The following day, Yao Jianbin headed out early in the morning.
The previous evening, he had deliberately told Yao Xiaotong all about how delicious the savory water chestnut puffs from that breakfast shop were. The more he talked about them, the more he nearly drooled.
“Tomorrow morning, Dad will bring some home for you to try. They’re really delicious.”
Yao Xiaotong had disliked chives ever since she was little, so naturally, she kept her distance from savory water chestnut puffs. But seeing how excited her father was, she could only nod.
In her heart, however, she had already decided that she would take one tiny bite tomorrow and leave room in her stomach to buy breakfast at school.
Yao Jianbin had no idea what she was planning. Early the next morning, he went downstairs, humming a tune as he returned to the place where he had bought the savory water chestnut puffs the day before.
He had arrived early today, and there were only three people waiting in front of the shop.
Xia Yongen greeted him with a smile.
“Sir, what would you like?”
Yao Jianbin’s gaze swept across the glass display case in front of him before settling on the tray of savory water chestnut puffs.
He was just about to ask for a few when, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed four round cakes frying in the wok.
His eyes widened.
What? They actually sold savory fried cakes here?
In Huacheng, there was a New Year custom of “oiling the wok,” so many families would fry a large batch of savory water chestnut puffs, fried sesame pastries, egg twists, and other treats.
And among all those fried delicacies, savory fried cakes were the ultimate treat for children.
Yao Jianbin remembered that his grandmother’s savory fried cakes had been absolutely delicious. Every year, that was the treat he looked forward to the most.
Unfortunately, as the festive atmosphere of the New Year had gradually faded over the years, many traditional customs had disappeared as well. The Yao family no longer made fried treats during the New Year either.
Savory water chestnut puffs could still be bought at teahouses, but he truly hadn’t eaten a savory fried cake in many years.
“Savory fried cakes are five yuan each, handmade and freshly prepared. Would you like to try one?”
Behind the glass display case, Auntie Zhen scooped a large chunk of red fermented bean curd from a jar and added it to the flour. She then added white sugar and water, mixing everything into a pale reddish dough.
Once the dough had finished fermenting, Auntie Zhen sprinkled a generous handful of white sesame seeds over it. She then placed the dough into the wok and slowly fried it over low heat until the surface developed a faint golden-brown color.
Yao Jianbin glanced at his watch. It was exactly seven o’clock.
“How long will I have to wait?”
A woman standing ahead of him turned around.
“You’ll have to wait quite a while. This batch and even the next batch have already been sold.”
Xia Yongen flipped the savory fried cakes in the wok and said apologetically, “I’m afraid you’ll have to wait twenty minutes.”
The savory water chestnut puffs from yesterday were small enough that more than a dozen could fit in one batch. But the savory fried cakes were almost as big as a person’s face, so the wok could only hold four at most. Naturally, they took much longer to make.
After closing up today, she would have to go to the market and buy a larger wok.
Hearing that, Yao Jianbin couldn’t help letting out a sigh.
Twenty minutes was simply too long.
It looked like he wouldn’t be able to buy a savory fried cake today after all.
With no other choice, he ordered two cups of iced soy milk and four savory water chestnut puffs.
By the time he got home, Yao Xiaotong was already awake and washing up in the bathroom.
When she saw the breakfast Yao Jianbin had brought back, she looked rather uninterested. Still, she decided to humor him and took a small bite.
Yao Jianbin stared at his daughter intently and quickly asked, “How does it taste?”
At first, Yao Xiaotong had only intended to take a tiny bite.
But the savory water chestnut puff was simply too crispy and soft and chewy at the same time, with a slightly sweet outer wrapper. She couldn’t resist and soon began eating it properly.
However, the moment she reached the filling, her eyebrows knitted together.
Although the dried shrimp, shiitake mushrooms, and pork were all wonderfully fresh and savory, the taste of the chives still made her feel a little queasy.
Even so, she finished an entire savory water chestnut puff and gave it a fairly high rating.
“It’s actually pretty good. It would be even better without the chives.”
