The main theme of the Super Chef Exam final was to create a dish of noodles that are not noodles.
The ingredient I chose in the Cooking Arena was catfish.
After mixing the catfish noodles with egg whites and sliced fish, my dish is complete.
However...
This noodle lacks elasticity?
That's right.
Because it was made of soft catfish meat, it isn't elastic, which is the most important attribute of a noodle!
The Catfish Noodle Completed! Fated Decision
Elasticity of noodles...
I have it! Why don't you use the lye water like you did before? I'll go look for that black rock.
That won't work this time.
Why not?
Lye water doesn't mix well with ground fish.
What?!
I see. So that's how they're made.
Mao, you don't have time to watch them!
Oh? She's finally going to use her gunpowder!
I wonder what's under that metal casing.
Wha... they're noodles!?
It's like magic.
The force of the explosion forced the dough through the holes in the metal casing.
It's great, really great. That's the first time I see things done that way!
They're really talented.
Mao! I told you to stop admiring other people's work!
What about your own noodles, huh?
Oh, that's right.
It looks like they're finishing up their dishes, Lady Reika.
A lot of talented people are taking part this year. I wonder what dishes they'll come up with.
Everyone else is almost done. What are you going to do, Mao?
Hey, Mao...!
There has to be something that can solve this problem.
The ingredients here are not limited to Canton. They also include food from Szechuan, Shanghai, and Peking.
That's it!
Ah, Mao!
Here it is. That's it!
Is it okay to use that?
Maybe.
Maybe!? When did you ever use it? In Szechuan, maybe?
Today's the first time I'm using it. But I tasted it in a dish once.
What? Only once?!
But it should work. I'm sure of it!
Time is up!
I somehow managed to finish it.
It's now midnight, and the mock noodles are ready. We will begin with the grading.
We will use a mutual grading system.
You will taste each other's dishes, and then give them a grade.
This means... that you are both an examiner as well as an examinee!
Why are they doing it like that?
I see. This is indeed a fitting method for the Super Chef Exam.
That's right. Until now, I was concerned only about making delicious dishes.
But if I can't properly assess the dishes of others, then I am not qualified to be a Super Chef.
Based on your palate, you will rate each dish on a scale between one and ten.
The grading will be done after all dishes are tasted.
Che Lin will go first. Everyone else, please take a seat.
Oh no. My heart is beating very fast. I can't bear to watch.
But I can't stop watching.
Oh, this is...
The noodles are completely black.
This is squid ink vermicelli.
The 'noodles' are actually fried vermicelli, which is made of powdered rice.
The dark color is added to the noodles by mixing in some squid ink, wine, and seasoning.
As the calligraphy suggests, noodles are made by kneading wheat flour and stretching it out over a flat surface.
However, my noodles are different. It's made of rice flour and formed through the power of gunpowder.
This is how I fulfilled the conditions for mock noodles.
Please have a taste.
Rice and squid ink, huh?
W-What is this?
What a deep magical taste. I can't stop eating it.
It's a taste that makes you want to eat more.
Mao!
Enough with your nonsense! You call this a dish, you vixen!?
This is unforgivable!
What?
Ms. Che Lin did something a chef must absolutely never do!
You are not a chef!
Hmph, mere heresay.
Mao, what's wrong? What are you so upset about?
This dish contains a prohibited seasoning.
There's poppy in it!
Huh?!
Are you saying she used the infamous poppy, which opium is made of?
Latex sap collected from poppy seed pods contain narcotic substances.
Adding it into a dish will make people eat it as if possessed.
However, as they continue to eat more, they get addicted to it.
Using such a substance in a dish. You're the lowest form of chef there is!
I may be inexperienced, but I keep to the rule my mother taught me!
A chef gives happiness to people.
But this dish brings harm to people!
N-needles!
Just as I thought. It was you!
It's like the one used on Mao?
Master Reika! Not only does does that woman use drugs, she also uses cowardly methods.
She pricked Mao's nerve cluster with a needle to paralyze his sense of taste.
Is this true, Che Lin?
Not only have you used prohibited ingredients in your dish...
... but you obstructed others and violated the sanctity of this Cooking Arena.
Che Lin, not only have you failed, but I also revoke your license to cook!
You are hereby expelled from Canton for life!
Take her away.
Wait! Let go of me, let go!
What's so great about a Super Chef?
Isn't it a chef's mission to make people eat dishes at any cost, and by force if need be?
Are you listening to me?
You'll pay for this! I'll triumph over all of you. Just you wait!
Make tasty dishes with full sincerity.
People will surely be happy the moment they try a good dish.
Good cooking is something that leads people to happiness.
I want everyone to be happy.
That's why Mom cooks. When everyone is happy, then I can be happy as well.
Let's continue with the taste test.
Next up is Tang!
Huh, what's this? What a strange shape.
So it's the first time you've see this. It's called a Cat's Ear.
