This was clearly not a dish prepared entirely according to his previous recipes; as Sun Mei had mentioned before, it took into account the factors of season and provenance for a flexible variation.
Ultimately, the dish also secured 13 qualification cards, with independent food critic Zhang Yang commenting,
"The Early Spring Bowl uses the simplest cooking methods to preserve the utmost original flavors of the ingredients, but this doesn't mean it's a crude stack of raw ingredients on a plate.
"On the contrary, the contestants paid great attention to the pairing of ingredients, striving to create a harmonious and balanced state. When I tasted the Early Spring Bowl, it felt like strolling on the embankment of a field in spring.
"I could feel the warmth of the sunlight on my shoulders, and my heart was filled with tranquility and peace. This was a dish brimming with artistic conception."