China within a Fish

The gong sounded and both chefs are finished. The chiefs of Guangzhou cooking are the judges of the match. Leon starts the tasting with his dishes: 1st dish, sashimi. 2nd dish, stewed fish head with vegetables. 3rd dish, thin slices of fish porgy that is dipped inside boiling porgy soup stock. 4th dish, special fish head dish. The judges are all very happy with Leon’s cooking and Mao is amazed. It’s Mao’s turn. The ladies bring out a big dish and when they opened it, it’s the porgy. They asked if this is the first dish, but Mao answered that this is all his dishes. Mao then asked Shilou’s help and Mei Li pushed him, Mao asked Shilou to cut the string that holds the porgy at the same time. After the string was cut, the porgy moved and the flesh is spreading out like a fan, and when the food settled, the porgy is shaped like China! Mao’s dish is the Porgy Continental Seal. The judges started tasting the dish, each one tasting different sides of the porgy (north, south, east, west) and it contains the four tastes of the four major regions of china: Beijing, Szechuan, Shanghai and Guangdong. The elders finally announced that they came to a decision. It’s a tie! But just as the elders are about to finish the battle, Leon challenged Mao into an extension round and Mao accepted the challenge! Chouyu commented that Mao is at an disadvantage. Chouyu mentions that Leon hasn’t used any underground tricks left, and he still has a trump card. Leon finally revealed his trump card. The North Star Heavenly North Blade There is only one porgy left, and Leon asked Mao to choose the parts. Mao insisted that they have equal parts. Mao cut the porgy in half, with incredible skill. Mao claimed that he did this because he has respect for a great chef, which is Leon. Leon mentioned that he hadn’t hoped of using the secret knife. Leon crushed the end to the floor and pulled out a shining knife. Leon said that the winner will be the one who gives the greater taste, and he will be the one. Mao thinks otherwise.

Aired: 1998-03-01