The Super Chef examination has begun. Those who pass attain the highest culinary honor in China.
The exam ends after five chefs pass.
However, four chefs have already qualified. Only one place is left.
Not to worry though. I've finished my noodles.
But just then, Wang Hu raised his hand right before I did.
This isn't good. If Wang Hu passes, then it's all over for me!
We will now give you our decision.
Final Battle! The Legendary Cooking Arena
Wang Hu of Shaolin Kuan!
Yes!
You have failed!
W.... what!?
What happened?
I failed?
Are you guys kidding me? What's wrong with my noodles, huh?!
The noodles with Dongpo's Pork were good.
Therefore...?
But you don't understand the personality of Su Dongpo.
What?
Dongpo's Pork was invented by Su Dongpo, a great man who lived a noble life.
He never bragged or showed off.
But you took Dongpo's Pork and dressed it with all sorts of delicacies.
This proved that you have absolutely no knowledge of Su Dongpo.
Therefore, your dish is unworthy of the title of "Incomparable"!
Leave this place quietly!
No way! I've trained for this for the past four years!
I lived my life with the sole purpose of taking this exam.
Who cares about "incomparable"?!
Mark me based on taste! Are you listening to me?!
Wait! Please give me another chance!
You are next!
Yes!
There's no soup or topping. This looks like a bowl of just ordinary noodles.
Liu Mao Xing! Are you asking us to eat this?
Yes, that's right!
He's cocky because Admiral Lee and Master Lo Wen recommended him.
But skimping on ingredients like this won't work in the real world!
Impossible! The noodles snapped at my teeth!
What are you talking about, chief?
Let's see...
These are very strong noodles!
Every time I take a bite, the noodles snap and hit my teeth.
I've never tasted noodles as firm as these.
Liu Mao Xing.
Yes!
How did you make these noodles?
I used this.
I just mixed a few drops of this in the dough. I didn't use any water to knead the noodles.
That's impossible! You can't make this kind of noodle without using water.
What is this liquid? Magic water?
It's lye water!
Lye water! The legendary lye water...
Just as I thought.
What is lye water?
Well... it's...
Please allow me to explain.
The city of Lanchow, located in Kansu Province, has a secret liquid called "lye water".
Adding a few drops of this to noodle dough will make the noodles contract and become very firm.
Lye water is made by boiling crushed bits of Lanchow rocks, and using only the top of the mixture.
The rocks come from the Gobi Desert, where weeds are cooked in holes to become charcoal.
The charcoal is then frozen to harden it. The result is a man-made rock.
This is the rock?
Yes.
This is the first time I've ever seen a real lye water rock.
How did you obtain such a rare item?
This was used by my Mother, at Kikkaro in Szechuan.
What? Kikkaro in Szechuan is owned by Master Pai!
Yes. Whenever she made noodles, she always boiled this rock.
I used the same technique as my Mother in order to make my noodles. The lye water is very important.
But the taste of the noodles isn't solely determined by the firmness.
Yes. The scent of the flour isn't too strong.
Since no water was used, you can actually taste the eggs.
I seasoned it with spices soaked in lard.
I added green onions, garlic, ginger, and hot peppers, and then cooked it for an hour.
That's right. I was frustrated because you were taking so long.
I see. That's why the lard in the noodles absorbed the sweet taste of the spices.
By using so little, you brought out the inherent sweetness of the noodles to great effect.
So let me ask you.
Liu Mao Xing, how are these noodles incomparable?
Yes! I think that the most important thing in cooking is taste.
General Han Hsin from the Han Dynasty was regarded as incomparable.
His strength was measured by his body, not by his weapons.
That's why I didn't use any toppings or soup, and put everything into the noodles.
It is the best noodle in China - it's incomparable!
Liu Mao Xing of Yosen Shuka... has passed!
I did it!
Mao, you're amazing! Congratulations!
Yeah, I'm now a Super Chef! Mom, Sis, I did it!
Hey guys...
I think you misunderstood.
The real Super Chef Exam is about to start.
About to start? What do you mean?
The preliminary round of the Super Chef Examination is over. The main exam will now commence.
Main exam?! So what was this all for?
To weed out those without skill. Now, it's the real thing.
No way...
Those who have passed did well on the "Incomparable" theme.
Huang of Dung Jiang Kuan! You used beef, pork, and chicken bones to create a magnificent soup stock.
The Incomparable power of your noodle soup blew away the competition.
Che Lin, the Witch of Canton! You chose to make "Wild Taste" noodles.
The dish of famous Cantonese game creates an Incomparable taste.
Tang of Woodside Restaurant! You made the Eight-Virtue noodles.
