Chuka ichiban

Qing Dynasty, Imperial China, a small restraunt in Szechuan Province is messed up by a first grade cook, Shouan.To defend his deceased mother's restraunt, Liu Mao Tsing ('Mao') has a cooking match with Shouan, the judge being General Lee. The dish: fried rice. Shouan cooks a seafood fried rice using the most yummy seafood while Mao cooks 'golden friend rice' which is basically fried rice and egg yolk to make the rice a gold colour. Lee finds Mao's dish far superior to that of Shouan's. Shouan, upset he had lost to a kid declares a rematch. Lee agrees but only on the basis that if he loses, he'll lose his first grade level and never be allowed to cook again. Similarly if Mao loses he will lose the restraunt to Shouan. The two agree and Lee declares the dish to cook be 'Five Flavour Ma Por' tofu with an extra flavour they must decide to put in.

In the on-on-one cooking match Mao easily defeats Shouan. Shouan, shamed that he was beaten by a little boy, runs away from the restraunt. General Lee congratualtes Mao on his smart thinking in his cooking of 'Ma Por' tofu. Instead of using beef, Mao substituted it with beans. This gave the lovely taste General Lee remembered when he was just a soldier at war and there was no beef becasue all the cows had died. General Lee, seeing Mao's talent orders him to go to Guangzhou and build up his skills so he could enter the Special Grade Cooking test.

Mao arrives at Guangzhou and goes to the Yang Spring Restraunt. At first he is ignored by the master chef of the restraunt, Choyu. Mao shows him the letter of recommendation from General Lee to which Choyu becomes a bit suprised but just chucks the letter away and tells Mao to cook bakchoy (white chinese cabbage) for the chefs to eat for lunch. Mao cooks the bakchoy but the dish is turned down by all the other chefs. Later Choyu tells him that Guangzhou's water contains a lot of dirt so when Mao cooked the bakchoy all the dirt flavour went into it. Mao, being the talented cook he is immediately goes to work finding a way to get rid of the dirt taste. After just one day, Mao works out how to get rid of the dirt taste and begs Choyu to allow him to prove his skills. Mao cooks the bakchoy again, this time using an oil which prevents the cabbage from absorbing the dirt taste. Mao is congratualted by all the chefs for his smart thinking and is accepted Choyu promotes him to'fourth grade chef' for his achievement. Of course, this makes the other resident cooking master boy, Sanche, a little jealous.

Sanche, also a young chef in Yang's Spring Restraunt, becomes jealous of Mao's talent and tries to spoil Mao's cooking. However when Sanche is asked by Choyu to chop some vegetables, he is unable to chop them finely (due to a tragic childhood where he was taught to cook by his strict father) and so all the customers become unhappy about the restraunt's cooking. Choyu kicks Sanche out of the restraunt for his poor cooking ability. Sanche runs away and tries to get on a boat to return to Shanghai. Mao stops him and offers to help him in showing his skills to Choyu so he can be cook for the restraunt.

Mao, Sanche and Meili open up a store to attract customers away from Yang's Spring Restraunt. They make 'stir fry capsicum and pork strips', but want to add something else to create a unique flavour. As the night wears on, Meili gets frustrated and kicks a tree, making all the ripe 'chi' (a type of fruit) fall to the ground. Mao gets an idea to use the 'chi' as the special flavour they needed. The next day, Yang's Spring restraunt is empty thanks to the store Mao and the gang made. Mao chops the vegetables, Sanche stir frys the dish and Meili serves it to customers making them the ultimate team. Choyu and Ruoh find out about Mao's store and goes to have a little taste test. They are so amazed at the short amount of time they took to make this new delicious dish that they allow Sanche back into the restraunt. Sanche, happy Mao had helped him, got his confidence back in chopping vegetables and again leaves for Shanghai where his father's restraunt is. Mao tries to stop him after reading Sanche's leave note but is too late.

The annual Guangzhou dumpling festival is nearing, and this year Yang's Spring Restraunt is hoping to win again. However a new challenger has arrived - the Chinese Dumpling Brothers! Choyu breaks his arm after one of the Dumpling Brothers knocks into him and it is up to Mao to win in the festival!

The Guangzhou Dumpling Festival has arrived! The winner is the team who has the most eaten plates of dumplings. An old man wants to try the wonderful Dumpling Brother's dumpling but is told to go away becasue he looked like a beggar. Mao gives the old man dumplings and finds out the man used to be the Emperor's master chef. After this news, everyone flocks to Mao's store to eat his dumplings. When time was up, the plates were counted! Mao and the Dumpling Brothers were equal first with 1242 plates. The judge, under the old man's advice, announces a rechallenge the next day - But different dumplings must be made!

At night, the stronger Dumpling Brother tries to sabotage Mao's indgredients before the dumpling challenge but is luckily stopped by Choyu. Meanwhile, the other brother is quickly preparing his own ingredients for the challenge. The dumpling rematch has new rules: each taste tester gets two balls, a black one and a white one. After tasting each store's food (Mao and the Dumpling Brothers) they put either a white ball (for Mao) or a black ball (for the Dumpling Brothers) into large pots where they will be counted. The Dumpling Brothers make a beautiful prawn dumpling which looks like a dragon. Mao also makes a prawn dumpling which does not look as good but it has one special trick - It can lift its body up! - The 'Rising Dragon' dumpling' You'll have to watch the episode to understand.After the match is over, the large pots are smashed open and they are completely filled with white balls! Mao wins! General Lee arrives and tells Mao that he is now ready to take the Special Grade Cooking Test in Guangzhou.

Mao goes to the large castle which holds the Special Grade Cooking Tests. The tests are held every four years and only one person will pass the test (very strict!). In the first round, the first five people to have their dishes past will go on to the next round. The dish to be cooked is ramen (noodles) and the topic is 'Ramen without an equal' (something along those lines!). While the other cooks have already started, Mao is still thinking of what the topic phrase means. Feiyi - another young talented cook gives him a hint and straight away Mao knows what to cook! Unfortunately Mao forgot a vital ingredient and tells Meili to go back to the restraunt to get it. Mao waits as time goes by fast....

When Meili finally comes back with the ingredients, two people has already finished the noodles and qualified (3 left!). Feiyi makes 'dragon whisker' noodles which shocks the judges and also passes (2 left!). Meanwhile Mao is still making the dough for his noodles and crushing up the secret ingredient - a rock!. A mysterious green hair woman who makes a noodle with bats and scorpians also passes the test. (1 left!). Finally Mao finishes his noodles which do not need soup. He puts his hand up to say he is finished, but another chef beats him to it (because Mao is too short!).

There is only one more place left to enter the next round and somebody beats Mao in making the noodles. Luckily for Mao, the man's noodles are rejected and so Mao's noodles are tasted. Becasue Mao did not use normal water in preparing the noodles or when kneading it, the noodles were able to absorb all the ingredients which Mao had put into the noodles. Also the rock he used was a special rock which makes the noodles have a fresher taste. Mao passes the test and thinks it is over - but the real test is in the Special Grade Cooking arena inside the castle. The judges are replaced by a new judge, one of the greatest chefs in China and also a friend of Mao's mother. The dish announced is again noodles! which is a shock for Mao and the new topic is 'Not noodles'! (Of course it has to tricky! its the final test!) In the arena, the freshest ingredients from all around China are present which makes it a headache for Mao to decide what to make. Again, while the other chefs have started Mao is still thinking of what to make. Time is ticking away...

