"Oh my God!"
Lina and Jade were utterly mesmerized watching Lin Chen make noodles earlier. His graceful and fluent movements were like a magician's, effortlessly turning dough into noodles with a wave of his hand.
Westerners often eat pasta, but it's different from Asian noodles, even when handmade, in terms of process and ingredients.
Lin Chen often helped make pasta at the shop. It involved forcing yellow coarse wheat flour and eggs into a dough with a machine, impossible to roll out with a rolling pin because it was so hard.
"This dough, why... it's amazing!"
Lucas raised his chin proudly, "See, interesting, right? Our Great Xia's noodles are undoubtedly the world's best. Trust me!"
Hearing him use the word 'our', a few girls waiting in line exchanged glances and looked at the fancy 'biang' character written on the signboard, suppressing the urge to argue.
Maybe he's mixed? Yeah, that must be it!
"Here are your noodles."
Lin Chen handed two steaming bowls of noodles to the window and went back to rolling and pulling noodles without stopping.
Amber and Lina's boyfriends were similarly captivated, and seeing their girlfriends hold the noodles, awkwardly grasped their chopsticks without knowing what to do, and volunteered immediately.
"Honey, let me mix it for you!"
Unwrapping the paper, he confidently snapped the bamboo chopsticks apart.
Crack.
Breaking into two uneven bamboo sticks.
The two didn't mind, just like holding a stick, they plunged it into the noodles, stirring in a clockwise spiral.
Jade and Lina furrowed their brows in confusion, feeling something was off, and turned to Lucas.
Just as another two bowls of noodles were ready, Lucas casually pulled out a pair of chopsticks, skillfully broke them open, held them between three fingers, and stirred the wide noodles in a figure-eight pattern, then mixed in the ground meat and sauce from the bottom of the bowl.
In just a few seconds, the sauce was perfectly mixed, evenly coating every strand of the broad noodles, looking incredibly appetizing with their deep red hue.
"Here you go, Lina, you said you've eaten at that Chinatown noodle shop, right? Try this and see which is better!"
Saying this, he stirred the second bowl and handed it to Jade.
The two girls looked at the bowl of noodles, vibrant in color and aroma, with each strand distinct, then turned to their boyfriends' bowls of ruined noodles, red and white pieces in disarray, and somehow sighed in relief.
Luckily, it wasn't them making a scene.
Though they couldn't use chopsticks, the wide noodles had an advantage: they could be picked up with chopsticks and eaten.
*Slurp*
Sucking in a mouthful of sauce-covered and spicy biangbiang noodles, the unique texture and chewiness made Lina's eyes light up.
The sauce was perfectly balanced, with a salty flavor at first, followed by a subtle vinegary tomato sweetness, and the chili powder, visually prominent but only boosting the aroma.
Without eating any ground meat, just the noodles made her pleasantly surprised.
"Damn, these noodles are way too delicious!"
With a face full of astonishment, she bit off the noodles, holding the bowl and inspecting it as if she couldn't believe such a simple and humble sauce could create this wonderful taste.
Even Lina, who had eaten at the famous Great Xia Noodle Shop, gave it such high praise, and remembering the meat sandwich experience last night, Jade couldn't hold back anymore and quickly sucked up a strand into her mouth.
"Oh my God, so delicious!"
Perhaps because she'd only ever eaten pasta in her life, tasting these miraculous Great Xia noodles made Jade's pretty eyes sparkle.
Amber, of course, was skeptical, doubting how noodles could be amazing, having seen Lin Chen barely add any sauce to the bowl, just a couple of scoops of what looked like diluted soy sauce, surely no match for creamy or tomato meat pasta!
She picked up a broken noodle piece, chewed a couple of times, her expression changing slightly, and unwilling to give up, picked up another noodle piece.
"How can this be??"
Her boyfriend beside her was also stunned, with a thumbs-up, repeatedly praising "Wow, wow!"
Lin Chen's noodle-pulling efficiency was speeding up, from pulling one noodle at a time to two in just a few minutes.
With a touch of flour at both ends to prevent sticking, the serving efficiency instantly doubled.
Jiang Shuqi never expected a random food truck found abroad could make such authentic Old Xia flavors.
Just a five-euro bowl of three-in-one biangbiang noodles instantly healed the upset stomachs of her and her friends, who had suffered through the trip.
"Hey there, handsome!"
Before she could swallow her noodles, she excitedly leaned into the serving window on tiptoe.
"Have you been here for a while? Can you recommend a good Western restaurant? We've been playing around for four or five days and haven't found a good place to eat, driving us crazy!"
Her logic was simple: a chef who cooks so well surely wouldn't eat at a bad place.
If he endorses it, it must be a hidden gem!
"What cuisine are you looking for?"
"We're in the Romantic Country, so French, of course!"
Lin Chen nodded, replying without hesitation, "Then go to God's Kiss. Although it's a bit pricey, it's definitely worth it. Also, if you're satisfied with your meal, remember to tip the chef."
"God's Kiss?"
Upon hearing this name, the girls' eyes lit up.
A restaurant daring to use such a name surely had a high standard!
The right person to ask!
"Oh?"
Lucas raised his eyebrows lightly, "I've heard of that place. It's said to be a rising star in the last five years, potentially reaching a Michelin star in a couple of years."
"Ah, by the way."
He turned to Jade, "Dear Jade, didn't you two just dine at God's Kiss last night? How was it?"
"Very good!" Jade nodded vigorously, "Especially the white sauce pan-seared sea bass, absolutely perfect! It's the best sea bass dish I've ever had!"
Lin Chen's mouth curled slightly, his mood inexplicably improving.
Lucas fully utilized his bilingual talent, enthusiastically translating Jade's words for the Great Xia girls, even showing some recent dish photos and customer reviews from the website, almost all positive.
It even made him want to try it himself.
"How about this, since your French isn't very fluent, let's exchange contact info and go there together in a day or two?"
"To be honest, I just got back here recently and haven't had the chance to eat there myself."
With a local guide who speaks Chinese, is enthusiastic and handsome, and accompanied by other women, there's a sense of security.
Jiang Shuqi and her friends quickly discussed and agreed, planning to meet for lunch at the restaurant entrance the next day.