Food Street Must Be Saved!

Traveler, Paimon? Long time no see.

Shenhe! You're here too?

I came to lend a hand. There's no end to things to do on the food street, and Xiangling and Smiley Yanxiao couldn't handle it on their own.

Oh, that makes sense!

Besides... I accidentally punched a hole through a wok with my spatula while practicing cooking recently. Chef Mao thought it best if I stayed away from the kitchen for a while.

Well, Paimon can't really argue with that... Wait, what are Yanxiao and the others up to over there?

A dash of salt, soy sauce as needed.

How much is "a dash"? And what does "as needed" even mean!?

High heat, and pour on the oil!

Pour on the oil, he says... But how many milliliters!?

Order up! "Stone Harbor Delicacies" is fundamental for any Liyue chef. If you can't even make sense of a dish that simple, we can forget talking about a cook-off.

Are all the chefs in Liyue this careless? Back in Fontaine, an attitude like that would get you kicked out of the kitchen by the head chef... Ugh, but why on earth is this so good!?

Xiangling, what are they doing?

It's not every day we meet a chef from another nation, so Smiley Yanxiao wants to test his skills against hers.

Wait, isn't that Savanna? She came to Liyue too?

You know her? I heard she's the head chef at Hotel Debord. She's been under a lot of work stress lately, so Escoffier brought her here to take a breather.

But it looks like her stress levels just doubled.

Hmm... "A dash of salt" means highlighting the natural flavor of the ingredients — too much of it would ruin that.

"Soy sauce as needed" implies the dish relies on it for color and savory flavor, so you can't be stingy with it.

And "high heat, pour on the oil" means that with sufficiently hot flames, the oil temperature can be brought up high enough to cook the dish quickly. This locks the juice right in, preserving the food's natural taste.

The exact amount of seasoning and when to plate the dish are all left to the chef's discretion. It seems Liyue cuisine is built largely on the chef's own accumulated experience.

Classic Escoffier.

(Impressive... Stone Harbor Delicacies is just a basic dish, sure, but she dissected the whole technique in a single bite!)

Xiangling, when you step up, bring out your signature dish! She's the real deal. If we lose on our home turf, how will we show our faces outside!?

Oh, come on, this is an international food street, not a round of Masterful Chefs!

Don't treat Escoffier like some terrifying enemy. She's actually super sweet! She only stepped in to help her friend out of a tight spot.

(S... Sweet?!)

Miss Xiangling, tasting an opponent's dish and offering critique is a necessary part of culinary exchange, isn't it? That was my reason for stepping in.

See? You really do look out for the people around you! I can tell from all the time we've spent together lately!

Escoffier... even all the way here in Liyue, I'm still leaning on you so much.

...Keep your head screwed on tight, Savanna. How are you gonna lead a kitchen as head chef otherwise?

How so?

Paimon gets what you mean, Traveler! Instead of competing, why don't you team up and cook something together?

If Xiangling and Escoffier teamed up, imagine how incredible the food would be! Paimon's getting curious just thinking about it!

You mean hungry.

Come on, can't it be both?

A fine suggestion. Simply watching another chef work yields limited insight.

I'm in! I heard Escoffier talking about "centrifuges" and "extractions" earlier. I didn't get half of it, but I'm dying to learn!

But your cooking styles are polar opposites. What could you possibly make by working together?

Even agreeing on how to cook the dish will be a nightmare, too. If I hear another phrase like "a dash" or "as needed," I swear I'll...

This is a complete insult to tradition!

Sir, may I ask what the issue is?

Look at this! Is this what we're supposed to eat during the Moonchase Festival?

What do you think we should eat for the festival, then?

Five-Nut Wangxiao Cakes, of course!

Gramps, you've got to be kidding, right? Most people leave those cakes to gather dust in their pantries until next year's Moonchase!

Utter nonsense! Hmph... no offense, but not a single chef here can make a Wangxiao Cake that beats Five-Nut!

Is this Five-Nut cake really good enough to warrant such praise?

Actually... that particular flavor is pretty controversial around here...

Hmph... Gramps, wanna make a bet? I can whip up an even tastier batch right now, just to prove you wrong!

And if you can't, every single stall here has to sell Five-Nut Wangxiao Cakes!

You're on!

President, what brings you over here? I apologize for the trouble caused, everyone.

This is the president of the Chenyu Vale Confectionery Guild. He's probably here to inspect the Moonchase festivities. He's one of the main organizers behind the festival, after all.

*gasp* What...