Mao decides to cook 'namazu noodles' (namazu is a type of fish, looks like a catfish). He quickly finishes and tells Meili to taste it. Meili rejects to the noodles finding them not fresh enough and having not enough bounce. Mao tries to find away to overcome his problem and finds it! - In octopus! Time is nearly up!

Mao finishes his noodles and is time is up! The judges must now taste the food..... But the judge tells the five chefs to taste each others dishes! The green hair woman presents her dish first - black noodles. However she is disqualified for using opium in the noodles which makes it addictive and also for using acupuncture on Mao to stop him from making his noodles. Next is the man with the 'cat ears' noodles. For the whole contest he had been doing pushups with his thumb so he could make cat ear shape noodles from the dough by flicking with his thumbs! But his noodles are disqualified by the other chefs because the 'cat ears' noodles was not in the shape of noodles and so failed. Finally, Feiyi, Mao, and another guy 'Han' is left. They taste each others dishes and are then told to give each other a score out of 10. The judge announces the total scores: Mao 9, Feiyi 9 and Han 10.

The scores are announced, and Han believes that he had won. However the judge disqualifies him for using dirty tricks. Whereas Mao and Feiyi had judged each other fairly, Han only gave them each a '1' to lower their scores so to win. Finally the judge tells Feiyi and Mao to give a score for their own dishes. This is of course the toughest call a chef has to make. Mao gives himself a 10 because he thinks its the best dish no matter who you are. Feiyi also gives himself a 10. After the judge discusses with other officials, she announces that both Mao and Feiyi pass the test and become Special Grade cooks! Mao returns to Yang's Spring restraunt where he is greeted by General Lee who had heard of the great news. Mao tells Lee he will not return home to be the master chef at his Szechuan restraunt nor will he stay and learn more at Yang's Spring Restraunt. Instead Mao chooses to go around China learning new Chinese cuisines. Lee agrees and wishes him luck. Meili is so distressed about this that she runs away crying. Mao farewells his sister and the chefs at Yang's Spring. One of the chef's give Mao a handkerchief sewn by Meili since Meili couldn't see him off. On the ship, Mao is saddened to read Meili's goodbye letter. Luckily for him Meili sneaked on board as well to acompany him on his journeys!

Mao and Meili travel to Wunam province in China and along the way meet a boy who has fainted from starvation. Mao makes some food for him using igredients from the trees around him. When he is well, the boy tells him his name is Siro and he is a Special Grade Cook (which he isn't!). Since Mao is hiding his Special Grade cook emblem, Mao becomes Siro's disciple! The group go to Siro's village where a really fat Official is putting chefs into prison for making food he does not like. Siro, whose family owns a restraunt in the village also tries to satisfy the Official. With Mao's help they make a fried rice with a sour taste which the Official greedily ate. Mao reveals he is a Special Grade cook, to the suprise of Siro and everyone. Siro apologises for pretending to be a Special Grade cook and joins Mao's journeys.

Mao and his friends go to Wu Nam province to seek new Chinese cuisines. They enter a village where they are welcomed by a beautiful female chef, Ang. Ang finds out Mao is a special grade cook and seduces him to work out how to use a large ball and chain cooking instrument Ang's father had left to her. Mao almost instantly goes to work (to the jealousy of Meirii) at it with Siro. When they finally work out its uses, they tell Ang and she locks them up in a room. Ang then uses the ball and chain to create a dish* for the Official who has come. *The dish Ang makes is one of Wu Nam's specialties. It is called a 'bird's nest' and is made by frying taro powder in a shape of a bird's nest. Inside the nest is usually some stir fry vegetables and meat. The one Ang attempts to make is a sphere rather than a hemisphere like normal bird's nest.

Mao and Siro are found and untied by Meirii. Meanwhile the Official rejects Ang's dish because it does not taste like her father's although it looks the same. Mao appears and shows Ang how to really use the ball and chain instruments properly. Ang thanks Mao and his friends and they are off.

Mao is split up from Meirii and Siro in a forest at night. When they regroup they find a large house where they are served a very nice meal by the chef there. The sickly owners however only want to have red congee. Mao and gang try to find the secrets of this addictive congee and find it is made from a poisonous red mushroom. Also they find out the chef wanted to use this addictive red congee to force the owner's to sign a contract to give all their money and their daughter to him. And so Mao creates a herbal 'five colour' congee which he gives to the owners. This cures their addictiveness for red congee and the chef is forced to leave.

Mao, Meili and Shilou are eating in a restaurant, but when they were about to pay, they found out that Shilou lost all their money. They were thrown out by the head chef, Harry and his thugs, but a certain Igle, a third-grade chef stopped them. A fight ensued and it was stopped because the owner of the restaurant arrived with his daughter, Laia. Mao then asked the owner to let them work the debt off by working for the restaurant. It was also found out that Laia is engaged to Harry, and they were to be married the next day. Igle meanwhile carves a phoenix out of ice as a gift to Laia, then left the restaurant. While walking he found Harry (with two girls at his side!) planning to make the restaurant into a bar after he’s married to Laia. Igle was mad but Harry’s friends outnumbered him. Mao found Igle lying on the dirt, and decided to help him and thwart Harry. During the wedding, Mao used subtlety by making a galaxy soup, a completely black soup that kinda sparkles, (like the stars in the black sky) and tells everybody of Harry’s plans. Mao then showed Laia the pearl bangle that Igle promised her. Then they showed the ice carving Igle made. Laia ran off to find Igle on the bridge where they professed their love.

Mao's party stay at 'Chicken Town' a village in south west china. This village is the largest provider of chickens in China. After Mao spends all their money on cooking books, the owner of the Black Wing restraunt, Tia, gives them food and shelter. In return and after hearing Tia's tragic story of how her brother's breeding of black chickens led to his death, Mao competes in the annual chicken cooking contest held in Chicken Town, using black chickens.

Mao just returned from his trip and he is given a key for Yosen Shuka because Master Luo & Chouyu went to attend the chef alliance’s meeting for two weeks. When they were already closing, a stranger forced his way inside and ordered a stir-fry. Since Mao is out doing some errand, Shilou made the stir-fry, but forgot to dip it in oil. This made ths stranger unhappy and demanded for the manager. Mao faced him and asked for another chance, anything the stranger wants and Mao will cook it. The stranger asked for an egg dish, but not an ordinary egg dish. Mao must use three different kind of eggs that has unity but at the same time the tastes of the three eggs must be distinct. Mao is to do this in only 15 minutes. In half the time, Mao produced the egg dish, a siumai dish. The stranger claims that he is quite strict with siu mai and even without tasting the dish, he already knew what two of the three eggs are. When he tasted the siu mai, he found out the third and he exclaimed that the dish is very delicious! He then announced himself as Shell, the youngest dim sum master chef. Because of the excitement of finding a person that is equal or might be better than him with regards to cooking siu mai, he challenges mao into a siu mai battle!!!

