Chapter 121: A Precious Birthday

A waiter slowly wheeled in a carved, lacquered wood serving cart. An amber sauce trickled down the curve of a lobster tail resting on a celadon plate.

"Tea-smoked lobster. The head chef created a special sauce with Wuyi rock tea and honey, giving it a rich, mellow, and sweet flavor." The maître d’ lifted the gilded, floral-patterned lid of a tureen, releasing a wave of truffle and elegant tea fragrances.

"Wow, that smells so unique!" Zhao Yueyue sniffed, her eyes sparkling.

The waiter smiled warmly. "This dish is normally prepared with fermented rice wine. However, Mr. Huang Mao specifically requested we use a ten-year-aged tea as a substitute for the alcohol in the marinade, so it’s safe for our younger guests to enjoy."

The waiter then poured a house-made sour plum soup, meant to stimulate the appetite and cool the body, into the sky-blue Ru ware teacups set before each guest.

"Please, have some soup to whet your appetites. The rest of the courses will be served immediately."

Huang Mao raised his sky-blue Ru ware teacup toward Zhao Yueyue and said, "Let’s all raise a glass to wish the birthday girl a happy birthday."

Hearing Huang Mao’s words, the others immediately raised their teacups as well.

"Thank you, everyone." Zhao Yueyue was clearly unaccustomed to such a lavish birthday banquet, and she seemed incredibly excited.

After taking a delicate sip of the sour plum soup, expressions of surprise appeared on everyone’s faces.

Normally, while sour plum soup is refreshing and stimulates the appetite, it often leaves a slightly astringent aftertaste.

But this restaurant’s version had no such sensation at all; in fact, it was exceptionally refreshing.

As everyone set down their cups, waiters were already bringing the first course to the table.

Beside Chen Mo, Lin Yuxi used a silver spoon to part a lotus leaf cradling a small, glass-like bowl, then looked at Chen Mo excitedly. "Brother Mo, look! These dumplings are gorgeous."

Chen Mo glanced at the crystal shrimp dumplings. The koi fish pattern was indeed exquisite—even the scales were carved to be as thin as a cicada’s wing.

As steam wafted up, the dumpling wrappers gradually turned translucent, faintly revealing the pink, tender shrimp within.

They looked absolutely delicious.

"The head chef recommends eating the shrimp dumplings while they’re hot," the maître d’ explained at the perfect moment. "The flavor diminishes significantly as they cool."

At her suggestion, everyone prioritized tasting the crystal shrimp dumplings.

The moment a dumpling entered her mouth, a gasp of surprise from Zhao Yueyue was muffled by the tender wrapper. The translucent wheat-starch skin had a perfect, springy chew, bouncing against her teeth.

The pinkish-orange shrimp inside burst, releasing a sweet, clear juice that mixed with the tea-and-honey-infused flavor. It slid along the side of her tongue and down her throat, the umami taste washing over her palate in waves, like a rising tide.

"The scales are crunchy!" Zhao Yueyue exclaimed, her words muffled by the half-eaten dumpling in her mouth.

The maître d’ explained with a smile, "The head chef roasts shrimp shells until they’re crisp, grinds them into a powder, and mixes it into the wheat starch dough. That’s why..."

Before she could finish, Su Yuqing gasped softly. The belly of the dumpling she’d bitten into revealed "fish roe" seasoned with squid ink. The salty, savory little granules burst in her mouth, releasing a complex array of flavors.

"So this is what a three-star Michelin restaurant is like?" Su Yuqing marveled. "The food looks ordinary, but the flavors have infinite variations. The creativity of these chefs is just magical."

"Careful, it’s hot." A waiter then presented them with braised rice with matsutake and abalone. The golden broth shimmered under the light, its aroma filling the air.

Before they had even finished, the next course arrived.

"Hawthorn foie gras, flash-frozen with liquid nitrogen. It has the texture of ice cream," the maître d’ said, smiling at the young women.

Zhao Yuanyuan scooped up a spoonful. As a wisp of white vapor rose, she could indeed feel a texture reminiscent of ice cream.