Fine. I'll give you a few days, and I'll be back to taste your cooking then.

Looks like Smiley Yanxiao is in trouble...

He's the event organizer. What if he actually forces us all to sell Five-Nut Wangxiao Cakes?!

I suspect he simply wanted to eat some. Why don't we all make one together for him?

Hey, that's it! A Wangxiao Cake made by Xiangling and Escoffier... Oooh, Paimon's mouth is already watering!

We actually have a lot in common when it comes to making confectionery. Combining our talents on Wangxiao Cakes seems like a worthy endeavor to me.

I'm in favor of the team-up! Not that I think anything could taste worse than a Five-Nut cake... but better safe than sorry.

This is a huge deal for the entire food street, so we really need to come up with a good plan...

Looks like everyone's getting serious! Paimon's actually getting kinda excited!

Glaze Lilies for Shenhe, and... I forgot.

Oh, and remember to do your stretches after eating the cake.

Ooh! Qiqi and Yaoyao. You're here too, huh?

We got a letter from Xiangling a couple of days ago. She asked us to pick some Glaze Lilies from Qingce Village, and promised to treat Qiqi and me to cake as a thank-you!

I have received the Glaze Lilies. Please, come over and have some cake.

Qiqi, remember to do your stretches after finishing your cake.

Is everyone already working on the Wangxiao Cakes?

Yep! The secret to making a tasty one is all in the filling! Escoffier came up with a fantastic recipe, so we're just getting ready to mix it now.

The baking process is equally critical. However, the technique is quite specialized and differs greatly from baking normal cakes. So, we'll be relying on Xiangling's expertise for that.

Actually, I've just picked up a thing or two... Let's start with the filling. According to the recipe, we need Glaze Lilies and some top-notch tea leaves...

The tea leaves are here!

It's Lu Xiangxiang!

Miss Shenhe really looked out for me last time at Wanmin Restaurant, so I have to do my part this time.

This should be the finest tea you'll find in all Chenyu Vale. I never thought my family's connections would come in handy one day...

As for the spices Miss Escoffier mentioned earlier, I've already had someone ship them in from Sumeru.

A complete set of alchemical apparatus is also ready to go. It'll extract whatever components you want, no problem!

Everyone from the food street is here!

We can't just let everyone sell nothing but those Five-Nut Wangxiao Cakes, can we? That would defeat the whole point of a food street!

Whoa, this feels just like an Inazuman light novel where the whole crew teams up to take down some big shot!

Well, without further ado, then. Let's start mixing the filling. Thank you all for your help.

The extraction of the Glaze Lily nectar went smoothly.

Hmm, Paimon can already smell that sweet aroma!

Unfortunately, we're still running into issues with tea leaf extraction. They are usually roasted dry and steeped in hot water, so extracting directly from raw leaves isn't working out well.

Raw leaves are essential for what I have in mind. After all, I'm trying to isolate a specific flavor compound, not brew a pot of tea.

In that case, my alchemical setup won't cut it. Miss Escoffier, what about using your centrifuge?

My centrifuge? Even at maximum speed, I'm afraid it still...

Will this work?

Yes, this is exactly the kind of pure tea extract I needed! May I ask what equipment you used?

One of Xianyun's cooking machines, maybe?

I actually used your centrifuge, Miss Escoffier.

But its rotation speed isn't high enough, is it?

Yes, it was a bit slow, so I cranked it by hand.

What!?

Just Shenhe being Shenhe...

Anyway, we now have all our ingredients. Please, leave the filling to me.

Xiangling, do you know how to make Five-Nut Wangxiao Cakes?

Why are you asking about that all of a sudden, Shenhe?

I've never had one before. Smiley Yanxiao said it tastes terrible, but that gentleman claims that it's quite delicious. So, I'm somewhat curious.

Why not just go buy one at the market then? They aren't hard to find.

Hmm... Dad told me that most Five-Nut Wangxiao Cakes on the market nowadays aren't authentic. Chefs don't bother making them properly as pastries anymore.

These days, they're basically treated like decorative filler in Moonchase gift boxes.

Fair enough...

I need to brush up on my baking technique anyway, so while Escoffier is mixing the filling, I might as well practice on these!

Count me in.

Traveler, Paimon, see you there! Make sure to come taste our joint effort when it's ready!

Everyone's here! Has the tasting started already? Look at this crowd!

Tell me about it! Word of a collaboration between a Fontainian head chef and Liyue's culinary talents has spread like wildfire all over Yilong Wharf. How could anyone pass this up?