Mao was chosen to hold the restaurant key. Then, when he had to leave the restaurant for some pick-me-ups, he left the restaurant to Meirii and Siro's care. Now, when Meirii was about to close the restaurant, Shel (even though his name isnt mentioned yet), demanded to be let in and ordered for some stir-fry veggies. Siro, thinking that he would be some help, decided to fry the stir-fry instead. Shel was outraged to taste such a disgusting dish and demanded for the cook. Mao immediately took responsibility and thus, Shel saw the cloth wrapped over Mao's 'Super' badge. Shel then showed Mao the stars he earned when defeating other good chefs and Mao is surprised (naturally). Shel challenges Mao for a siu mai battle but Mao refuses as he has to take care of Yosen Shuuka. Shel, outraged, uses his stick to destroy the place. Ruoh and Choyu came back when Mao finally accepted the challenge and Meirii is doubtful about this. By that time, Shel had discovered that Mao is a 'Tokyu Jiushin' or Super chef.

Mao doesnt believe that Shell has chosen the same ingredients as him and stolen his idea! Mao sits on the floor, cursing himself and thinking about something else. There is less than one hour for the battle to last. Shel however thinks that Mao has given up and he is the winner. Siro, being clumsy and concerned about Mao's situation, knocks over a basket of eggs. Meirii scolds Siro for being careless and Mao suddenly has an idea. He kneads the dough like he did earlier on (see The Challenger! Mao was chosen to Fight!). He goes outside and uses centriferal force to spin the dough and calls Meirii and Siro to bring him the biggest steamer in the restaurant. Then, Siro orders everyone to go in while he, Meirii and Mao stay outside to complete the siu mai. Then, Choyu checks his hand watch and sees that time is up. He calls Mao out to present his siu mai. Mao then calls Meirii and Siro to bring the steamer in. Ruoh muses at seeing Mao taking the huge steamer ut of storage. Mao gives the O.K signal to Siro and Meirii and they lift up the cover. When the steam is cleared, they see a huge siu mai in it. Shel however knows that big siu mai wouldnt be cooked properly in the insides. Mao invites Ruoh to taste his siu mai. Ruoh takes out some siu mai shaped like a small siu mai and eats it. A wave of cooking taste engulfs him as he eats it. He goes to the other parts of the siu mai ad tastes them. A burst of universe engulfs him, making him think like a whole of something is in there. Therefore, Mao announces that his siu mai is Big Bang Siu Mai! Shel is bewildred to see such amazing act and sputters that how all of the meat is cooked through. Ruoh calls for his cattle bane sword and someone gets it for him. Ruoh then jumps and cuts the siu mai into quarters. Shel is shocked to see the insides all marblelized. Mao explains the process of cooking and everyone oohed and aahed at the method. Shel admits defeat after Choyu announces that Mao has won hands down. Choyu looks at the Big Bang Siu Mai and Shel's 50 orders of siu mai and orders Meirii to open the door to let everyone in to eat. Choyu however tells Siro that as punishment for cooking as an errand boy, Siro has to massage Ruoh's back. Shel leaves the restaurant, predicting that they would meet again soon.

It was a beautiful morning in the Yosen Shuka, and it was broken by an arrow hitting a wall with a note tied around it. Mao gave flowers to Mei Li and she comments that they are beautiful and her mother will like it too. It turns out that it was Mei Li’s mother’s death anniversary. Their conversation was broken when Shilou arrived and told them what Chouyu was making. They were amazed when they saw a huge ice sculpture of a dragon going up to the sky and that it shows the complete mastery of Chouyu with his skills. Then, as Mao and Mei Li decide to go back, Shilou started teasing Mei Li which resulted in a chase. Shilou first saw the arrow and told Mao and Mei Li about it. They read the note and it is a dinner invitation for Chouyu and Mei Li to the Sea Bell Park, an abandoned mansion. They showed it to Chouyu who discovered a symbol of “compulsory obedience”. They decided to go, but Mei Li wanted Mao to go with her. Master Luo agrees, but he denies Shilou’s request to go with them. At the mansion, they were welcomed by a creepy fellow and inside they saw the representatives of the Guangzhou Cooking World. The creepy fellow said that the master chef has prepared a very special meal for them. They were given good food, until the main course arrived. The creepy man said it was pigeon. They started eating it, but Mao and Chouyu immediately realized that it’s not pigeon, but red frog’s meat. Mei Li and the other who have already swallowed the food have already fainted, and then the chef revealed himself, behind an armour and a mask. The chef immediately sees Mei Li’s mom in her. Chouyu asks who he is, and he taunts him in saying that he forgot already. Chouyu finally realized who the masked chef is and asks why he is doing this, the masked chef it was revenge. The masked chef gave an ultimatum: Chouyu has to win two out of three in a lobster contest, the same as before, in order to save the poisoned people with the antidote. Chouyu agrees, and both blindfolded themselves for the first battle, but as Chouyu was cutting, he was stung by a scorpion and fainted. Mao accused him of cheating and the masked chef revealed that Chouyu did the same thing years ago. When the masked chef claimed victory by default, Mao challenged him and revealed that he is worthy because he is a Super Chef…to be continued…

The masked chef rejected Mao’s challenge, but Mao insisted. The next scene, we see Shilou working in the restaurant cleaning the dishes when all the lights went out. He was very scared when he saw some shadows and then he realized it was Master Luo. Master Luo reminded Shilou of the ice sculpture, and that it would melt in the rain, so they decided to bring it inside. But just as they were about to do it, the lightning hit the sculpture, destroying it. Master Luo comments that it is a sign of bad luck. Back at the mansion, Mao insists on continuing the battle for Chouyu, believing that Chouyu couldn’t cheat in the match. The masked chef still rejects Mao. To make the masked chef accept the challenge, Mao finished the first battle, cooking and cutting lobster blindfolded. The masked chef was intrigued and impressed, he accepted the challenge. He tells Mao that the second round will be complete deep fry. The condition is whoever finishes the dish first, a complete deep fry, will be the winner. Shilou decided to go after Mao running in the rain, but after a while he gets lost for a while, finally he reaches the mansion. Meanwhile, back at the mansion, the second round continues and the masked chef thinks that Mao is better than he thought. While the masked chef is making the sauce, Mao announces that he is done. The masked chef’s dish is the Phoenix Tail Lobster, lobster covered with nuts, but since the sauce is not finished, Mao refused to taste it because the meal was incomplete. Mao then reveals his dish, and the masked chef tells him that it’s just a deep fry dish, and he claims that it’s also incomplete. Mao says it’s complete, if he’ll just take a bite. The masked chef did take a bite and he was surprised because the sauce that he’s been looking for in Mao’s dish is inside the lobster and that it’s very good. Mao explains why the sauce didn’t seep out when it fries, it’s the bean curd skin wrapped around the lobster. The masked chef realizes the technique and talent in Mao and that he really is a pupil of Chouyu. The masked man made another ultimatum, if he stops the battle, Mao will get spared but Chouyu and Mei Li will die. If Mao wins he’ll get the antidote, but if he loses, he’ll take the poison. Mao decides to fight for Chouyu and Mei Li.

