Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction Group 3 - 2017 | Page 494

Xiaolong Bao
The Independent Schools Foundation Academy, Wong, Jolie - 14
L
ong ago, in a place called Shanghai, there was a young chef named Chen Xiao Long, he came from a family that
owned a small, locally-known cafe. He would help out and serve customers while he was young. His mother, the
Head Chef and owner, was a creative genius that invented many interesting items on the menu using her creativity.
She taught Xiao Long to steer away from traditional methods and think outside the box and experiment with
different ingredients. When Xiao Long grew up, he decided to pursue cooking as a career, and studied in a Culinary Arts School
for four years. After he completed his studies and received his degree, he applied for an internship at a newly opened branch of a
famous restaurant, this restaurant was called Din Tai Fung.
When Xiao Long arrived for his first day as a junior chef in the restaurant, the manager decided to place him with one
of the Head Chefs, this chef would be his mentor and show him how things were made and how things worked in the kitchen.
Xiao Long was very excited to be taught under a Head Chef of a famous restaurant franchise, he wanted to show off his
creativity with different dishes to impress the Head Chef. However, this Head Chef was super strict on the rules, he followed the
recipes very exactly, and was displeased with Xiao Long’s experimental styles of cooking. “This does not follow the recipe!”,
“Why are you doing this the wrong way?!” He scolded.
Seeing that he was only irritating the Head Chef, Xiao Long started to doubt himself and his creativity, was it
unprofessional to experiment? Was it really a bad thing? With his questions in mind, Xiao Long could only ask the one who
inspired him to cook this way. After a long afternoon talk about his uncertainty to continue trying new methods of cooking, he
came to the conclusion that he would do his experimenting in secret, without the Head Chef ’s knowledge.
This had gone on for a long while, behind the chef ’s back, Xiao Long would quietly slip in some extra ingredients to
spice up a dish that they were making in the kitchen. Customers started noticing pleasant changes in the taste of the food, and
the restaurant was receiving better reviews. One day, the manager gave an announcement to all the staff, saying that a food critic
from Japan will be visiting Shanghai and made reservations here at Din Tai Fung, everyone was to put on their best performance.
Most importantly, the manager ordered the chefs to make the food served to the food critic from Japan extra sensational. When
the Japanese food critic arrived, he ordered to have the most incredible and unique food they have on the menu. When the
kitchen staff were informed of this, they all put their heads together to find the most “incredible and unique” dish they could
produce. Lots of ideas were thrown around, but all were too traditional and mediocre to be deemed the “most unique” dish
possible.
Finally, Xiao Long spoke up and suggested that they serve something entirely new that wasn’t on the menu. “What
does that mean?” “How can we do that?” “How can we serve something we never made?” The other chefs said, but Xiao Long
pulled together and told everyone about a secret dish he’s been working on. “A secret dish?” “What could that be?” “Is there a
recipe?” the other chefs said. Xiao Long pulled out a long list of ingredients that he had been trying out, some names had been
crossed out indicating that they would be of no use. The Head Chef grabbed it and scanned it quickly, “This is a complete
experiment! We cannot serve something like this! Have you forgotten everything I have said during your time here?!” He yelled.
Some chefs nodded in agreement, but some that had become close with Xiao Long and were familiar with his experimental
style disagreed and voted that Xiao Long should prepare his “secret dish” and serve it to the Japanese food critic.
The Head Chef sighed and gave Xiao Long permission to serve his secret dish since nothing else available would be
considered “incredible and unique” at this point. Overjoye d, Xiao Long thanked the Head Chef and quickly started to prepare
the dish. From the fridge, he took out dough, meat, and some strange item that no one had seen before. Stunned, the Head Chef
demanded what that item was. It was soup, soup that had been solidified into jelly. By mixing in some gelatin into the soup and
placing it in the fridge overnight, the chilled soup became jelly that would melt when heated. Xiao Long then took out a small