A Bowl of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall

The story follows Su Wanqing, a descendant of a fallen family of imperial chefs. After her newly successful scholar fiancé and his family publicly humiliate her by breaking off their engagement, claiming her status is too low, she draws on her phenomenal cooking skills to set up a stall in the capital and sell her signature Buddha Jumps Over the Wall. She wins over the capital’s pickiest diners one by one, gets her face-slapping revenge on the Zhang family, and eventually opens the capital’s number-one restaurant, Wanqing House. Along the way, she wins the love of Prince Xie Changfeng, who truly appreciates her. The heroine has no golden finger at any point: she relies entirely on her genuine culinary talent and intelligence to turn her fortunes around. The food descriptions are vivid and mouthwatering, while the face-slapping scenes come thick and fast, making for a brisk, satisfying read.