The third round starts, and it will be a cooking in a pot. Mao has a choice of the freshest ingredients, while the Masked Chef is going to use the seafood ingredients that he has stored for a long time and told Mao that he will complete his revenge. Mao told the Masked chef to stop calling Chouyu a cheater, because he isn’t one, until the Masked Chef told his past. In the past (he wasn’t a Masked Chef yet, this is just a name for his character), the Masked Chef was working with the same restaurant that Meika (apparently, Mei Li’s mother) and he is in love with her. He told Mao that his passion for cooking is his passion for Meika. But then, Meika’s father announced that her husband will be chosen by a cooking match, against the Masked Chef’s rival from his old school: Chouyu. The match was also a three-round lobster match. The Masked Chef even told Meika that he will make Meika happy. The match began, but then when the Masked Chef reached in for a lobster, he was stung by a needle. He started to get dizzy, but he didn’t want to lose Meika so he continued to cook. But as he put it: “The first two rounds are utter defeat.” And the winner was already chosen. Because of this, he decided to go to the underground (Mao was surprised and interested when he heard of the cooking underground). He trained really hard and changed his whole personality so he can have revenge on Chouyu who cheated him of Meika. And that now he returned. He also told Mao that he was using the same ingredients he hadn’t used the last time and now it was preserved and Mao knew that when it’s soaked in the water the taste will come out. Mao was having a hard time thinking about what to use, thinking that no seafood could beat the Masked Chef’s ingredients. Then, Fei flashed into his mind, the one when he took the Super Chef Exams, telling him to stick to his roots. Mao finally gathered all “mountain” ingredients he could find and started cooking. The Masked Chef saw what he was doing and noted that Mao made a mistake: lye is forming in the cooking, and it will be difficult to remove with such a small amount of time. Mao said that he knew all about lye and he will start to show his real skills. The Masked Chef asked Mao if he’s still holding back. Then, Mao pulled out an old cookbook and started tearing out the pages. All while this is happening, Shilou who is already near the mansion, was taken captive. Both chefs finished their pot: Mao’s in black and the Masked Chef’s in white. Mao then asked the Chef to do the judging, but then the Masked Chef said that there’s going to be a third party and it turns out to be Shilou! If Shilou picks Mao’s bowl, all will be saved. But if not, Mao will die too. But they wouldn’t tell Shilou who cooked which bowl. Shilou can’t take the pressure, knowing that Chouyu, Mei Li and the other’s lives are in his hands…

Shilou was having a hard time picking the bowl, because he knew that all the lives depended on his judgment. Mao then tells Shilou not to try and pick his bowl, just pick the one that tastes better and that will be his. Shilou finally started tasting both dishes. The Masked Chef was already gloating in victory, because he believed he will win because the accumulated taste of his marine delicacies. Shilou finally decided: he said that he didn’t know which is Mao’s bowl, but he will pick the one he truly felt is delicious. It’s the black bowl! The Masked Chef is furious. He couldn’t believe that with all that lye, the dish tasted very good. Mao was about to take the antidote, when the Masked Chef accused Mao of giving Shilou a sign and asked for an explanation. Shilou explained that the other marine delicacies overwhelmed the taste of the lobster, but Mao’s dish has all the mountain ingredients flowing together to bring out the taste of the lobster. The Masked Chef still isn’t convinced, he asked about the lye. Mao then threw him the secret…a paper bowl. The paper bowl was made from the papers he ripped out from the cookbook. He showed the masked chef how he used it. Mao boiled the ingredients in the paper bowl, then the lye started appearing, but the paper bowl keeps on absorbing the lye, thus the dish is so clear. The Masked Chef admitted defeat and gave the antidote and Mao and Shilou started giving it to Chouyu, Mei Li and the others. Everyone woke up, as well as Chouyu and Mei Li. Then Chouyu gave the Masked Chef a punch. The Masked chef finally admitted that he can’t complete his revenge because of Mao, but he will never forget Chouyu for stealing Meika. Mao started accusing the Masked Chef of poisoning Chouyu, when Chouyu stopped Mao. He started explaining. Sixteen years ago, Meika and Chouyu have promised themselves to each other. The Masked Chef couldn’t believe it at first. He finally realized that Chouyu is telling the truth. But Meika’s father wanted to test Chouyu if he can take care of her, so the match was set, and the Masked Chef entered the contest. Meika wanted to be with Chouyu so much, that she was the one who put the sting needle in the Masked Chef’s lobsters to ensure Chouyu’s victory. The Masked Chef couldn’t believe it, Meika wouldn’t have done it to him. He also told Chouyu if that’s the truth, then why didn’t he tell him. Chouyu reasoned that the Masked Chef’s feelings for Meika were genuine and he didn’t want Meika to be ruined in his eyes. Chouyu felt that he should bear all his anger. Chouyu also told the Masked Chef that when Meika was dying, she made him promise that when they see each other, she was asking for forgiveness. The Masked Chef finally realized everything and said that he was only competing with himself. He revealed himself, and his face was full of scars. He told them about the underground cooking society, and how the society is cruel. He started falling down, because he took the poison. Chouyu went over to Lien (the masked chef) and asked why he drank the poison. Lien answered that it’s the destiny of someone who sold his soul to the underground. Then smoke filled the air, and fire burst from the stairs. Lien pushed Chouyu away and went inside the flames. He finally asked Chouyu one last question: Did Meika live a happy life. Chouyu answered yes. And this seems to be enough for Lien as he was engulfed by the flames. Mao was shouting Lien’s name. They were outside, it was raining and Chouyu vowed to Lien that he’ll make Mao the number one cook in China. Mao vowed that he will not be defeated by anyone from the underworld. Then, the old man who was serving the meals before decided to report what has happened to the underground. The next day, Mei Li, Mao and Shilou were visiting her mother’s grave and thought that she didn’t know that this kind of thing happened between her parents, that her father has a...

