"It's Austria-Hungary," Vivi corrected, seemingly having an unimaginable obsession with this country.
"You should understand an old man, Vivi," Mr. Leme sighed wistfully, "In the first half of my life, that country was always called the 'Holy Roman Empire'..."
"If that's what you want to call it, I have no objection," Vivi raised an eyebrow and said, "Greater Germany should be together, not broken into countless fragments."
Newt turned his head and whispered to Theseus and Tina, "But in reality, the Holy Roman Empire was also fragmented..."
You make a very good point, and I find myself speechless.
The dinner was very rich, perhaps because it was to entertain guests, or perhaps because Luqi was once again serving her mistress. In any case, this dinner was not much worse than the Vienna Court of the past.
"I must say, I like this Tafelspitz."
After finishing the beef and sausage in his bowl, Harry casually took some bread and wiped the sauce in the bowl, soaking it thoroughly, and paired it with a bite of fried cutlet, it was simply the ultimate enjoyment in the human world.
In fact, Austria has a long-standing beef culture, and in many recipes handed down through the centuries, beef can be found. Among these recipes, one of the most famous dishes is the Tafelspitz, which Harry is currently enjoying, and was one of Emperor Franz Joseph I's favorite dishes.
This dish requires the beef to be simmered in broth for several hours until it is tender enough to melt on the tongue.
When served, it is accompanied by potato soup, root vegetables, horseradish, apple sauce, and chive sauce, which greatly stimulates the appetite.
"If Miss Malfoy were to see you like this, she would say you're lacking in decorum, Harry."
Pabi, who was beside him, said in a soft voice, nearly drooling onto the floor.
"In her words, 'only barbarians would be so indecorous, even not leaving the soup alone.'"
"Is that so?"
At some point, the sauce on Vivi's plate also appeared on her bread, which she elegantly cut into small pieces with a knife and placed in her mouth.
"Hmm... not bad," she commented, "Personally, I think Kathy doesn't really know what true deliciousness is."
Pabi watched Vivi imitate the act and then saw Harry grinning at Vivi, suddenly understanding why Cassandra lost to her.
Even after nurturing this little cabbage for so long, Pabi asked herself – she was a bit moved now, let alone Harry.
Such an understanding older sister, isn't she just irresistible?
The dessert after the meal was the classic signature dessert of the Vienna Court - Kaiserschmarrn.
Kaiserschmarrn, one of the most famous and popular traditional Austrian desserts, is a light caramelized pancake made from flour, eggs, sugar, salt, and milk mixed into a batter and baked in butter. The texture is between a pancake and a cake, sweet and delightful, typically served with fruit, raisins, almonds, jam, cream, or hot cocoa, making it a rare delicacy.
This delicacy was named because it was loved by Emperor Franz Joseph I, with the name comprising Kaiser (German: emperor) and Schmarrn (mishmash).
During the Austria-Hungary period, Kaiserschmarrn was already a very popular dish, but there are different tales regarding its origin.
One tale is that during a trip to the Alps, Franz Joseph I and his Empress Sissi visited a farmer's house for lunch. The farmer, being very nervous, threw all the best ingredients into the pot to make pancakes. His hands were trembling so much that he accidentally broke up the pancake. To cover up the mess, he poured plum jam on top. Fortunately, Franz Joseph I found the dish extremely delicious and named it Kaiserschmarrn.
"So, this Kaiserschmarrn is truly named after that legend?" Tina asked Vivi while eating.
Being from the culinary desert of the United States, she was naturally curious about the legends of Old World cuisine.
Not to mention, this could be traced back to the Austrian court... and Miss Grindelwald here might well have been one of those involved.
"It should be, at least that's how my aunt told me," Vivi seemed to reminisce but then smiled and said, "But there are also many dishes that forcefully link themselves to the emperor for the sake of it, but my uncle was generous and didn't hold this against them. After personally tasting them, if he liked them, he would have the court's imperial chef learn to make them; if not, he would have the emperor's label removed from them."
"He was a true gourmet, afraid of ruining his own reputation," Vivi added humorously at the end.
Such small stories warmed up the after-meal atmosphere.
"What about us in the United Kingdom?" Newt asked Theseus, "Are there dishes our king or queen has nominated?"
"Uh..." Theseus racked his brains and finally came up with an answer, "French cuisine?"
Upon hearing this, Leme, who was sipping his tea, almost choked.
He let out an earth-shattering cough, clutching his chest and taking a while to recover.
"What's wrong, Mr. Leme?" Newt asked with concern.
"Rib..." Mr. Leme gasped, "Broke a rib from coughing!"
After a bout of frantic recovery, Mr. Leme's rib was finally set back in place.
"You might not know, Mr. Scamander," Vivi said leisurely, "Back in those days, even the menus in the United Kingdom were in French..."