Pfft...
What a claim of being pure in both body and mind.
Xu Yanxia almost laughed out loud.
But she tried hard to keep a straight face, glanced at him, and said, "Why are you suddenly telling me this?"
Lu Jingming replied in a completely serious tone, "Because this concerns my innocence, and it's necessary for you to know."
He had finally planned a trip with her, and seeing that they had enjoyed a perfectly good day, was it really going to be ruined at the last minute by some guy with no filter talking nonsense?
Absolutely not!
Xu Yanxia then asked him, "Were those two people just now your classmates?"
"The guy is a grad school classmate, and the girl is the daughter of a company in Hong Kong we once collaborated with."
Lu Jingming added as he spoke, "That guy is probably pursuing her."
Xu Yanxia nodded and said, "No wonder."
"No wonder what?" he asked.
Xu Yanxia explained, "He was acting very attentive to that girl, and he deliberately said those things just now probably to step on you to elevate his own image."
"Because when we entered the elevator, it was the girl who greeted you first."
"Makes sense."
Lu Jingming snorted, "What a manipulative jerk."
Saying this, he looked at her again, "So, do you believe me?"
Xu Yanxia didn't look at him. She just picked up the lemon water on the table, took a sip, and said, "What's there to believe or not? What your taste was like in the past has nothing to do with me."
"I don't believe that."
Lu Jingming looked at her, "Were you feeling uncomfortable just now? It's my first time seeing you confront someone to their face."
Xu Yanxia said, "I just didn't like his tone. Plus, deliberately speaking English in front of me was too rude."
"Really?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
Xu Yanxia insisted with a nod, "Of course. What kind of person you were before, what kind of girls you liked, what does it have to do with me? I didn't even know you back then."
"So now that we know each other, it does have something to do with you?"
"Hey!"
Xu Yanxia frowned, "Stop nitpicking my words."
"I'm not nitpicking," Lu Jingming paused, "I'm clearly just trying to find a little sweetness to taste."
...
Xu Yanxia was almost amused by him again.
Fortunately, right at this moment, the waiter brought the appetizer to the table.
She picked up her fork and said, "I've eaten too many sweets today, my sugar intake is already over the limit. Let's eat."
This restaurant served food in a Western style. The appetizer was Portuguese grilled octopus with quinoa salad.
The newly served baking dish was still warm. The reddish octopus inside had a slightly charred yellow skin, and the quinoa salad on the side paired with romaine lettuce created a tender green color, looking very pleasing to the eye.
Xu Yanxia tasted the octopus first, nodded immediately, and said, "The texture is crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. It must have been blanched before grilling. The honey mustard sauce brushed on the surface has a perfect balance of sweetness and spiciness, and the octopus is very fresh."
As she finished speaking, Lu Jingming chimed in, "The dressing for this salad is also good. It has a very refreshing sourness, quite palate-cleansing and appetizing."
Xu Yanxia tasted it and told him, "It's a lemon olive oil dressing, made with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and salt. The olive oil was previously infused with lemon peel, orange peel, and rosemary. It's used quite often in Mediterranean cuisine."
"I see."
Lu Jingming nodded.
After they tasted the appetizer, the classic Portuguese starter, Bacalhau balls, was also served.
Three golden and round Bacalhau balls were placed on a white porcelain plate. The outer skin was fried crisp, breaking open with a gentle poke of a fork.
Xu Yanxia took a few bites and started analyzing it with Lu Jingming again, "This is fried after mixing salted cod with mashed potatoes. The saltiness of the cod is good; it probably wasn't cured for too long. It mixes perfectly with the mashed potatoes, and the frying heat was controlled very well."
Lu Jingming also nodded and said, "The accompanying sauce is also nice, with a rich layered texture. Are there pickles and black pepper in it?"
"That's right."
Xu Yanxia nodded, "There's also boiled egg, onion, lemon juice, and probably a little mayonnaise mixed in. The proportion of pickles is the highest."
Her eyes lit up as she spoke, and she suggested to him, "The texture and taste of this dish are excellent. We could introduce and modify it, combining fresh fish with mashed potatoes. That would be healthier and should be very popular with children."
"Good idea."
Lu Jingming quickly agreed.
Not long after, the main courses were served.
They ordered two main courses this time—the Portuguese chicken Xu Yanxia had specifically mentioned that day, and red wine braised oxtail.
At first glance, the Portuguese chicken looked a bit like chicken curry, both having an enticing golden color.
But unlike chicken curry, this dish also went through a baking process. It was currently covered with a layer of toasted shredded coconut, emitting a rich milky aroma.
It was garnished around the edges with sliced hard-boiled eggs and black olives, making it very colorful.
Xu Yanxia was already full of anticipation and quickly started tasting it.
After a while, she analyzed it with Lu Jingming again, "The cooking method should be somewhat similar to curry, but the complex aroma of this dish is stronger, especially highlighting the coconut and milk scents. Moreover, the various spices are well-balanced, making it milder than ordinary curry."
Lu Jingming said, "The chicken is also very tender. Ordinary curry doesn't have such a tender texture, and it's also very flavorful, which is quite rare."
Although he wasn't a professional chef, he understood that a tender texture usually meant the cooking time couldn't be too long.
But for the chicken to be so flavorful in a short time was indeed rare.
He looked at Xu Yanxia inquiringly, "Did they do some special preparation?"
Xu Yanxia easily cleared his doubts, saying, "It's flavorful because it was marinated beforehand with salt, pepper, turmeric, and probably white wine, for at least half a day."
"Additionally, the potatoes and carrots were boiled in broth ahead of time. Otherwise, if they were stewed to this degree along with the main ingredients, the chicken would have become tough long ago."
"I see."
Lu Jingming realized.
Then, he pointed to the other dish in the casserole and said, "Try this red wine braised oxtail. It's also a popular specialty here."
"Okay."
Xu Yanxia nodded and picked up her knife and fork to try it.
It was obvious that this dish was cooked perfectly. As soon as the fork touched the dark brown oxtail, the meat easily separated from the bone.
Tasting it, the meat flavor was mellow and rich, carrying the sweet and aromatic notes of red wine.
Paired with the dense and smooth pan-fried mashed potatoes on the side, it left an endless aftertaste.
As Lu Jingming tasted it, he asked Xu Yanxia, "Can you taste what's in it?"
She said effortlessly, "The blood in the oxtail was cleaned out very thoroughly. It must have been soaked for at least two hours beforehand. The slight char on the surface proves it was pan-fried before being stewed in red wine. The seasoning is also very simple, just salt and black pepper. This dish is all about the quality of the ingredients."
"Also, the quality of the red wine is quite good, at least mid-range. Besides being added during the stewing process, it was added once more right before serving, which is why it has that fruity aroma and the slight tartness of the wine."
As her voice faded, Lu Jingming was already completely convinced and full of admiration.
He looked at her in disbelief and marveled, "I remember back when my mom took you out, she came back and told me that you could figure out how a dish was made just by taking a sniff. I thought she was exaggerating at the time. But seeing it today, you are even more incredible than she described."
"These are all Western dishes, and you can still analyze them perfectly. Xiao Xia, I am honestly in awe of you."