Yosen Shuka was closed and the employees of the restaurant had a picnic and a fishing tournament. The prize who caught the biggest fish will be a ladle. Everyone is having a great time and Master Luo is teasing Chouyu that a great chef is a great angler. While Master Luo got another fish, Chouyu got another log. Then, when Chouyu was about to catch a large fish, Master Luo threw a rock at it and announced that he’s drunk again, to everyone’s chagrin. Mei Li thought it was unfair. Meanwhile, to win, Mao, Shilou and Mei Li went to another part of the lake to catch larger fish. But Shilou tripped and fell, Mao caught him, but they were also dragged down. Back at the side of the lake, everyone is already eating, when Chouyu was remembering what Lien (the masked chef) had said to him, that the Underground will be targeting him and Mao next. Mao, Shilou and Mei Li were moving their way towards the crops when they hear sounds. At first they thought it was a bear, but eventually it was Shell. He’s still on his journey and was thinking on going back to Yosen Shuka. Since everyone hasn’t eaten, Shell used his steel stick as a fishing rod. Mei Li noticed that there are more marks on his steel stick, but there is a black star. It was his defeat from Mao and he told Mao to be ready next time because he’s going to change it to a victory mark. While catching fish, Shell told Mao he heard the news about Mao having a match with the Underworld. Mao affirmed the news, and Shell warned Mao that this will not be the last. Meanwhile, Shilou and Mei Li are arguing, saying that he is very hungry and he wants to go back. Mei Li blamed Shilou about going too far than was ordered. Then, Shilou asked if they could cook the fish that Shell caught. Shell said that it can’t happen because the fish is carp and it will take them half a day just to clean the fish. Shilou said that he can’t wait that long and that he will die in hunger. Shell commented that even Mao can’t do anything about it. Then, little yellow leafs started floating about and Mao had an idea. He asked Shell for flour and ordered Mei Li to gather some rape blossoms (the little yellow leafs). Mao and Shell started cooking. Mei Li came back with the rape blossoms and Mao asked her to put the flowers inside the pot. It was used to erase the smell of carp. Then, Mei Li commented that the fire isn’t enough to boil the carp. But boiling longer will ruin the taste, so Mao put boiled stones inside the pot, and it instantly boiled. The finished product, was the outside cuisine of friendship, the water dumplings! Shilou, on the other hand, is making a dish of his own. He’s making smoked carps. But he needed more smoke to burn properly, he got something, like a rag, and put it inside the fire. Shell realized what it is. It was the bag where he put all his money inside. All his traveling money is gone! Back in the restaurant, Shell made Shilou help him in gaining his money back by selling siu mai. Shilou came home very tired, complaining. Mei Li then treated Mao and Shilou to a meal. Shell, now drunk, came home, bringing buns. He went to Yosen Shuka when someone appeared and recognized Shell. The man said that he doesn’t want to stay with him, he wants to see the chef that beat Lien, but he will take away Shell’s steel stick. A fight ensued, and eventually the man got Shell’s steel stick. The man commented that a chef’s cooking utensil is his life and soul, therefore Shell is useless. Shell recognized the tattoo on his hand as the man disappeared again. Mao, Mei Li and Shilou are already coming back from eating, when they noticed Shell lying outside, thinking he was drunk, until he revealed that he encountered someone from the Underworld that took his steel stick. Shell said that they had spread their way into Guangzhou.

Mao was preparing a dish, and the employees at the restaurant are all fascinated with his knife skills. Luo arrived and asked Mao to prepare a special dish for a special guest. They went outside, and they saw a big buffalo. Master Luo said that this is the special dish that they are going to prepare for the special guest. While they were cutting the buffalo, a stranger started cutting the buffalo in quick easy strokes. Then he put a red paper on the buffalo’s forehead. Suddenly, the buffalo was cut perfectly! Everyone was wondering who he is, and then Mei Li somehow recognized it. Mao recognized the cut and said that it was a move taught only in the underground. Shell went over to the stranger and raised his hand, there was a tattoo of the underground on it! Shell started accusing the stranger of taking his stick, when the stranger said that he’s never seen Shell in his life. The stranger recognized Mao, and said he’s the one who defeated Len from the underground. They were about to beat him up when Mei Li finally recognized him. It was Leon a genius cooking boy that’s as good as Mao and was training at Yosen Shuuka. Mei Li remembers that Leon is very kind-hearted, that sometimes he cries when he has to kill an animal in order to cook. He then went on a journey to be a better cook, and now he returned. Mei Li asked what happened to Leon, and Leon pushed Mei Li. They can’t believe this was the kind-hearted Leon they knew from the past. Then, Chouyu and Master Luo arrived and saw Leon sitting on the chair with his feet up in a table. It was revealed that Leon was the special guest. Leon reminded Luo of a promise, that Luo give Leon the legendary cooking tools. Shell explained the tools. There are cooking tools in China that has mysterious power. Shell was adamant, saying that Leon stole his stick and that someone from the underground shouldn’t receive the legendary cooking tools. Chouyu thought otherwise. His skill in cutting is proof. But Chouyu said that he must prove himself in receiving the tool. It was kept in a Daisen Temple in a closed room. Luo agreed with Chouyu. Luo wanted to see Leon’s real talent and recognized that Seven Star Knife that Leon carries. Leon asked who will battle him. It was going to be Mao. Leon was mad. He thinks it was a joke saying that Mao can beat a guy like Len but not him. Chouyu remembered Lien and what he said about Mao. Chouyu told Mao to show Leon his true power. Chouyu asked Luo for the contest and Luo said that the contest will be tomorrow at the Daisen Temple. The battle is on!

Mei Li goes to Mao’s room, but he’s not there and she and Shilou start searching for him. It turns out Mao is in the kitchen, holding his mother’s knife. They discuss the underground and it’s plans to take over the overworld. Then, Shilou and Mei Li wonder where Mao got all the information, wondering if he’s part of the underground himself. Mao finally reveals a book that Pai left. He found it when Mao and Mei Li and Shilou were separated and found their way into the haunted house. It was lying in the ruins of her old house. The notebook has recipes and also the matches she had against the underground society. Mao said that he wants to follow his mom’s footsteps in beating the society and their plans using his mom’s knife that has her soul. The next morning, people are already gathered around the Daisen Temple for the match. It will decide who will own the tool. Master Luo announced that the food to prepare is red snapper because knife skills will decide the taste of the fish. Leon came full-armed with the seven star knife, but Mao steps forward with nothing in hand. The battle has no time limit and each chef has to come up with 4 dishes. The match begins! As usual, Mao watches in fascination and all were amazed with Leon’s knife and his skills. Then, Mao finally starts by scaling the fish. At first they thought that he is scaling the fish with his bare hands but it turns out that he has a wire knife between his fingers. Mao is then teased by the crowd because after scaling, he’s doing nothing, then Shell arrived and finally, Mao has his secret weapon, his mom’s knife. At first, people ridiculed Mao, until they saw that the knife can be bent and Mao started on the snapper. Mao requested Shell to put holes in his mom’s knife. Leon was surprised to know that Mao knew something that an overworld cook knows an underground trick, the hundred-hole knife. Chouyu then exclaims that with the Hundred Hole Knife, they are now even. Leon thinks that he should win the match because he overcame the society. Mao won’t let anyone from the underground who hurts people win

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.

Leon breaks open the seal of the Northern Wolf knife, and it turns out to be a knife that has a blade made completely out of ice! A story is told of how the knife was made. Leon and Mao each take a half of the last porgy left to cook. Leon slices the meat so finely and neatly that the reflections of the judge's faces can be seen on the slices of meat. Naturally, the judges are amazed by the incredible knife skill that Leon possesses. On the other side, Mei Li, Shell and Shilou are getting extremely nervous, because Chouyu just mentioned that Mao would have a serious disadvantage. Just then, there is an explosion of some sort, and everyone turns to look at Mao. It seems that whenever he brings his knife dow n onto the meat, the meat explodes and little bits of it drop onto a plate. No one knows how Mao is managing to do it, not even Chouyu. It is then noticed that Leon is getting a severe frostbite on his hand, because of the bitter cold that the knife is producing. Leon finishes his dish just when the porgy meat is at its highest level of taste. However, the knife shatters. The dish turns out to be slices of porgy placed on a chunk of ice. The judges take a slice of porgy each and dip it in a sauce, and are instantly taken over by the wonderful taste. Late in the evening, Mao finishes his dish, the 'Resurrection Spring Rolls' . The judges are amazed that Mao managed to keep the taste of the porgy at its highest stage. Leon notices that Mao's hand has lots of burns and it is revealed that Mao had combined his two knives together to produce the exploding effect. He had placed the knife in a fire, and used the knife when it was still burning hot. The judges like both dishes tremendously, and dis cuss who should be the winner. The episode ends with Master Luo saying loudly: 'The Winner Is....'

