Super Zoo

Soon enough, several fish dishes were remade and brought to the table.

Just by their appearance, they didn't seem much different from the previous fish dishes, be it steamed, boiled, pan-fried, or deep-fried. When placed together, it was hard to tell which was superior.

This time, Seibel chose a fish head with heavy seasoning, the chopped chili fish head. He used his chopsticks to push all the chili aside, then picked out a small tender piece of meat from underneath the eye and tasted it.

"Mr. Seibel, how is it this time? Do you feel that magical sense you mentioned?" the female host asked, holding back her laughter.

Seibel didn't speak but waved his hand to indicate to the host not to disturb him. Then he picked up a piece of meat from below the neck of a carp, a spot where the fish's head and belly meet, and which is usually the fishiest part of the carp. Of course, if the black lining in the fish's belly isn't cleaned out properly, that would be the fishiest part, but obviously, the chefs at Pleasure Fishing Park wouldn't make such a basic mistake.

After finishing, Seibel still didn't speak. He picked at other parts of several fish, tasting a small portion here and there. When he eventually got to the braised snakehead fish with tofu, he didn't even go for the fish but instead picked up half a piece of tofu. Read exclusive chapters at empire

The people around were amazed. This foreigner was odd, choosing parts like the tougher back of the fish, the bony tail, or the fishy parts that most people would avoid.

"Manager, does this foreigner have a tendency towards self-punishment?" the young employee who had proposed using the zoo's fish asked the lobby manager quietly. These parts of the fish were generally not eaten and were the last to be cleared up to be fed to pigs as slop.

"You know nothing, it's precisely these parts that are usually not tasty which can truly demonstrate the real quality difference of the ingredients!" the lobby manager whispered back. At first, he thought Seibel was a bit too superstitious, talking about feelings while eating fish, but now he had begun to admire Seibel, recognizing him as a true connoisseur.

Everyone was looking on eagerly as Seibel ate the fish. Watching someone savor food made them drool, and Seibel's slow but meticulous eating made people think, 'I want to taste that too.' The hall gradually quieted down, and the soft sound of people swallowing could occasionally be heard.

Seibel, unhurried, tasted all the newly prepared fish one by one, finally put down his chopsticks, took a sip of water to cleanse his palate, and let out a long sigh.

"Mr. Seibel, how many points would you give to these fish dishes?" the female host asked, seizing the moment.

Seibel, with his infuriatingly slow temperament, shook his head nonchalantly, "Let's not score yet. Mr. Manager, could you prepare a sashimi dish for me to try? Use the same batch of fish from the zoo," Seibel motioned to the fish from the zoo.

"Sashimi? Isn't that only for salmon? How can you make sashimi from the four major types of fish and snakehead fish?" the lobby manager asked, puzzled.

"No, no, no. Although the Yamato People are masters of raw cuisine, the earliest version of sashimi was actually transmitted from your Tang Country, called 'qiekwai.' All four major families of fish can be used for sashimi; of course, this kind of carp is an exception—too many bones and the texture is not suitable."

After Mr. Seibel made his point, probably for fear that the hall manager and the audience might misunderstand, he turned towards the camera with a smile and said, "Taste-wise, the culinary skills of the chef from Fish Joy Park are impeccable. The fish from the reservoir I tasted for the second time, and the fish from the third, actually don't differ all that much. The reason I wanted to eat sashimi was to verify the raw quality of the ingredients."

The old man Mr. Seibel was a big shot; what he said goes. Soon, a large plate of sashimi was brought up. Several types of fish were selected from parts with fewer bones, sliced into individual pieces, and arranged in different sections on the plate, forming a sashimi platter.

Mr. Seibel took a sip of water and then tasted the sashimi made from each fish in turn. Finally, he put down his chopsticks, and this time, without needing anyone to prompt him, he directly addressed the camera, "This time, I am still giving 80 points..."

"Oh..." A somewhat disappointed murmur rippled through the crowd—it was the same old story after all the fuss.

Unconcerned with others, Mr. Seibel continued, "Any fish, when cooked with a great amount of seasoning, inevitably masks the original delicate flavor of the fish. Therefore, in my opinion, it is simply impossible to surpass 85 points. Thus, eighty points can already be considered very high. But...if we're just talking about the ingredients themselves..."

Mr. Seibel pointed at the sashimi on the table with his chopsticks and uttered a satisfied exclamation, "These fish, I must say, are among the most delicious freshwater fish I've ever eaten. If I were to grade these fish, in the category of freshwater fish, they'd receive a full score!"

The notoriously picky Mr. Seibel actually gave a perfect score! Even the host couldn't quite believe his ears and asked, "Mr. Seibel, are you saying that these ingredients are top-notch?"

"Of course!" Mr. Seibel nodded vigorously, "It's hard to imagine that these fish were raised in a man-made lake. Had I not been told about the origin of these fish beforehand, I would have thought they were from some pristine natural water source, like a glacier, or a place untouched by humans—only such places could yield such deliciousness!"

After finishing, Mr. Seibel shrugged with a smile, "It's a pity that the French don't have the habit of eating these fish, otherwise I would definitely consider ordering a batch for my restaurant. But who knows, maybe the reason the French don't like Chinese fish is that they've never tasted something this delicious."

After saying this, Mr. Seibel asked the somewhat stunned restaurant hall manager, "I think you could order a large quantity of these fish. Their future sales prospects must be very good."

"Huh?" The hall manager finally snapped back to reality. There's no more fish; the zoo had only sent over a hundred pounds, and more than twenty pounds were used up just for Mr. Seibel's tasting! But he was quick-witted and promptly said to the camera, "We still have plenty of this type of fish here, and everyone is welcome to come and taste."

The female host—with the goal now fully achieved—had a spark of inspiration and sought to gild the lily by asking, "Then Mr. Seibel, apart from being delicious, does this kind of fish have any special nutritional value?"

Mr. Seibel shook his head and said with a smile, "I think if I said that eating this fish could improve intelligence or increase physical health, our viewers would love to hear that. However, the truth is that I'm just a chef, not a top-tier nutritionist, let alone a scientist, so I can't offer an answer to that. But I believe that savoring delicious food brings a happy mood, and what can possibly be better for one's health than feeling joyful?"