Universe Infinite Canteen

Is business that good?

Zhang Yang was somewhat surprised, but didn't think too much into it. Many popular eateries are busy when they first open, with customer flow more exaggerated than the last. However, once the novelty wears off, they tend to quiet down fairly quickly.

But now there was a problem – Zhang Yang didn't know where to sit.

Luckily, a waitress soon approached him and pointed him in the right direction.

"What, you're telling me to go to the grocery store across the street to buy a table and chairs?" Zhang Yang doubted his own ears, wondering if there was a problem with them.

"It's not mandatory, sir, just a suggestion. You can also choose to keep waiting here for your number to be called. When there's a seat available, I will reserve it for you first," He Xiaoqian said.

Before Zhang Yang could reply, someone next to him said, "My friend, if you don't mind, you can sit at my table. I have a spot available here."

Zhang Yang looked at the speaker, saw it was a family of three, and not wanting to disturb them, said, "Thanks, but I prefer dining alone. I'll go buy a set of table and chairs instead."

Zhang Yang was about to leave when the waitress stopped him, "Wait a moment, sir, the grocery store owner is right here."

After that, He Xiaoqian reminded Wang Feng, "Boss Wang, you've got business."

Wang Feng then left the Universe Infinite Canteen, looking back every three steps. Zhang Yang followed him, intrigued by his reluctance and asked,

"That... what was it, Cat Pee Beer? Is it really that good?"

"Of course, I've sold many beverages and been to several beer festivals. Let me put it this way – there's no beer that I can't stop thinking about like this one," Wang Feng reminisced about the rich and silky taste of the beer as it slid down his throat the night before.

"But with such a name… is it really okay?"

"You don't understand," Wang Feng said. "The greater the master, the more capricious they are. Besides, foreigners have their Civet Coffee, so why can't we have Cat Pee Beer?"

Zhang Yang wanted to explain the production principle of Civet Coffee but soon found it too troublesome and gave up, nodding, "You're right. When Cat Pee Beer goes on sale, I'll try it too."Nôv(el)B\\jnn

"Just remember to ask the boss to add you to the fan group."

"It's okay, I can wait a while longer before coming back."

Experience new tales on empire

"Then you'll miss out," Wang Feng shook his head.

"Why?"

"I don't know why Boss Ma does this, pulling dishes that sell well off the menu, but Universe Infinite Canteen indeed changes its menu every week. The dishes you had last week, you might never be able to taste them again."

"What?" Zhang Yang was genuinely startled this time. Most restaurants periodically introduce new dishes, which is normal behavior.

Because no matter how delicious your cooking is, if the menu never changes, frequent diners will eventually find it boring. At that point, new excitement is needed to retain customers.

However, developing new dishes requires time and cost, especially in more renowned restaurants, which tend to have stricter standards for new offerings.

Even with new dishes introduced, it's not common for a restaurant to completely discard the old menu, particularly the most popular dishes. It would be like cutting off one's arm, turning away a significant portion of customers who favored a specific dish.

This was why Zhang Yang had never heard of any restaurant so audacious to change their menu every week.

It was too risky and didn't make financial sense.

Unless... the head chef of that restaurant didn't have any creative bottleneck at all, and was extremely confident in the dishes he created, but could that really be possible?

It was the first time Zhang Yang truly became interested in the small eatery known as Universe Infinite Canteen located behind him.

Zhang Yang paid 14 yuan for a table and a plastic chair. Wang Feng even helped him carry it to the opposite side of the street for free. At the time when Zhang Yang was paying, several other people arrived; they were all looking to buy tables and chairs from Wang Feng.

Wang Feng also reminded them, "After you finish eating, you don't have to move the tables and chairs back. Just leave them there, others will use them. When you come back, I'll give you a 10% refund; however, if the city management takes them, there won't be any refund."

"But if the city management comes, you can use the payment record to prove that you bought the table, usually they won't take them. Also, remember not to block the other stores' facades."

Zhang Yang finally returned to the restaurant and was able to order dishes.

He glanced at the small blackboard listing the menu items, there were four dishes: an appetizer, juice-roasted onions, and as specialities, the Demon Pumpkin Braised Rice and the Almond Pumpkin Cake.

As for the prices listed behind them, Zhang Yang only scanned them, without paying much attention. He had eaten meals ten times more expensive than this—of course, in those kinds of restaurants, the service starts before you even enter, with careful attention to the décor, and a master chef in residence.

For a recently opened small eatery like this to dare to set such prices, Zhang Yang could only say that the young were bold, but this did, from another angle, indicate that the chef here indeed had something unique, otherwise he wouldn't dare to play it like this.

"I'll take everything," Zhang Yang said after ordering, then sat back in his outdoor seat.

He Xiaoqian brought him cutlery and also poured him a glass of water.

No tea at all, not just a lack of free offerings, but the server didn't even ask if he wanted any drinks or beverages.

Which is to say, this establishment wasn't planning to make money on drinks at all.

If it had been right after Zhang Yang had entered the place, he probably would have shaken his head internally, but by now he was basically numb to the surprise.

This place felt entirely different from any restaurant he had visited before.

Fortunately, the utensils were washed quite clean, bearing no stains or even a speck of dust, which was rather rare for a street-side eatery.

However, given that the eatery had just opened, such enthusiasm didn't particularly surprise Zhang Yang; he just wondered if they could maintain it in the long run.

Soon, the server brought the appetizer, a dish of cold mixed diced lotus root.

Zhang Yang hadn't held much hope for this dish, as it was very common.

And with common dishes, it usually means that cooking methods have become standardized, leaving little room for improv by those who come later.

However, when Universe Infinite Canteen's version of the cold mixed diced lotus root was served, Zhang Yang still noticed some differences. First of all, the diced lotus root itself, compared to ordinary lotus root, was more translucent and had a golden edge tinged by the sunlight.

An ordinary person would probably just find the scene beautiful, hesitating to disturb it with their chopsticks, but Zhang Yang noticed many more details. Each piece of diced lotus root was almost identical in size and shape, with no variation.

This indicated that the chef's knife skills were extremely impressive, with control over force that was virtually whatever he wished.

Besides the lotus root pieces, there were no other bits and pieces in the plate, including commonly used seasonings like ginger, chili, or garlic—they were all absent.

This further highlighted the translucence of the lotus root pieces. Zhang Yang, who was in interior design, appreciated this kind of simplicity.

Of course, the appearance of a dish is only one aspect; what truly determines its success or failure is the flavor. Without those rich seasonings, Zhang Yang was curious whether the flavor of this cold mixed diced lotus root would become bland.