SailorStar9: Well, I've uploaded Chapter 11, and here's Chapter 12. So, read and review. Come on boys and girls, is it so hard for you to leave a review other than putting this on your favorited lists and alerts?

Disclaimers: Me no own, you no sue.

Chapter 12: The Handsome Teenage Chef, Fei

"Noodles that are not noodles..." Mei Li wondered. "Why are you using a catfish, Mao?"

"Catfish can be transformed into many different dishes." Mao explained. "See?" he moved the fish's flesh. "Although catfish meat is fatty, the taste is mild and simple. It doesn't have a muddy smell like other river fish."

"But how does catfish transform into noodles?" Mei Li asked. "Mao, this isn't the time to be playing." she chided, seeing Mao juggle the eggs.

"I'm not playing." Mao corrected. "Ya Xue, can you lift that ladle up high towards me? That's right." he grinned as Ya Xue lifted the ladle slightly above her head. "Let's begin." and used the ladle to split the egg yolks from the egg whites.

"You're mixing the egg yolk with the noodles, right?" Mei Li asked.

"Nope, I'm using the egg white." Mao tsked. "i want to keep the simple taste of the catfish, so I'm only using the white. It's hardened a bit." he mixed in the egg white. "Now to add some cooking wine."

"Why are you using that?" Mei Li wondered.

"Let me explain this," Ya Xue went into lecture mode. "By pouring cooking wine into the heated wok, excess water and alcohol is evaporated, leaving behind the taste of the wine. The taste of the wine is used as a secret ingredient. The good taste of noodles actually comes from its main ingredient, cereal grain; and cooking wine is also made from cereal. Therefore, this ingredient compliments the catfish."

"Mao, that piece cloth has a lot of holes." Mei LI blinked, seeing Mao produce a white cloth with hole punctured in it.

"Here we go." Mao poured the mixture onto the cloth and squeezed noodles strands through the holes. "Catfish mock noodles, complete!" he declared. "It's still raw, but you can try it."

"I've never tasted anything like it." Mei Li gaped, giving the uncooked noodles a taste test. "It's doesn't taste fishy or has the muddy smell of river fish. It has a simple taste, with just the right amount of fat. I can taste something very deep... it's the table wine you've added." she realized. "It doesn't have the powdery taste of regular noodles. That's why these mock noodles taste great."

"It's perfect for making noodles that are not noodles." Mao beamed and took a taste.

"Mao-sama?" Ya Xue blinked, seeing Mao's rather dead expression.

"I can't... I can't taste anything!" Mao panicked, after dipping a finger into the salt bowl to taste the salt and sipping the soy sauce from its ladle. "Something's wrong with my tongue! I can't taste anything at all! Why is this happening? It's no use." he muttered, taking a bite of the spring onion and an apple each. "I can't taste anything at all. Without my sense of taste, I can't do anything. Why must this happen?" he wailed.

"Mao-sama, calm down!" Ya Xue tried to pacify her frantic young master.

"Mao, open your mouth please." Fei requested and stuffed a salt rock into the younger boy's mouth. "Can you taste anything?"

"I suspected as much." Ya Xue muttered and tilted Mao's head to the right. "Just as I thought." she pulled out an acupuncture needle from behind Mao's ear.

"Salty!" Mao spat out the salt slab. "This is... the salt my sister brought for me. Fei, why did you do that? It's so salty! It's back." he looked at Mei Li. "I cant taste again. What's that?" he looked at the thin needle between Ya Xue's fingers.

"Mao-sama, I apologize for letting my guard down." Ya Xue replied. "I found this acupuncture needle stuck behind your ear; there's a nerve cluster in that area that controls the sense of taste. Mao-sama's taste buds are paralyzed by this needle."

"Why is that needle there?" Mao gaped.

"I suspect..." Fei frowned. "One of the chefs put it in when you were distracted. You need to be careful. Concentrate harder."

"Wait, Fei." Mao voiced. "Why are you so nice to me? I'm sure you want to win this battle, too. So why help me?"

"I honestly don't know, but I will tell you this." Fei replied. "I own a debt to Master Pai, your mother."

"Mom?" Mao echoed. "Fei, you owed my mom a something? Did you know my mother? But, you said you honestly don't know. Why don't you remember?"

"It happened when I was little." Fei replied. "So my memories are hazy."

"What's wrong?" Ya Xue hurried over the obviously in pain Fei. "Don't push yourself too hard."

"For me, cooking has only been a terrible and sad experience." Fei related. "I've experienced happiness just once in my life after that. It was when I encountered a particular person."

"Pai-sama found him unconscious in front of Kikkaro." Ya Xue supplied. "Of course Mao-sama was still a baby back then."

"A bowl of soup warmed my body and thawed my frozen heart and soul." Fei continued. "So the person who taught me that good food should not only be tasty, but it should make people happy, it was your mother, Master Pai. I can remember everything that happened that night. It is the only precious memory I have left. But I will no longer think of you as Master Pai's son from now on. Just like the other talented chefs, you found your interpretation of 'Incomparable'. In order to become a Super Chef, you are a rival... no, an enemy that I need to defeat. From now on, we battle as chefs. We'll fight fairly, Liu Mao Xing."

After preparing the soup base using red snapper and fish essence sauce as seasoning, Mao tossed the uncooked noodles into the wok and dished up the finished noodles, complete with the red snapper flesh. "Well?" he asked as Mei Li and Ya Xue tasted the finished dish.

"It's delicious!" Mei Li gushed. "You'll win the battle for sure. This dish is a great success, Mao."

"Mao-sama, I'm sorry to say." Ya Xue sighed. "There's a fatal flaw in this dish. Granted it's fresh and tastes good, but it lacks the chewy elasticity in normal noodles."

"But Mao don't have time to do it all over again!" Mei Li protested.

"No, I'll keep the catfish noodles." Mao replied.

"Mao-sama, I may have a suggestion." Ya Xue spoke. "How about using..."

SailorStar9: Now that's done, read and review.