Chapter 2: Authentic Roujiamo
His speed was quick, years of accumulated kitchen experience allowed him to immediately devise the most efficient workflow, saving a lot of time.
Exactly ten-thirty.
He loaded the steaming buns into the cart to keep them warm, poured the braised pork belly along with the broth into the cart’s soup container and heated it on low, grabbed some oil paper and plastic bags, and set off!
To save money, he moved to the suburbs, by the time he reached the city center’s commercial street, it was already eleven o’clock.
"Phew..."
Taking a deep breath, saying he wasn’t nervous would be a lie.
Selling a hundred portions in one hour, even in his home country, would be slightly challenging, let alone in an unfamiliar foreign land.
The stall was set up right at the subway entrance, with a cinema upstairs, nearby large malls, and nightclubs, it was the area with the most foot traffic.
Aside from him, there were also seven or eight other food trucks in business.
A glance around revealed Brasilian tacos, an ice cream truck, grilled sausages, fish and chips, even the Kimchi Country neighbors and Sakura people joined the scene selling fish cake soup, spicy rice cakes, and sushi, and business was brisk.
Seeing this, his heart eased slightly.
As long as there’s a large Asian presence, this is the place!
"Oh, a newcomer?"
The regular food truck owners in this area noticed the unexpected guest, curiously peering over. Seeing an Asian face, they quietly took interest.
Lin Chen pulled out a piece of cardboard and scribbled a crooked large line with flamboyant strokes.
[Authentic Meat Buns 5€]
Below, it was translated into the local language in a style they liked.
[Slow-cooked shredded pork with secret sauce on handcrafted Great Xia traditional crispy white bread burger 5€]
According to his research, a popular shop sold them for 6.5 for one, 7 for beef, so as a street vendor, his price had to be slightly cheaper to attract enough customers quickly.
He worked tirelessly, hungry and exhausted, he hadn’t even had dinner, intending to make two for himself first, and see if the finished product could attract some customers.
He took out a steaming bun, its tiger-skin patterned surface perfectly cooked, with a shallow side crack.
Lightly pressing it with his hand, the crack widened into a hollow state, not requiring a knife, the bun naturally split into two halves.
He lifted the pot’s lid, scooped up an incredibly tender piece of pork belly, cut a large piece off, and threw the rest back into the pot to keep warm.
Gently pressing the fatty part with the knife blade, without much effort, the fat dissolved into white meat paste, the lean part also perfectly tender, separating into strands according to the grain.
Mixing both, a simple chop of a dozen cuts, then he ladled a spoonful of hot pork broth over, continuing to mix and chop.
The freshly stewed rich meat aroma gradually wafted around as the meat paste was chopped up.
A little past eleven, just as the movie ended, waves of people began emerging from the mall’s escalators, flowing onto the street with the crowd.
"We need to buy some supper, Jade, my poor brother Lucas is arriving soon, he just returned from studying abroad in Great Xia not long ago, we need to buy him some hometown delicacies too."
"I heard the development in Great Xia was a bit behind, I wonder how my poor brother coped these past years, if he could even eat enough."
"Oh, my dear Amber, but didn’t we just have delicious pan-seared bass and creamy angel hair pasta at six? After a movie, you’re hungry again?"
A couple walked hand in hand out of the subway building, sharing a gentle kiss amid the crowded throng, then gazed at the nearby buildings.
"It’s quite late, only the bars are open, or should we treat ourselves to some food truck cuisine?"
"That’s a good idea, I remember the Brasilian boss’s tacos being amazing, and the Sakura person next door makes good sushi too. He’s supposedly a shop owner, business is thriving."
Hearing about the sushi, the woman’s eyes lit up: "What are we waiting for? Let’s buy two boxes of sushi, plenty of flavors, with vegetables and fresh fish, it won’t make us fat. Tacos have too many calories; I don’t want to wake up tomorrow looking like a pig head."
Hand in hand, they walked over, and as they passed Lin Chen’s food truck, the woman suddenly stopped, sniffing the air.
"Did you smell that, darling? What’s that aroma, it’s delightful, like nothing I’ve ever smelled before."
The man nodded, eyes on the street-side food truck: "I smelled it too. It’s likely the scent is coming from here; curiously, I haven’t seen this before, could it be new?"
No pictures, no crowded menu, just a simple board, they both decided to come closer for a look.
Just in time, Lin Chen had just finished two meat buns, devouring them while hot; seeing potential customers approaching, he immediately flashed a commercial smile.
"Would you like some hot Great Xia burgers?"
He initially considered saying the dish’s name but decided against it for the sake of dignity.
"Great Xia food? Burgers?"
They didn’t expect such a response.
They glanced at the unusual-looking burger in his hand, shaking their heads in disappointment, apparently not seeing anything appealing.
The man glanced at him: "Young Great Xia guy, this wouldn’t happen to be your first day out here, would it? Food truck items not only need to be tasty and cheap but also visually appealing, much like a restaurant, unappealing food is not something anyone’s gonna order."
"Look at this bread, white like wall paint, unevenly toasted, not fluffy, lacks any appetizing appeal, the pork inside is done well, unfortunately bread is the heart of a burger, and there’s no tomato or lettuce, or even a cheese slice... I bet no one will come buy your food."
The woman gently tugged on him: "Amber, enough, you’re being rude."
The man chuckled: "Haha, I’m just giving this young man some practical advice, worried he might go broke, food trucks don’t come cheap after all."
Faced with this advice, Lin Chen was unfazed, continuing to bite into his half-eaten meat bun.
Half a minute later, the couple returned, the man holding two boxes of exquisite-looking sushi up to the window.
"Learn something, young man. Look at the Sakura sushi’s fame. Even we Nordics are conquered by sushi’s flavors. See the filling combinations, look at the presentation, the translucent rice grains, the taste is beyond mention, they even have Michelin-comparable restaurants, crafted by expert Sakura chefs."
"If nothing else, the spicy rice cakes and savory fish cakes from the Kimchi people over there are nice, though they’re semi-finished, far superior to your unappealing-looking food."
"You’re in a developed country now, eat something good, here’s sushi, pick a piece, try it?"