Seeing that his daughter had finally approved of something he had bought, Yao Jianbin immediately felt pleased. He said with a beaming smile, “There are too many people today. Tomorrow happens to be the weekend. Dad will take you with me to buy savory fried cakes.”
“Savory fried cakes? What are those?”
“Oh, you’ll know once you try them tomorrow. They’re definitely delicious!”
Meanwhile, in front of Rongxing House, Xu Meng was also waiting in line to buy savory fried cakes.
Ever since discovering this hidden gem of a shop, she had never gone back to Chen Ji Morning and Evening.
Every night before going to bed, she would think about what dim sum she wanted to buy the next morning. She even dreamed about eating all sorts of delicious food.
Early that morning, she had once again arrived at the breakfast shop in front of Rongxing House.
Xia Yongen vaguely remembered her and quickly greeted her.
“We have a new item today—savory fried cakes. Would you like to try one?”
Xu Meng’s ears immediately perked up.
Savory fried cakes?
She glanced again at the savory fried cakes on the metal tray. They were generously sprinkled with white sesame seeds, and the cakes themselves gleamed with a golden-brown sheen.
How could they possibly not be delicious?
She immediately ordered one savory fried cake, one savory water chestnut puff, one corn cake, and one tea egg, for a total of ten yuan.
She didn’t buy anything to drink today. Besides, all three of the dim sum items were fried and still steaming hot, so she decided not to eat them on the way.
She would wait until she got back to the office, sit at her desk, and slowly savor them.
Under the blazing sun, Xu Meng hurried all the way to the subway station, sweat pouring from every pore.
She had a sturdy build and was naturally more sensitive to heat than most people. Living in Huacheng made things even worse. Even walking this short distance to and from work was enough to leave her clothes soaked with sweat.
To make matters worse, the air conditioning inside the subway car was blasting. Her back, still damp with sweat, suddenly felt a chill.
Something felt wrong.
Going back and forth between the heat and the cold like this, she was probably going to catch a cold.
After half an hour on the subway, Xu Meng arrived at the office with her breakfast in hand. Perhaps because she had been chilled just now, she felt a little listless.
Back at her desk, she took out the breakfast she had just bought, then went to the pantry and poured herself a cup of hot tea before getting ready to eat.
Xu Meng picked up a corn cake and took a big bite.
Instantly, she perked up.
Even the dull ache in her temples that had started after sitting in the air conditioning seemed to ease.
Just then, her colleague, Milai, walked over.
“Mengmeng, what are you eating?”
Xu Meng introduced it while chewing.
“I’m telling you, there’s a breakfast shop downstairs from my place, and it’s absolutely delicious.”
Milai glanced at the breakfast spread across Xu Meng’s desk.
As a food blogger, she had eaten plenty of these Cantonese snacks, so she didn’t find them particularly remarkable.
Besides, all of these snacks were fried. To maintain her figure, she usually ate mostly simple, unseasoned meals. When she filmed videos and got to eat delicious food, that was when she felt truly happy.
So Milai wasn’t particularly interested in the food on Xu Meng’s desk.
Still, she humored her friend.
“Seeing you eat it with such gusto is making me want some too.”
Back in college, Milai had casually filmed a few food videos in her spare time. To her surprise, they unexpectedly went viral overnight.
At first, she had only intended to treat it as a side hustle. But after graduating, she couldn’t find a decent job, so she decided to become a full-time food blogger. She signed with an MCN agency and brought her roommate, Xu Meng, into the business with her.
Now, besides Milai, their team had a photographer who handled filming and post-production. Xu Meng was responsible for writing copy and operations, while Milai handled appearing on camera and planning the content.
Actually, in the beginning, content planning had been assigned to Xu Meng.
But Milai soon discovered that Xu Meng’s sturdy build wasn’t without reason.
That girl could really eat!
Not only did she have a huge appetite, she also had an exceptionally good one. As long as the food tasted reasonably good, anything that entered Xu Meng’s mouth would somehow become a heavenly delicacy.
