before Christina could finish praising, the others were fully focused on challenging themselves to eat Chinese food with both a fork and a spoon.
As for table manners, they had to put them aside for the moment; what was in their mouths counted.
Su Xiaotian clearly had not expected these dishes to be so to their liking.
Although she had thought of conquering their taste buds with delicious food, she had not expected to conquer them so easily.
She thought it would require some recommendation to achieve the effect.
However, Su Xiaotian finally realized that she had overthought it; these people were born gourmands!
The red wine Su Xiaotian had prepared to enhance the atmosphere was not used.
Many of the words she had prepared were never spoken.
After a brief moment of stunned silence from Shi Yuliang, Lü Ruya, and Su Xiaotian, two more people joined the scramble for food.
Su Xiaotian sighed, it was fortunate that she had prepared twelve dishes, as well as soup and staple food, otherwise, with their behavior, it might not have been enough to eat!
She looked at the originally aloof Auguste and wondered why he had suddenly abandoned his aloof persona.
Was it not good to continue being aloof?
Why did she have to witness such a disillusioning scene?