Finally, the winner is announced. It’s Liu Mao-Hsing! The tool now has a new owner. But there’s a tradition, the tool chooses it’s owner. Chouyu explained where the legendary cooking tools are made from. The legendary chef Shuri made them from a meteorite that hit the earth hundreds of years ago. Master Luo then starts the ceremony by telling Mao that he should hold the knife, and the knife can tell if the owner is good or evil. Mao held the knife in his hands and a dragon appeared and seems to be sucked by Mao’s body, then the dragon appeared in the knife, saying that Mao is its owner after 400 years. Mao starts using the same knife on some leftover porgy that has lost its best taste. When Mao tasted the fish, he exclaims that the fish has retained its good taste. That is the secret of the knife, it returns any food into its original condition, thus the best taste. Then, Mao tells everyone that the knife has another owner and runs over to Leon. Everyone starts pointing out to Mao that Leon is from the underground and that he might attack Mao. But Mao insists, and Leon holds the knife. The dragon appeared again and went straight in Leon’s body and it appeared on the knife! Leon is an owner too! Which means, Leon is a good person. Leon starts explaining how he came upon the underworld. Four years ago, he left Yosen Shuuka to gain the ultimate knowledge in cooking, that’s why he came upon the underworld. Although he gained hardships through it, he was happy because he was cooking. But soon after, he realized the real intent of the underworld, and he began feeling scared and wanted to get out. He escaped, and he vowed to crush the underworld by obtaining the legendary cooking tools. After everything is cleared, they were now having a great feast where Mao and Leon will use the legendary cooking tool in cooking. While Mao was cooking his spring rolls, Shell wonders who really stole his stick, because now he’s sure that it’s not Leon. It was then Leon’s turn to cook. Mao handed him the knife, but the dragon disappeared! Mao exclaimed that it’s an impostor, and the fake Leon starts his escape. Shell realized that he’s the real thief of his steel stick and starts a battle, where his mask is destroyed and revealed an ugly face. As the impostor is about to escape, Leon caught him and the impostor was trapped. Chouyu asks the impostor to hand over the knife, but the impostor instead killed himself with it, saying that if the knife is used for other purposes than food, it loses its power, also explaining that it’s the way of the underworld. After the event, Master Luo revealed the maps of the other seven legendary cooking tools scattered in China. Mao asked Master Luo if he could search for the tools before the underworld gets them. Then, Shell and Leon promised to join him and defeat the underworld. Mei Li and Shilou wanted to join too, but Chouyu did not permit them saying that Shilou has to help in the restaurant and it’s very dangerous for Mei Li. Mao, Leon and Shell are already leaving, when Shell realized that Mei Li and Shilou are not around to say goodbye. Then, all of a sudden, Mei Li and Shilou appears saying that Chouyu permitted them to go. Mei Li embraced Mao and Shilou teases them. Mao starts chasing Shilou. Back at the restaurant, Master Luo comments that Chouyu is getting softer. But Chouyu reveals that he has not given permission to the two. Luo says that they can’t do anything about it.

The Yosan Shuka group composed of Mao, Leon, Shell, Shilou, and Mei Li are off to their first destination in search of the legendary cooking tools - Shanghai. There they are reunited with Sanche, an old friend who is now the head of their family restaurant. However, the happiness ends soon when the team finds out that the Underworld has already reached Shanghai. They declare war on Mao and his team-mates and takes Sanche’s father and the other elders of the Shanghai Cooking Union as hostages. The Underworld asked for four chefs who will compete with them. The price for the challenge is the map indicating the location of the legendary cooking tools. The team then agreed to compete. They were blindfolded as they were transported to the “Lou Lin Vessel” - a large cooking arena built by the underworld.

Mao’s group has arrived at the Lou Lin Vessel, a large cooking arena inside a huge boat. The underworld announces that the competition will be a Banquet Cooking Battle with four categories. The team that won in most rounds will win. The price will be the map that shows the location of the legendary cooking tools. The first category is soup. It is Sanche’s turn and he is going to compete with Rouko - the underworld cook with a mechanical hand. Before the competition was started, Sanche was surprised when he finds out that the judges are the leaders of the different guilds in Shanghai. Rouko uses a whole chicken for his soup. He has a minor advantage because the broth that he will use was prepared even before Mao’s team arrived. When the judges tasted his soup they were very delighted and said that the soup is delicious. It is Sanche’s turn to present his soup. Everyone was surprised to see that Sanche is holding a glowing melon bowl.

Rouko was angry when Sanche showed that a melon couldn’t be a soup. But Sanche replied that it is a soup, and it’s his special: the bouncing snapping turtle soup. Sanche served the soup and Mei Li helped him. But when she laid down the melon, the cover fell off, but the soup didn’t spill! Then, when one judge tried to get soup, and the spoon bounced off. They were saying that the soup is solid and wonders if the dish Sanche prepared is really a soup. Sanche explained that his soup is congealed food. Rouko then announced that his soup wouldn’t do, because a soup is a dish upon itself and not a part of the cuisine. He also told Sanche that the judges look unsatisfied. It is now time to vote. The judges should raise the white spoon for Rouko and the red spoon for Sanche. Each one of them raised the red spoon! Sanche was very happy, but Rouko demanded an explanation. Mao explained that it’s a banquet cooking battle, and although soup is supposed to be delicious, it is also a dish that continues to the next. Rouko’s dish is too heavy and you can’t continue to eat anymore. As comparison, Rouko’s soup has many leftovers as compared to Sanche’s, which are all empty. Then, two guys grabbed Rouko’s arms, and the woman says that it’s shameful to lose to an outside chef, and he is branded with the symbol of distaste. (The same process how they brand cattle). The second round is announced, and it is dim sum, and Shell decides to fight. It’s going to be the old man. Leon recognized the emblem on the old man’s stick, saying it’s the Hakura emblem, the family that once calmed a raging river by offering dim sum. Shell said that the lineage died, the last would be Lakon, the dim sum king. Shell then realized that the old man is Lakon himself! Dim sum has many varieties, and a spinning wheel is pulled out to choose the category. Shell was allowed to choose, with Lakon saying that he should choose the one’s he best with. Shell wanted to fight fair, and by spiting the stick he’s chewing on the spinning wheel, he chose “buns”, not siu mai, much to Shilou and Mei Li’s dismay. Leon said that Shell chose the one that he shouldn’t have chosen. Everyone asked why. Leon answers: the Hakura family invented the buns.