Here is the joint masterpiece of our food street — the Celestial Tea Crisp.

A Wangxiao Cake as big as an actual cake!

Sounds like one of your dreams has come to life, Paimon.

Can this even be called a Wangxiao Cake?

It is a joint effort, after all, so we incorporated a few techniques from Fontainian pastry-making.

Besides, my friends from Liyue tell me that Wangxiao Cake is a treat meant to be enjoyed together with family during the Moonchase Festival.

Wouldn't it be more fitting, then, to craft it into a full-sized cake that can be sliced and shared?

...Let us taste it first.

From what I gathered, the main issue with Wangxiao Cakes as a dessert is that they can be overly sweet and cloying for some. That's why we focused on creating a clean, refreshing flavor.

So I designed a filling that replaces Sweet Flower nectar with one that's only mildly sweet, infusing it with Chenyu Adeptea extract.

Finally, I enlisted the help of Xiangling and Smiley Yanxiao, who crafted the pastry crusts with great precision. This allowed us to preserve the cake's signature flavor. Now, I would love to hear your impressions.

Whoa, it's so sweet and fragrant, yet incredibly refreshing... If my dango tasted this good, business at the Aisa Bathhouse would definitely pick up!

We're supposed to be on vacation, so stop thinking about work... Still, it really is delicious...

And how did you find it, sir?

...

Now, don't jump to conclusions just yet, sir. Alright, folks, we have one final round for today's tasting.

Please give our authentic Five-Nut Wangxiao Cakes a try! Smiley Yanxiao and I made this batch especially for you all!

Oh? Mmm...

Whoa, this is surprisingly good! Nothing like what Paimon expected!

The very first Wangxiao Cake I ever tasted as a kid was a Five-Nut Wangxiao Cake from a gift box. That taste was... hard to describe. Honestly, I still haven't forgotten it...

After becoming a chef, I never touched the stuff again. But those gift-box cakes weren't what you were looking for at all, were they?

Indeed... this flavor is what I've been longing for all along. But why...?

I said we'd make a Wangxiao Cake better than the traditional Five-Nut. But if the cake we're beating isn't even the real deal, how could that count as a victory?

Now, everyone, please judge for yourselves.

Mmm...

There is no need for further debate. This authentic Five-Nut cake is crisp and flaky, and captures the taste of my childhood perfectly... Yet even so, your Celestial Tea Crisp is still a cut above.

Yay!

Truth be told, it wasn't just the taste I missed. Five-Nut Wangxiao Cakes weren't even made like this originally. Back then, they couldn't even scrape five types of nuts together.

In those days, we just pooled whatever good ingredients we had on hand and saved the cakes to share with our families during the festival.

As living standards improved, the fillings became fancier and fancier, but the cakes ended up locked away in decorative gift boxes, never actually making it to the family table.

What I missed... was the warmth of everyone coming together to enjoy the cake.

Sir...

Our Fontainian chef just said that Wangxiao Cakes are made to be shared. Well said, I say. This is, in all likelihood, the true spirit of this tradition.

I only realized this after learning much from my friends here in Liyue. And just now, sir, you've taught me something truly valuable as well.

In that case, please bake a few more batches of these cakes for everyone to enjoy. The Guild will cover all the costs.

Yippee!

Ooh, hey there, Zibai! Are you checking out the food street too?

I was merely passing through, but seeing so many people gathered to share a pastry brought back memories... so I stopped to take a closer look.

Miss Zibai, you're here too? Would you like to try some of the Wangxiao Cakes we made?

Wangxiao Cakes...

Paimon remembers how you once mentioned something called "Fullmoon Cakes." People ate them together during festivals too! Are they related to today's Wangxiao Cakes, by any chance?

Huh. Speaking of that, my dad did say that today's Wangxiao Cakes evolved from an ancient pastry.

Permit me to have a taste first. Hmm... Mmm... Sweet without being saccharine... Rather, it is light and refreshing. Truly delicious.

And yet, its ingredients and craftsmanship are vastly different from Fullmoon Cakes. Even if it did descend from them, the two can hardly be considered the same pastry anymore.

Huh. It almost sounds like you've actually tasted those Fullmoon Cakes yourself, Miss Zibai...

Indeed, I have. I'd say that was roughly a few thousand years ago.

Um, are you playing another character, Miss Zibai?

Hehehe...

Probably...

Still, this scene, with everyone gathering to share good food... That hasn't changed in the slightest, despite the passage of years.

This sight of everyone gathering to share good food... It hasn't changed one bit since those days.