The noodles have a very rich taste, and your skills with fire and knives are an Incomparable combination.
From Da Tung Kuan, we have Fei the Genius!
You used the legendary Dragon Beard noodles to create the antithesis of Incomparable. It's elegantly beautiful.
And our youngest contender. Mao from Yosen Shuka!
You used lye water to bring out the sweetness of your Incomparable noodles.
These five will move on to the main Super Chef Examination.
Finalists, assemble in front of the main gate!
This is the legendary Cooking Arena.
The real exam begins now! Come inside.
Look at all this food. It's very fresh and top quality!
There's so much!
This is the Cooking Arena.
It was specifically constructed for the Super Chef examination.
All the great chefs from Canton who came before us battled hard to gain the greatest honor here.
The one to gain the greatest honor will be me.
Mao, we should go too.
Yeah.
It's over there!
Here!
Look! There are so many scratches left by knives!
It's amazing.
The floor is dented here.
You're right.
This place is solely used for the Super Chef Exam, once every four years.
Good luck, Mao. You definitely have to become a Super Chef!
Yeah.
I trained a long time for this. I'll do my best!
Hah, don't make me laugh. This is no place for a boy like you. Don't you know that?
Those marks were left by countless chefs in past Super Chef Exams. That proves they all came here with a dream.
We don't know how many gifted chefs challenged the exam.
But we do know that only a handful have known the glory of passing.
There must have been hundreds, or even thousands of people who cried in defeat.
The honor and disappointments of dedicated chefs... and their memories... are all carved here.
They are still spiritually present in this Cooking Arena.
There are over four thousand years of Chinese food history, and every detail lives on in this battleground.
Master Luo, Mr. Chouyu, and Mom all battled here and won.
I'll give it my all.
You were very fortunate to even get this far.
I'm sorry, but the winner this time is going to be me, Tang.
Kid! You should at least leave a scratch behind before you pack up and go home!
You're wrong! The one who wins today will be me, Liu Mao Xing!
Amazing, you can feel all this tension. It's strong enough to blow me away!
The main Super Chef Examination will now begin!
Hey, isn't that...? Yeah, it is.
There's no doubt. That's the legendary female chef, Reika.
People know her as Reika of Canton and hold her in the same regard as Pai of Szechuan.
Yes. She has so much talent, but has never taken a student because of her strictness.
She's a legendary chef.
So Reika is going to be our judge.
This is going to be tough...
This person must have been Mom's rival.
That must be Pai's son, Liu Mao Xing. And Fei...
This will be interesting.
We will now commence.
You are going to use...
Once again, noodles!
What? Noodles again?
And the new subject is...
Mock Noodles!
Mock Noodles?
What does that mean?
We're making mock noodles next...
Cooking with noodles, but not noodles?
Not noodles...
The time limit is when the moon sits over that flag.
That is all. Begin!
Mao! Hey Mao!
What?
What do you mean, "What"?! Everyone's starting already! You have to hurry, Mao!
But what are mock noodles...?
W-what is he doing?
That's amazing. He's using only one thumb to support his weight.
But what is he planning to do?
Fei is looking for ingredients.
Potatoes...
Amazing. He's picking out the best potatoes while they're in midair!
Truly amazing.
Mao, look.
What?
What is she trying to make?
That's certainly enough force.
That black powder was gunpowder...
But how is she going to use gunpowder for cooking?
Dunno...
Everyone's weird.
By the way, what are you going to do, Mao?
I don't know. What should I do?
Ugh. Noodles that aren't noodles...
What am I supposed to do?
A whole cow...
It felt like an earthquake!
Yeah, at least Six on the Richter scale. Earthquake? Wait a minute...
What? What's going on, Mao?
An earthquake!
Huh?
I got it!
W-what?
All right!
Mao?!
There she is.
Hey, what are you going to catch?
Mao!
Mao, are you okay?
Mao! What's wrong? What are you doing?!
I got one!
W-what the heck is that?
My answer for noodles that are not noodles... is this!
But that's... a catfish?!
"In the Bluest Sky, I Can Meet With You"
I felt a signal pass through me today
As I went out to meet up with you
In this crowded cityscape, an enlightening wind
Is blowing hard into my face
Up in the clouds, above the Earth, where the Angels' ladders reach with grace
I stretched out my arms, and climbed right on. Now I can go...
Everywhere, gently riding a white wispy cloud
In the bluest sky, I can meet with you
No matter what the time, where the place The path to take, I want to see it through
I will never give up until the end
I want to gather up all pieces of the dreams that shine with seven rainbow colors
Ahh… perhaps the answers that I want
Are there all along in front of me