It was like eating a dense, creamy ice cream bar.

Soon, the gentle chime of a silver bell sounded from behind the sandalwood lattice screen, and eight waiters entered in a procession, each carrying a vermilion-lacquered tray.

With a flick of the maître d’s wrist, the gilded, engraved covers were lifted in unison. A plume of steam carrying the delicate fragrance of Longjing shrimp wafted past the ink-wash screen divider.

They had just finished the shrimp when the next course, a soup, was served.

"The first soup course: Phoenix Cloak over Snow Clam." The clear broth in the blue-green jade bowl was as transparent as glass, and a phoenix wing carved from egg white was half-submerged within it.

When Zhao Yueyue scooped up a spoonful and realized it was made of egg white, she couldn’t help but exclaim, "You can carve this?!"

By now, everyone was thoroughly impressed. This three-Michelin-star Chinese restaurant was truly worthy of its price and reputation.

The crystalline wingtip, carved from solidified egg white, swayed gently on the soup’s surface, revealing the peony-shaped hashima meat beneath.

It looked simple, but it was a dish that required immense skill and effort.

Huang Mao smiled and gestured to a newly arrived dish. "This one, the Sea Cucumber in a Jade Belt and Gauze Robe, is what takes true mastery."

On a blue-and-white porcelain plate, a sea cucumber was sliced open and wrapped in winter melon slices as thin as a cicada’s wing, then drizzled with an amber abalone sauce.

He gave the maître d’ a look, who obediently produced a magnifying glass and placed it in front of Zhao Yueyue. To her astonishment, she saw a micro-carving of the *Preface to the Poems Collected from the Orchid Pavilion* on the slice of winter melon.

"That’s insane. They can even do this?" Zhao Yueyue, ever the pragmatist, added, "But isn’t it a bit of a waste of effort? You eat it in one bite, and it doesn’t even change the flavor." She found the dish a little too flashy for its own good.

Su Yuqing was about to pick up a piece of the Jade Coral Roll, only to find that Chen Mo had already placed one on her plate.

She stole a glance at Chen Mo, who wasn’t looking her way, and a faint, almost imperceptible smile touched her lips as she happily ate the food he had given her.

"Try this." Chen Mo continued to serve her, pushing a dish of honey-glazed ham carved into the shape of twin lotus flowers her way. Threads of osmanthus-spun sugar caught the light, creating fine, shimmering golden lines.

When a waiter presented a bronze hot pot decorated with an interlocking lotus pattern, Zhao Yueyue immediately lifted the lid in curiosity.

A cloud of cold mist billowed out, revealing twelve crystal crab-shell cups. They contained steamed egg with crab roe, sprinkled with crushed gold leaf, and rested upon a scene of "Lingering Snow on the Broken Bridge," sculpted from rice paste.

Just then, the maître d’ brought out a large, banded agate platter, and Huang Mao’s face filled with anticipation as he looked at Zhao Yueyue.

Puzzled by his reaction, Zhao Yueyue watched as a red silk cloth was lifted to reveal a giant "longevity peach" bun. On top of it was a lifelike dough figurine of herself.

The curtains were suddenly drawn. In the instant the room went dark, a waiter approached, pushing a glass pagoda lit with red candles.

On the top tier, which was an ice-crackle glazed plate, the glass pagoda slowly blossomed open, revealing a pastry with a molten date-paste center, wrapped in 128 layers of flaky dough.

"This is a special birthday gift from Mr. Huang Mao. Happy birthday. Please make a wish and blow out the candles," the maître d’ said with a smile, standing beside Zhao Yueyue.

As she spoke, the "Happy Birthday" song began to play at just the right moment.

Zhao Yueyue looked at everyone with a surprised expression. Seeing them all smiling at her, she gave Huang Mao a final, moved glance before closing her eyes to make a wish.

At the same time, led by Huang Mao, everyone began to sing "Happy Birthday" to Zhao Yueyue.

At that moment, as Zhao Yuanyuan sang along, her eyes grew moist. She was happy that her older sister had met such a wonderful group of classmates, but at the same time, she couldn’t help but feel a little envious.