In this episode, King Lakon prepares the Spirit Calming Buns of the Hakura Family. The bun’s secret ingredient was a piece of 1600 year old ‘lao mien’, a piece of fermented dough passed on from his ancestors (apparently the older the better). The 8 types of buns altogether: all of them first rate seafood which includes shark’s fin, abalone, lobster and sea cucumber, served in a bamboo boat. Method of preparation: Clay pots. The judges give the dish a thumbs up. While Lakon cooked up his dish using the traditional methods passed on for generations, Steel Stick Shell used his own creativity to cook up: Fried Laughing Buns. Even King Lakon was shocked when it laughed in his hand. Secret ingredients: diced steak (not minced) and vermicelli (to retain the juices during frying). Secret method: To make the buns laugh, Shell made a slit on each bun. While frying, the oil will rush in and cook the insides. However, the slit will be sealed trapping the juices inside. Once taken out of the fryer, the pressure inside the bun will reopen the slit and the air coming out of it creates the laughing effect. The judges loved the buns, delicious and fun. Now comes the judgement: the judges were told to raise a red spoon for Shell and a white spoon for King Lakon. It ends with a cliffhanger: None of them lifted their red spoons when asked to do so!

Now that none of them lifted the red spoons for Shell, they were asked to lift the white spoons for King Lakon. Surprise, surprise! The result of the battle is: A DRAW. The judges could not decide which is better and agreed that both were evenly matched. After hearing the judgement, both Steel Stick Shell and King Lakon gets into a heated argument on whose dish is better. After trading blows, they dropped to the ground and exploded with laughter. Actually, they both admired each other’s cooking very much. King Lakon realized his mistake in joining the Underworld and wanted to leave to go on a learning expedition across China (just like Shell did). He told Shell to be prepared to face him again in 10 years time after his expedition and started to walk away. However, Mysterious Shan from the Underworld tried to assassinate King Lakon as he leaves but she was foiled by Shell’s Steel Stick. King Lakon then disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Then it echoed in the room: Shell, we shall meet again in 10 years time.

Matchup no. 3 involves Leon and Shan from the Underworld. The chosen ingredient is crab. What follows is demonstration of each other’s abilities. Leon demonstrates his cutting skills by fishing out a giant squid and cutting it into giant squid sashimi on the judges table. Shan fished out a beluga whale, cut it up to remove the caviar and seal it up again. Soon, the beluga whale was swimming as if nothing happened. Only tool is capable of doing the feat: the Seven Star Knives. How could Shan have in her possession another set of Seven Star Knives? Shan then says to Leon: You will pay for your sins. Leon looks very disturbed. Shan knew something that Leon has done and regretted ever since.

Finally, Leon decides to come clean. Leon had killed the blacksmith that made those knives, after he said that he would make better set of knives than the Seven Stars Knives. Knowing that he cannot let that happen, he stabbed the blacksmith and pushed him off the cliff. When he finally come to his senses, he deeply regrets his actions. His mistake was to tell the elders in the Underworld about the incident. After encouragement from Mao, he starts in making his dish. Special skills: Removing meat from crabs with knives (picks even the leg clean). Special ingredients: Crab shell (when he picked the crabs, picked the small, inferior ones. The crab meat is stuffed into the shells, and when deep fried, the crispy shell can be eaten). While Leon was busy with his dish, Shan lazed around and even mingled with the judges. Her dish was a bowl of soup and crab omelet. Then it was tasting time. Shan went first. The judges were not thrilled with her entry. It was a normal fare. However, when the judges tasted Leon’s stuffed crispy crab shells, they spat out the crab while saying that it was the most disgusting thing they have tasted. How could it be? Everyone was surprised. Was it sabotage? But how?

The judges awarded the verdict in favor of Shan. However, Mao finally figures it out. It was Shan’s soup. Shan’s soup was rich in crab taste. Since the judges tasted the soup first, Leon’s fried crab shells tasted disgusting (all they could taste was oily batter). Although the truth was exposed, it was too late. The judges decision was final. Shan took the advantage to further weaken Leon’s spirit, saying that he was not the true owner of the Seven Star Knives. The vulnerable Leon crumbles to the ground dropping his knives. While Shan tried to reach for them, Shell interfered with the TRUTH! The only reason why Shan had her set of Seven Star Knives was that she found it out from the blacksmith. But didn’t Leon kill him? Apparently, he survived the wounds and the fall. Shan nursed him to obtain the location of the second set (all good blacksmiths keep another set of their best work as offerings to the gods). After she got them, she killed him in cold blood. Knowing the truth, Leon and Shan engaged in a fight to determine the rightful owner of the knives. In the heat of fighting, the soul of the blacksmith was released. Stating that his intention of making the knives was so that Leon can make people through his cooking, he told Leon to forget the past and that Leon was indeed the true owner of the knives. After leaving his message, Shan’s set of Seven Star Knives broke by itself, one by one. Now, there is only one set of Seven Star Knives. A victory behind a defeat indeed. The battle will now be decided in the next match.

Thanks to Shan’s trickery, now the banquet cooking competition is now tied. The results of the next dish will determine the winner. Mao finally meets his competitor: Shou An, his late mother Pai’s disciple. There is a history between the two. It was Shou An that caused Pai’s death. And Mao was the one that defeated Shou An in a Mabo Tofu competition, resulting in Shou An losing his license to cook forever. Mao was the reason that Shou An joined the Underworld! Shou An’s rise in the underworld was phenomenal, driven by his desire to defeat Mao. It was only fitting that the category for the final dish is tofu, which is Pai’s specialty, and the dish Mao defeated Shou An with. Since tofu needed time to be made, the final battle was postponed to the next morning to allow the competitors to prepare the ingredients. However, when Mao’s soy beans were being soaked, the Underworld resorted to dirty tactics. Shilou and Mei Li who were guarding the beans were knocked unconscious with needles laced with sleeping potion. In the morning, when Mao check on the beans, they were already spoilt! But Mao does not seemed concerned and said that he will make the tofu dish of the century!

Sabotaged by the Underworld, Mao had to wait for the tofu to harden. Shou An was cooking away as Mao sits besides his box, much to the disappointment of his friends. As Shou An presents his dish for the judges, Mao finally moves but takes the whole box with him, without cooking the tofu. When he emptied the contents on the table, it was layered tofu (black and white layers). Everyone was thinking how Mao could expect to win with uncooked tofu when the magic began. The tofu crumbles into small cubes that floated in the air, before settling down in a delicious sauce, just like magic. It is actually Mabo tofu. After enjoying the spectacle, the judges tasted it. The judges loved it! Secret ingredients: Black tofu (sweetened due to fermentation). The black tofu enhanced the hot taste of the sauce (even when the sauce was never heated up) and went well with the white tofu. But will it be enough to beat Shou An?

Now that the judges have savoured every bit of Mao’s tofu, Shou An’s dish is Three Harmony Tofu. Secret Ingredients: Tofu, meat-flavoured tofu strips and tofu noodles cooked together with a special sauce. The judges also finished every bit of Shou An’s dish. It appears that it is now tilting to Shou An’s advantage. As the judges emerged from a closed session, they announced the winner: Mao. What tilted the judges toward Mao’s Magic Panda Tofu was universality and originality. While the judges were split over the taste and the cooking techniques of both dishes, one of them recalls eating Shou An’s dish at Kikkaro, Pai’s restaurant some years back. Hence, Shou An stumbled upon Pai’s secret dish without realizing it! No marks for originality there! Convinced now that he has truly lost, Shou An resorts to blowing up the ship, with everyone on it!!

