Adapting to the old taste of Hong Kong in the times - an interview with the fourth generation of the century-old shop Liao Xiaoji

China News Service, Hong Kong, December 15 Title: Conforming to the Old Taste of Hong Kong of the Times - An Interview with the Fourth Generation of The Century-Old ShopKeeper Liao Xiaoji

China News Service reporter Han Xingtong

Liao Xiaoji, the fourth generation of Liao Xiaoji, sat behind the shop counter wearing glasses and skillfully took out two cans of curd milk, wrapped them in old newspapers and put them in a bag. The elderly grandmother on the other side reached out to take it, but was not busy walking, and after looking at him for a moment, her eyebrows were full of smiles, pointing to the two oil paintings hanging on the wall behind him, namely his father and grandfather, "The three of them are simply carved out of a mold." ”

The words "King of The Curd Of Liao" on the façade of the Liao Xiao Ji building, standing at 1 Min Street in Jordan, Hong Kong, are clearly visible. Photo by Chen Yongnuo

"This curd I've gone from snack to big." Grandma used to live upstairs next door and was used to this smell, but later moved to Kwun Tong and still came to visit every three or five minutes. Half a century passed between pitches, and Grandma took the same tightly wrapped curd from three generations.

Founded in 1905, the shop has been turned several times, and it has taken root in Jordan, the shop is not large, a bit of "before the shop and after the factory" meaning, connected by a door. When the reporter visited, he did not catch up with the period of curd milk making, but only when he was done: the guys were bottled in the back room, and they were very busy. A bottle of 10 or 15 pieces of curd milk, neatly laid out, and then poured with a circle of juice, the rich aroma is scattered.

Liao Huangye grew up in this smell of curd milk, "when I was a child, I would sit in front of the shop and look at the shop, or go to the back to bottle, saying that I was actually playing with curd milk, poking and poking, thinking it was funny." At that time, I never thought of accepting the shop. The child's freshness passed quickly, only to feel that the smell was "pungent", "sitting in the shop for a while, full of the smell of curd milk." ”

He tried to escape from the old shop and studied music in England, especially playing the flute. Being in a foreign land and obsessed with the study of playing skills should be the beginning of an ideal new life. Strangely, in those years, he often worried about the smell of curd milk at home. It was also then that he realized that making music full-time was struggling.

Therefore, after returning to Hong Kong, taking over the burden of Liao Xiaoji is natural for Liao Huangye, "I have been doing this all my life, and now I just continue to do it." "Watch the shop during the day, take a shower in the evening, wash off the smell, rush to a flute concert or participate in rehearsals."

The dual identity is obviously the opposite, but Liao Huangye is very well adapted, and can even see the similarities from the differences, such as "Making curd milk is the same as playing an instrument, and you can't be greedy." Missing a tone, a step, will also change the taste. ”

It is precisely "not to be greedy", Liao Xiaoji has always been lagging behind in catching up with the times. "Over the years different foods have become popular, such as Western food. People's lifestyles are also changing, preferring fast food. In the trend of the times, Liao Huangye, a young helmsman, keenly perceives the direction of the wind and breaks the waves, "We must keep up with the trend, but we must not keep up with the trend." "A word difference can be a thousand miles."

Liao Xiaoji began to innovate, from the first 3 kinds of curd milk to the development of about 20 kinds of sauces, such as XO chili sauce, hanging sauce, satay sauce and so on. Simultaneously launch a combination of Chinese and Western recipes, "For example, we will introduce how to cook pasta with garlic curd milk, how to steam chicken with curd milk." In order to cater to the fast-paced life of the city, Liao Xiaoji launched the winter-limited lamb brisket sauce, "just add water, you can make a complex process of lamb brisket soup base." ”

These sauces were inspired by Liao Andhye's travels to Japan and South Korea with his parents. The suitcases of others returning to Hong Kong are stuffed with clothes, and they are all used to pack ingredients scavenged from all over the world. The family went around trying food, looking for some unexpected tastes, and learning how to do business.

Liao Huangye remembers visiting a century-old restaurant in South Korea that specializes in beef soup and rice, and the owner has been passed down from generation to generation. There are glass windows on the side of the restaurant, where diners can see the chef processing the beef, picking out the bones and placing them piece by piece. "Showing you the whole process shows you that the meat is very fresh, and when you take a bite, the taste is really different."

The pure heart of honesty and inheritance is appreciated by Liao Huangye, and this is used to keep Liao Xiaoji's business. Xu was sitting in the shop for too long, and the young Liao Huangye inexplicably brought a sense of vicissitudes when he spoke: "There was originally a vegetable stall next to here, a Chaozhou kway shop, and a movie theater in the back, but now it is gone." The old grocery stores were also closed, and we were left with the whole street. What he wants is not only to "hold on", but also to let this old taste of Hong Kong be passed on from generation to generation for another century. (End)

Source: China News Network