The private kitchen, opened by a friend of Wen Yaqian’s father, wasn’t far. Ten minutes later, the Mercedes pulled up to the storefront.
"You have arrived at your destination. The destination is on your left. Please find a nearby parking spot."
Gazing at the shop that came into view, his assistant blinked in confusion.
She turned to look at her phone’s navigation.
Then she turned again to look at Wen Yaqian behind her.
"Miss Wen, is this it? Why... I feel like this looks like a garage...?"
As she said the last word, Zhou Shishi’s voice was full of hesitation.
After all, she’d just heard that this was a high-end private kitchen. In her mind, a high-end private kitchen wouldn’t be in a place like this.
His assistant figured Wen Yaqian must have accidentally shared the wrong address.
But to her surprise, Wen Yaqian smiled and nodded.
"That’s right. This is the place."
"The owner converted a garage into this private kitchen. Don’t let the surroundings fool you; the food inside is actually delicious."
"Sister Zhou, you can just find any spot to park."
Li Xiao, however, wasn’t as easily surprised as his assistant.
Some people just have strange tastes. In his past life, he had been to plenty of high-end private kitchens.
Never mind a private kitchen converted from a garage; he’d even been to one in a basement, and another that used a crane to hoist the dining table and guests over 100 meters into the air.
Besides, he had also noticed quite a few luxury cars parked near this garage.
With just a casual glance, he had already spotted many luxury cars in the million-yuan price range.
Judging from these cars and their license plates alone, it was clear this was indeed a high-end private kitchen.
The four of them got out of the car and quickly entered through a small door in the garage.
The inside of the garage wasn’t like something out of a web novel, with a whole new world hidden within.
Although the garage’s interior had undergone some renovation, it was extremely basic.
If one had to give this style of decoration a fancy name, it would probably be called "Syrian-inspired."
Seeing the group of four, a middle-aged man who looked like a manager immediately came over to greet them.
"You must be Miss Wen, correct?"
"Welcome, welcome."
After some pleasantries, the four of them were shown to a private room that wasn’t particularly large.
After washing the bowls and chopsticks, Zhou Shishi looked at the completely empty table, a bit bewildered.
Normally, by now, the restaurant staff would have brought a menu for the customers to order from.
But seeing that no one else was saying anything, she could only sit there quietly.
The next moment, she was glad for her cleverness.
Seeing that the four of them had finished washing their tableware, Li Xiao asked,
"What are your specialties here?"
The manager immediately began to explain:
"That depends on the customer’s approximate budget. We have options for over 500 yuan per person, as well as over 3,000 yuan per person. Of course, if you want something even more expensive, that’s also possible."
Hearing the manager’s introduction, Li Xiao was suddenly a bit curious.
The price range at this private kitchen seemed a bit too wide. He knew that price-per-person was a clear market differentiator.
There were huge gaps in food quality and service between restaurants that charged tens of yuan per person, a few hundred, a thousand, or even several thousand.
The difference between 500 and 3,000 yuan per person spanned several of these tiers.
Such a wide price-per-person range usually wasn’t found in the same restaurant. What made him even more curious was the manager’s last sentence.
So he quickly pressed,
"What do you mean by ’more expensive’?"
The manager offered a very polite smile.
"’More expensive’ means the price-per-person is difficult to calculate."
"You can have whatever you want to eat, provided you book in advance, of course."
"Of course, there are certain very special ingredients that can’t be served here in the garage. Our boss also has a yacht. If you want to eat some... special ingredients, we can take a boat out to international waters to eat."
"However, if we go to international waters, the budget would have to be quite high."
Hearing the man’s meaningful words, Li Xiao immediately understood what he really meant by "more expensive."
In China, many ingredients that were once extremely precious have been successively added to the protected species list.
Back in the day, Northeast cuisine was a powerhouse, on par with the Eight Great Cuisines.
But in recent years, Northeast cuisine has gradually declined, mainly because many of its signature dishes have become prohibited.
Hazel Grouse Stewed with Mushrooms became Pheasant Stewed with Mushrooms, and eventually, even pheasant became illegal, so it just became Chicken Stewed with Mushrooms.
Various delicacies like bear paws and monkey brains also vanished one by one.
Although it was said very cryptically, anyone with a discerning eye would understand immediately: as long as the customer was willing, these prohibited items could be tasted on a cruise ship in international waters.
To be honest, Li Xiao was a little tempted.
Previously, at the urging of friends, he had traveled abroad to eat many ingredients on the protected list.
Although the local chefs’ skills were mediocre at best, the taste of the dishes they prepared was something he still couldn’t forget.
However, he considered that international waters were a sensitive area in themselves, and there was no telling where the manager sourced these ingredients.
If they were sourced from within the country, it could very well be illegal.
If he really wanted to eat them, he could just go to other countries. After all, in some less developed nations, the concept of protected animals doesn’t exist.
If the local chefs weren’t up to snuff, he could just cook them himself.
Suppressing the thought, Li Xiao asked:
"International waters are a bit too far, and it’s getting late today. I’ll make a reservation next time if I have the chance."
"Our budget for dinner tonight is unlimited. What do you recommend?"
Hearing Li Xiao say their budget was unlimited, the manager’s expression showed no surprise or excitement. Clearly, he’d seen it all before.
"If your budget is unlimited, then let me list some dishes, and you can see what interests you."
"As for fish, we have... let’s see... wild large yellow croaker, wild small yellow croaker, wild leopard coral grouper..."
Li Xiao was a little surprised to hear the variety of fish the manager listed.
This so-called garage private kitchen wasn’t very big, yet it had so many types of fish, and all of them were expensive sea fish. This place was truly something.
Li Xiao:
"Is your wild large yellow croaker live?"
A wry smile appeared on the manager’s face.
"Sir, you must be joking. The wild large yellow croaker we offer is chilled, not live. But rest assured, it’s been chilled for no more than two days."
"Wild large yellow croaker live in very deep waters. If they aren’t decompressed over a long period during capture, their internal organs will very likely rupture when they are brought to the surface, causing them to die."
"Even the very few that don’t die immediately after being brought up won’t survive for more than a few days."
At this point, his tone shifted.
"However, if you really want to eat live wild large yellow croaker, it’s not impossible."
"You can leave a deposit at the restaurant. When a boatman we know catches a live large yellow croaker, we can buy it immediately and notify you to come and enjoy it."
Hearing this suggestion, Li Xiao shook his head helplessly. If this were Yangcheng, he wouldn’t mind leaving a deposit at all.
But this place was still some distance from Yangcheng. Making a special trip just for one fish really wasn’t worth it.