Shou An triggered the self-destruct mechanism and the ship begins to sink, as explosions rip through the ship and destroys all life boats. Shan runs away with the Treasure Maps and escapes through a trap door under the ship with Leon in hot pursuit. Mao and the rest tried to find their way out, along with the rest of the ship’s passengers. They had to go further up the ship to escape the fire. Coming out at the top of the ship, they noticed Shan getting away on a small boat! But all was not lost! Leon has caught up! Leon grabs the Maps from Shan and ordered her and her minion to jump ship. Leon turns his attention to the sinking ship but realizes that his small boat will not be able to save all the passengers. Luckily, a passing large ship spotted the sinking vessel and came to the rescue. As everyone flees the sinking ship. Shou An shows up to challenge Mao to a duel. Mao stayed on board despite his friends pleas. Shou An gave Mao a beating before an explosion caused him to fall into the burning flames. Mao grabbed Shou An and told him that Pai never blamed him for his actions and her dying wish was that Shou An, Mao and Mao’s sister team up to make Kikkaro the best restaurant in China. Shou An realized then that he has been wrong all along and tossed Mao a package that he said will help Mao in the future. After that, Shou An falls to his death. As the ship sinks, Leon comes to Mao’s rescue. Now that they have the Maps, they proceed to find the next cooking tool: a fossilized pot. Dragon Pot. As Mao holds the tool, the fossilized shell breaks revealing the Coiled Dragon Pot.

Now they have gotten the Coiled Dragon Pot, Mao used the pot to cooked Pai’s famous Kikka sauce using the recipe in the package given to him by Shou An in his dying moments (which was actually the second portion of Pai’s cookbook). Normally, the sauce takes months to mature but the powers of the Coiled Dragon Pot shorted the process to seconds. Bidding their farewell to Sanche, they leave Shanghai to continue their journey. They stumbled upon a group of traveling acrobats. After a night of good food and wine, they fell asleep. When they awoke, the acrobats were gone and they found themselves cornered by the local minister’s men. Shell was arrested for robbery and sentenced to death on the same evening. When Leon went to look for the real culprits, Mao devised a cunning plan to delay the execution. As the minister was going the execution, Mao cooked noodles and fanned the aroma to attract the minister (Mao found out earlier from the kitchen that the minister loved noodles). Using 100 different spices to concoct flavoured noodles and soup and using them in different combinations and small portions, it made sure that the kept the minister’s appetite in high gear. Mao calls the dish: The Chamelen Bowl Tower. When the minister finally realized something wrong, he arrests Mao. As he was executing Shell, he was interrupted. It was Shell! The person who was about to be executed was the real culprit (mistaken for Shell as he disquised himself during the robbery to frame shell). Leon had succeeded in capturing the culprits after all. It turns out that the minister was in the mastermind and executed innocent people to cover his tracks. The minister was arrested and Shell was freed.

Shilou found the other portion of the third map in the treasures stolen by the bandits. Putting the two maps together, they know the location of the third tool: Mount Jiuhua. Upon arriving there, they found the people to be wasting away, lying on the streets. They woke to the sound of the gong and everyone rushed to the temple of the Abalone Deity. They exchanged valuables for what appeared to be normal abalone soup. Curious, Mao gave all his money in exchange for the soup. The taste was fabulous and all of them were mesmerized by the taste! It was then that Mao realized that someone had used a legendary cooking tool to produce the soup: the Holy Copperware. Recognising the ‘Abalone Deity’ to be a swindler they met on the way to Mount Jiuhua, they tried to expose him. However, the Holy Copperware was indeed real despite the fect that only cooks of worthy skills can use the tool. Realising that any sort of rash action will incite the anger of the masses, they figured out another plan: to pose as Comet deities themselves.

Well Mao and his group of friends (Meiri, Siro, Shel, and Leon) arrive in a village and the village is empty because everyone is at the temple where a little man is pretending to be a God and is cooking abalone in a magical pot. Abalone usually takes hours to cook but this magical pot only takes a couple seconds to cook it, and the villagers are mistaken that the little man is a God. The little man forces the villagers to give him gold, land or properties by saying if they don't they won't get any of the Abalone which is God's food. Mao and his friends find out that the little man is a con. Mao challenges the little man to a cook off. Mao wins by pretending to be a God and getting Shel and Leon to send rice into the sky and land onto the plate next to Mao. The rice is special as it has lots of vitamins and minerals and restores the villagers to their normal selves. Mao then explains to the villagers that the little man is a con and not a God. Mao then touches the magical pot and it turns out the pot is a legendary cooking utensil.

After finding the third piece of kitchen utensils, the Magic Sacred Bronze Ware, the young masters continued their journey to find the fourth piece. On the way, he was framed by Xiang En, and Xiaodangjia and Dudu were trapped in a mysterious cave. Xiang En asked to exchange their lives with the legendary kitchen utensils. Just when Master Xie was hesitant about what to do, the young head accidentally discovered an air pot that could turn salt water into fresh water in the cave.

The imperial capital Beijing, the clutches of the dark culinary world xa0 Hearing Admiral Li say that the dark culinary world's clutches have reached Beijing, so the young masters hurried to Beijing, unexpectedly the dark culinary world has already cooperated with insiders and outsiders, the first thing is to put Admiral Li in prison, Next, they are planning to seize the position of the chef of the imperial dining room. The young masters accidentally broke into the new chef's inauguration ceremony. Unexpectedly, that person was A Fei. In order to stop him, the young masters proposed a showdown of imperial cooking...

The genius A Fei's unique skill, the New Man-Han Feast Imperial Cuisine Showdown stipulates that one hundred dishes must be prepared within three hours. A Fei quickly started to cook with the theme of the Man-Han Feast, but the young master is still thinking about what the emperor thinks is delicious. Seeing that the emperor suddenly got the answer, he started to do it immediately. Fortunately, the time caught up, but unexpectedly, the emperor chose to try A Fei's work first, and after eating a hundred dishes, he couldn't eat it anymore...

While Fei and his team are working away cooking, Mao is still thinking of what to cook, with his friends anxiously waiting. Finally, after observing the king for a little, he comes up with a 'theme' and they start cooking. After a lot of rushing and hurrying, they finally finish their 100 dishes just in time. Fei presents his neo Man Han Banquet, and the king takes one spoon out of each of the 100 dishes and says that he's full (implying that Mao's dishes are rejected). However, after some begging from Mao, the king decides that he will try one dish. After that, he became crazy, and started eating more and more until he finished all 100 dishes! So he askes Mao the secret behind his dishes, and Mao said that he had observed that the king had small wrists and oily skin and the theme of his food was to be healthy and fresh. Then the king declares that Mao has won, and Mao says that he doesn't want to take the job, instead travel to find the remaining cooking utensils. He then askes Fei to come along, and Fei tells them why he joined the UCS. So they set off to look for the remaining 5 cooking utensils.