The name is derived from its shape, which is similar to a cat's ear.
It's a rare secret noodle from a certain village in Shanxi Province.
An old chef I met there taught me how to make it,
when I traveled there in pursuit of more knowledge.
It's made from wheat dough.
Wheat?
Each noodle is snapped off using the thumb, a feat that requires strength and sophisticated skills to accomplish.
Then I baked it and added in a secret sauce from the Shaolin Kuan restaurant.
This is my unique and refreshing mock noodle.
Now, taste it!
Huh? What's the matter, everyone? Why don't you eat it?
Hey, what's the matter? Go ahead, eat it quickly!
You fool.
What?
There's no need to try it.
It's a failure.
What was that?!
Hey you, what do you mean by that?!
It's laughable for you to call this a mock noodle by simply changing the shape of the wheat dough.
Your idea was too simple.
That's right. No matter how unique it is, a noodle is a noodle.
This test isn't that easy.
Trying to disguise this with an outrageous performance won't do you any good.
Your pathetic idea and indulgence in your skill is fatal for a chef.
Tang! There is no need to mark your dish.
Try again four years from now.
How strict.
Next, you will taste Huang's dish.
Right!
Are these egg noodles?
Instead of wheat dough, I made noodles by cutting beef along the grain of the muscle.
I added scrambled eggs on top. Try it, it's good.
I can't see the noodles because of the scrambled eggs.
Hmmm, so these are noodles made from beef.
Delicious. It's just beef in the shape of a noodle, but it's quite refreshing.
The smoothness of the egg allows the noodle to enter my mouth easily.
After each bite, the beef's juices mix with the scrambled egg to create a deep taste.
Mao, you're praising him a lot.
It mortifies me to admit it, but it tastes great. A refreshing discovery is concealed in such a simple idea.
Both of them recognized how good my mock noodles are.
Good. Next up is Fei.
All right, I can finally eat Fei's dish!
Oh Mao...
Huh? There's no steam?
My mock noodle dish is made of mashed potatoes.
I finished it in a cold broth.
So, noodles made from potatoes can be this clear...
What an amazing texture. Not even lye water noodles can compare with this.
Although it uses a lot of hot pepper and is supposed to be very hot...
... the taste is balanced with this amazingly cool broth.
But Fei, how can you create such elasticity with potatoes?
After mashing the potatoes, I forced them through a mechanical press to form noodle strands.
It's boiled in hot water, and immersed afterwards in ice water. This shrinks the noodles and makes them elastic.
Hot broth would take away the elasticity, so that's why I used a cold soup.
I see. Amazing.
I can't place it. There's a slight taste to the noodles. What is it?
Mei Li, this is great. There's even pumpkin mixed into the noodles.
I see, so it's the sweetness of pumpkin. What a kid!
He detected the small amount of pumpkin I added as a secret ingredient.
This is cool and tasty! Fei is great, just as I expected.
Good. Bring in Liu Mao Xing's mock noodles.
Oh, my heart is throbbing. It'll be all right, won't it Mao?
It will be fine, just leave it to me!
My mock noodles were created from grounded catfish meat.
Catfish? Hey kid, this must be the extent of your ability, because your inexperience has finally showed itself.
You've made a fatal mistake at last.
No matter how tasty it is, a lack of elasticity in noodles is a fatal mistake
Lye water shouldn't work with ground fish, I believe.
Liu Mao Xing, how did you solve this difficult problem?
Still, it's amazing that a 13-year old kid came this far. I commend you.
Let me check your skill.
How can it be? How can a noodle made from catfish have such elasticity?
It's impossible to create this elasticity from catfish.
How did you do it, kid?
There's something in the noodle's core.
Every single noodle has one. What is this?
It's... dried cuttlefish!
What?
Cuttlefish?
That's right. I softened the dried cuttlefish with hot water and chopped it into thin strips.
To compensate for the lack of elasticity in catfish, I inserted cuttlefish strips into the core of every noodle.
In every one of these noodles...
In each one of them?!
The noodles were made by combining catfish and cuttlefish.
The broth was made with red snapper. Seafood noodles!
Catfish was chosen because it doesn't have a muddy or fishy smell.
Creating such an excellent broth with red snapper stock is great too.
But to perform such an experiment in a place like this, and actually succeed...
His talent is unfathomable.
This ends the taste test. It's now time to mark the grades.
Grade the two other dishes out of ten, and write your results on these scrolls.
Both Huang's beef noodles and Fei's potato noodles completely fulfilled the requirements for mock noodles.
More importantly, I became happy after eating them, Mom.
But my catfish noodles must have also made them happy too.
These are fair grades.
Please wait here until the scores are released.
I don't like all this waiting...
Now, we will release the total scores of the three candidates.
Huang of Dung Jiang Kuan, ten points!
Mao of Yosen Shuka, nine points!
Fei of Da Tung Kuan, nine points!
"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