Chapter 367: Shock
The host was startled to realize that a contestant was approaching, pushing a kitchen cabinet car, after the organizing committee sent this prompt through his earpiece.
He quickly recovered and led Ying Chao towards the judges’ seats. “Now, can contestant Ying Chao introduce the dish he has prepared?”
“I…” In this glorious moment dedicated to Ying Chao, he seemed somewhat bewildered. “The dish I’ve prepared is… is Seafood Grilled Noodles… this dish…”
The introduction he’d spent ages preparing for was now simply lost to him.
Watching everyone in the arena barely paying attention to him, Ying Chao felt a bitter sweetness rise in his heart, and he decided to put down the microphone he was holding.
Just before this, following the gaze of the other audience members, he had seen
Qin Lang on the big screen pulling the last portion of Dragon Beard Noodles.
His plan to attract attention by finishing first was now useless and was only filled with regret.
If only he had come out after the one named Qin Lang completed his cooking, he could have performed better than he did
If only…
“Now, may our thirty judges please taste contestant Ying Chao’s Seafood Grilled Noodles and give their scores!” The host did not daydream again. He spoke loudly and clearly.
Ying Chao took a deep breath and opened the kitchen cabinet car to present each portion of his dish to the judges.
On the big screen, his Seafood Grilled Noodles finally cut away from the close up shot of Qin Lang pulling noodles and emerged into the public view.
Even if they preferred Qin Lang, the camera had to focus on the dish that is about to be tasted at this moment.
The moment Ying Chao saw the camera focus on him, he could not help but take a deep breath. But when he noticed that Qin Lang’s footage had not disappeared, but had just been minimized to a corner of the screen, the corner of his mouth twitched a bit.
This is too much!
It’s too much!!
With a roaring anger in his heart, Ying Chao managed to carve a smile onto the surface, and stood quietly in place awaiting the judges’ verdict.
The Seafood Grilled Noodles is not really a noodle dish, but rather more like a roast bread filled with various seafoods, and the seasoning is quite superb.
Ying Chao tried as much as possible to finish faster while incorporating the most popular seafood ingredients from Xianyu City into his pasta dish in order to dispel any aversion the judges might have towards pasta. He was indeed well prepared for this competition.
Soon, the tasting was finished.
After the thirty judges each gave their scores, the average was quickly calculated, excluding the highest and the lowest scores, and immediately the score for contestant Ying Chao appeared on the host’s teleprompter.
“Let’s give a warm round of applause to Contestant Ying Chao, his final score is
“87.3 points!”
The moment the host announced Ying Chao’s score, there were hearty applause from the audience. Although most people were more eager to see Qin Lang’s performance, they still recognized the efforts of the first contestant to present his dish.
However, after hearing his score, Ying Chao’s expression turned a bit serious.
With his abilities, the score should have been higher.
But he was the first to be scored, so was it possible that the scores were comparatively lower due to the competition being about pasta?
With this thought, Ying Chao looked slightly placated.
After noting the host’s signal to leave, he pushed his kitchen cabinet car along the players’ passage towards the contestant waiting area.
The next moment, there was another “ding”.”
After a brief silence, the whole venue erupted into loud cheers and excitement.
That’s because the big screen, which had returned to the view of Qin Lang, captured the perfect moment when Qin Lang pressed the finishing bell.
It’s Qin Lang who has finished now!
Even though many people missed the later part of Qin Lang’s cooking process due to Ying Chao’s earlier appearance, what comes next is the main event!
Finally, they can see what the final product of Qin Lang’s dish, a dish that had wowed everyone just with its production process, will look like!
As he walked out of the kitchen door, hearing the roaring cheers and chants of his name, a look of surprise appeared on Qin Lang’s face.
The audience’s response was more enthusiastic than he had anticipated.
“Ready?” he turned and looked at Dan Bao and Spicy, who were flanking him on either side.
“Gurgle!”
“Chock!”
There was excitement in the eyes of both the critters.
Under the gaze of thousands, they were empathizing with Qin Lang and feeling the pressure and anticipation.
“Contestant Qin Lang has completed his cooking!” The host who had been waiting eagerly quickly walked over to Qin Lang, handing him the microphone, “Could you tell us the name of the dish that you’ve prepared?
This was the step that was supposed to be carried out after the contestants showcased their dishes, but the host, who was already dying to find out, could not help but ask ahead of time.
“It’s called Dragon Beard Noodles,” Qin Lang replied with a smile.
Dragon Beard Noodles!
The audience and the judges were taken aback by the name of the dish.
The beard of a dragon…
A pasta dish was named in such a domineering manner.
Reflecting upon Qin Lang’s entire cooking process, everyone felt that this name was a perfect fit.
Perhaps only such a flamboyant dish could match this awe-inspiring culinary skill, right?
“Alright, now let’s have Contestant Qin Lang present to our judges his Dragon Beard Noodles.” The host, who was slightly taken abackbv the name too, quickly recollected himself and led Qin Lang to the judges’ seats.
“Honorable judges, please enjoy.” Qin Lang opened the kitchen cabinet car, and with the help of Dan Bao, placed the thirty portions of Dragon Beard Noodles in front of each of the judges, then stood in position.
The final form of the Dragon Beard Noodles finally appeared in front of all the audience through the high-definition close-up on the big screen.
It was a bowl of soup noodles. The soup was clear with a hint of yellow, patches of oil floating on the surface did not look greasy at all, instead, it was appetizing.
Beneath the soup were the Dragon Beard Noodles, as thin as hair, elegant like a swaying serpent submerged in water, and also resembling a collection of string-thin whiskers of a majestic dragon, they were delicate and distinct.
There were also a few scallions floating on the soup, the tender green color contrasted with the clean soup noodles, providing a strong visual contrast while also tempting the viewer’s appetite.
The entire dish looked incredibly simple, but remembering the jaw-dropping efforts Qin Lang had put into creating it, everyone understood that this seemingly ordinary dish of Dragon Beard Noodles was unique and magnificent.
All thirty judges inhale a deep breath simultaneously, their expressions turning solemn.
They all reached out their chopsticks and plunged into their bowls almost in unison.
The audience watched this scene with their eyes wide open.
Unable to taste the dish themselves, they could only judge the quality of the dish via the reaction of the judges after they tasted it.
In the contestant waiting area, Ying Chao sat with his fists clenched and resting on his knees, his face filled with tension.
Just how high will this guy named Qin Lang score?