Li Xiao frowned the moment he took his first bite of the sampan congee.
It wasn’t the silky smooth texture he had been anticipating. Instead, the congee felt a bit coarse. The rice grains hadn’t been cooked down completely, leaving some hard, grainy bits. This was a far cry from the texture of the traditional sampan congee he’d expected.
The fish slices and squid in the congee both had a noticeable fishy taste. Although scallions and ginger slivers had been added to suppress the taste, it was clear they hadn’t been very effective.
Furthermore, for a sampan congee, which is known for its rich assortment of ingredients, this one felt rather sparse.
The portion of each ingredient was small, and the quality wasn’t very good either.
Just then, a system notification chimed in his ear.
[You have tasted: Sampan Congee]
[Food Rating: 55 Points [Fail]]
[As this food did not reach 60 points, it cannot be added to the Food Atlas.]
Li Xiao’s mouth twitched.
’I guess it’s true what they say: the higher the expectation, the bigger the disappointment.’
He put down the disposable spoon. He had no desire to take another bite of a 55-point sampan congee.
Li Xiao shook his head at the camera.
"This sampan congee is a total letdown. Neither the texture nor the flavor is up to par."
"The congee base clearly wasn’t cooked long enough, and the rice they used wasn’t very good, so the texture is a bit hard. The seafood isn’t terrible, but it’s not fresh either—you can taste a distinct fishiness."
"I absolutely do not recommend coming here to try it."
Li Xiao kept his voice as low as possible while giving his review.
After all, given the attitude of the older waitress who had served him...
...he might be in for some trouble if she saw him criticizing their restaurant on a livestream.
Thankfully, this old establishment didn’t seem to care about what others thought of it.
Li Xiao left Chen Tian Records without incident and headed toward his next destination.
"Speaking of Guangdong Province’s specialties, we have to talk about their sweet soups!"
"The variety of sweet soups in Guangdong Province is staggering. According to statistics, there are at least 420 common types, and as for the less common local varieties, they’re simply innumerable."
"When you come to Guangdong Province, you have to try the sweet soups."
"Today, I’m taking you all to a sweet soup shop that’s part of a chain with over 200 locations!"
"The prices there are a bit on the high side, but they use quality ingredients, and the online reviews are quite good."
While he was explaining, Li Xiao had already exited the subway station.
This sweet soup shop was located near the subway exit. While not an old, time-honored brand, it had been in business for three or four years.
And as a chain, most of their ingredients were prepared and packaged at a central kitchen, so the taste was pretty much the same at every location.
Soon, Li Xiao stopped in front of a sweet soup shop.
Although it was a sweet soup shop, the decor was anything but old-fashioned. The black and orange color scheme looked quite nice.
Li Xiao had just sat down when a young waitress handed him two thick menus.
He opened a menu to find a dazzling array of pictures and descriptions for all sorts of sweet soups and desserts.
In the livestream chat:
"Oh my god, is the number of sweet soups really this insane? A whole page full of different names!"
"Am I the only one who noticed the prices? Holy cow, a bowl of sweet soup is over 30 yuan????"
"These prices are outrageous! A bowl of red bean soup back home is only 6 yuan!!!"
"There are tons for 30 or 40, and the cheapest is still over 20. Isn’t that a bit expensive?"
"But the place is so crowded, so the food must be pretty good!"
...
Li Xiao had already decided what he wanted before he arrived, so he quickly waved the waitress over.
"A cold Mango Pomelo Sago, a hot Dried Tangerine Peel Red Bean Soup, Tang Bu Shuai, a hot Sweet Potato Soup, a hot Black Sesame Paste, a hot Walnut Soup, a Mango Pancake, a Durian Pancake, a Coconut Purple Sweet Potato Mochi, and a Snow White with Black Glutinous Rice."
Seeing Li Xiao order so much for just one person, the young waitress quickly advised him,
"Sir, you’ve ordered quite a lot. You might not be able to finish it all. Would you like to remove a few items?"
Li Xiao waved his hand dismissively. Today was a snack special; he didn’t plan on eating dinner or a late-night meal, so this amount was just right.
"It’s fine. I have friends joining me. You can just bring it all out!"
Hearing that the customer had friends coming, the young waitress stuck out her tongue playfully.
"Well... in that case, I won’t disturb you any longer, sir. I’ll have the sweet soups brought right out."
Noticing that many people were curious why Guangdong Province had so many sweet soups, Li Xiao began to explain:
"From the birds in the sky to the fish in the sea, life for the people of Guangdong is a tapestry of a hundred flavors."
"But there is one flavor that has always been a part of life for the Lingnan people. It’s a flavor that even Southerners, with their preference for lighter tastes, have never abandoned, one that brings soothing comfort to the hot South. That flavor is sweetness."
"In the hot and humid climate of Guangdong, it’s easy to suffer from ’heatiness’ or even heatstroke. The people of Guangdong, a land without a true spring or autumn, love to drink sweet soups because they are seen as a remedy, offering a clean, refreshing sweetness."
"The ’soup and water culture’ of Lingnan cuisine is particularly unique: the ’soup’ refers to slow-simmered broths, and the ’water’ refers to sweet soups."
"Sweet soups can be an afternoon tea or a late-night snack."
"On a scorching hot day, a bowl of cooling mung bean soup will instantly dispel the body’s heat. And in a winter without central heating, a steaming bowl of black sesame paste provides a moment of warmth."
"In Guangdong, anything can be made into a sweet soup, and a sweet soup can be made from anything."
"Double-skin milk pudding, black sesame paste, mung bean soup, red bean soup, sweet potato soup, taro and sago soup, mango pomelo sago, tofu skin and egg sweet soup, coconut and water chestnut soup, Job’s tears and winter melon soup, snow fungus and lily bulb soup, black rice and dragon fruit milk soup... Just looking at the names, you can tell there are hundreds of ingredients, much like the hundreds of dishes in Cantonese cuisine."
"Because only in Guangdong Province can you truly appreciate just how diverse ’sweet soups’ can be."
"As for why other regions don’t have the custom of drinking sweet soups, the reason is also very simple."
"In ancient times, sugar was scarce and precious. However, the Chaoshan Region was a major sugarcane-producing area in the country back then. So, while sugar was very expensive in other places, the price in Guangdong Province wasn’t too high."
"However, don’t make the mistake of thinking that just because sugar is cheaper in Guangdong Province, they just dump a ton of it into their sweet soups. That’s a huge misconception."
"Even though sugar is plentiful in Guangdong Province, there are strict standards for controlling the sweetness of their soups."
"In Guangdong Province, the highest praise you can give a sweet soup is that it’s ’not too sweet.’"
"A sweet soup that is overly sweet is, in itself, a sign of disrespect to the dish!"
Li Xiao chatted with his viewers for a little while longer before the dishes he ordered began to arrive one after another.
The first sweet soup to appear before him was a classic: Dried Tangerine Peel Red Bean Soup.
Here at Manji Dessert, most of the sweet soups had undergone innovative improvements.
And that included the bowl of Dried Tangerine Peel Red Bean Soup in front of him.
Thank you all for the monthly tickets.
And a huge thank you to Hui Dao Du Zi Li for the generous donation! Thanks!