So whenever they were choosing a restaurant to feature in their next video, Milai couldn’t help feeling a little skeptical about Xu Meng’s recommendations.
Naturally, Xu Meng knew nothing about this.
Seeing Milai express interest, Xu Meng handed her a savory water chestnut puff from the table.
“Here, try this! It’s super delicious!”
“I shouldn’t eat too much. I’m afraid you won’t get enough.”
Milai took the savory water chestnut puff and broke off a small piece. Seeing how generously it was filled, she couldn’t help remarking, “This savory water chestnut puff is packed with filling.”
Under Xu Meng’s watchful gaze, she popped the small piece into her mouth and slowly chewed.
Precisely because she ate so slowly, she could taste each individual ingredient clearly.
The savory and sweet flavors alternated constantly in her mouth, and the more she chewed, the more addictive it became.
After swallowing the last bite, she couldn’t help praising it.
“Mengmeng, you really know how to find good food. This savory water chestnut puff is seriously good.”
Xu Meng broke one of the savory fried cakes on the table in half.
“I bought this from the same place too. Try it.”
With a crisp crack, the savory fried cake split neatly in two.
The savory fried cake had been piping hot when it was first made, but by now it had cooled. The outer crust had become slightly firm, while the very center remained wonderfully crisp.
After eating that small piece of savory water chestnut puff, the combination of fat and carbohydrates had instantly awakened Milai’s appetite.
She gazed longingly at the half savory fried cake and quickly took it from Xu Meng.
She gently bit off a small piece.
The next second, she exclaimed, “Mmm! This texture—”
The outer edge of the savory fried cake was relatively thick, giving it a slight chewiness. But once she bit through it, she discovered that the dough inside was remarkably soft.
The center of the savory fried cake was the thinnest part of the entire cake. After being deep-fried, it was so crisp that it practically crumbled at the slightest bite.
Unexpectedly, the flavor of the entire cake wasn’t nearly as strong as she had imagined.
Although quite a bit of southern-style red fermented bean curd had been added, its complex savory, salty, and fermented flavor wasn’t overpowering at all.
The first thing that touched her palate was a faint sweetness. After chewing carefully, she could taste the perfectly balanced flavor of the fermented bean curd.
Combined with the white sesame seeds covering the entire surface of the cake, it was incredibly fragrant and satisfying.
After finishing half of the savory fried cake, Milai couldn’t help sighing.
This time, Xu Meng had really found a great place.
Seeing how happily Milai was eating, Xu Meng simply suggested, “How about I bring you breakfast next week? I’ll send you the menu. You can take a look and tell me what you want.”
Milai instinctively wanted to agree, but after thinking it over, she steeled herself and refused.
After all, she still had to appear on camera. She couldn’t eat fried food like this every day.
Thinking about how she would have to eat salads and yogurt every morning from now on, she couldn’t help letting out a long sigh.
Watching Xu Meng finish the other half of the savory fried cake, Milai’s cravings began stirring again.
She quickly turned her head away. If she looked for even a few more seconds, she was afraid she would change her mind and ask Xu Meng to bring her breakfast after all.
To suppress her appetite, Milai had no choice but to go to the pantry and pour herself a cup of black coffee.
Just as she turned around, she saw the photographer, Chen Chen, returning.
He took off his hat, put down his backpack, and immediately began complaining.
“Not that I’m saying anything, but Liang Xiuwen is way too difficult to deal with!”
Milai stopped in her tracks and sighed helplessly.
“Looks like you couldn’t handle him either.”
Xu Meng wiped her mouth and looked at the two of them.
“Huh? Is Liang Xiuwen really that difficult to deal with?”
Chen Chen and Milai both nodded.
“Of course!”
Author’s Note:
Savory water chestnut puffs are the kind of thing you don’t crave when you’re not eating them, but once you take a bite, you just can’t stop…
I never order them when I go for morning tea. But since the elders in my family insist on having them, they always end up on the table. And once I take a bite, I completely lose control and can’t stop eating them. (:τ」∠)