Anival (first from right) sells grilled buns in the shop. Photo by reporter Jia Chunxia
Reporter Jia Chunxia
"Boss, what's the taste of the grilled buns?" At noon on September 18, in front of the Baba Khan Fruit Wood Baked Bun Shop in Xinjiang International Grand Bazaar Food Street, tourists came forward to inquire. "The round one on the left is beef-flavored, the flattened one in the middle is lamb-flavored, and the one on the right is grilled bun with lamb chops." The owner, Anivar Elken, replied warmly. Then, he neatly put the hot baked bun into a paper bag, handed it to the customer, and scanned the code on the mobile phone to collect the money. Half an hour later, with hundreds of baked buns left, the busy Aniwal finally sat down and took a breath.
"Hey hey, it's very profitable to open a store, and I'm happy every day." Ainiwal, 25, said with a smile. A native of Artush, he did not find a suitable job in his hometown after retiring from the army, so he and his cousin Aishanjiang Wusman came to Urumqi to look for business opportunities. Taking a fancy to the environment of the Xinjiang International Grand Bazaar, the two teamed up to open a baked bun shop here. "We came here and walked around and found that there was no baked bun shop, we had this craft, just right." At first, Aniwal said, they only hired a steamed bun chef, but they didn't expect the daily supply of baked buns to outstrip demand, so they quickly hired three more employees.
Employees roll out skins in the shop. Photo by reporter Jia Chunxia
The reporter saw that this shop of about 30 square meters was placed in three special pits for baked buns. "Each pit can produce 120 baked buns, and now it can sell five or six pits a day." Aniwal said that in the high season, he can sell up to 8 pits of nearly 1,000 baked buns per day.
Employees make baked buns quickly at the grilled bun shop. Photo by reporter Jia Chunxia
"The roasted buns here are tender and tender, and when you bite down, they are fat but not greasy, and the taste is fresh and fragrant, which is an authentic Xinjiang taste." Sun Youlian, a Tourist from Sichuan who was sitting at the table and eating a meal, said.
Baba Khan fruit wood roasted buns are a favorite of diners. Photo by reporter Jia Chunxia
How are these mouth-watering baked buns made? Aniwal introduced that in order to ensure the quality of the grilled buns, they joined a well-known catering company in Xinjiang, and the beef and mutton selected were all fresh beef and mutton distributed by the company. The minced meat is mixed with onions, pepper, salt and other spices, plus cumin, onion, and sheep's tail oil, wrapped in a thick dough in the middle and thin on both sides, and roasted over a charcoal fire, and the fragrant baked bun is baked.
Customers scramble to buy grilled buns. Photo by reporter Jia Chunxia
The golden-colored and fragrant grilled buns throughout not only satisfy the taste buds of many diners, but also make Aniwal happy. Although he went to work at 9 o'clock every morning, often until the early morning of the next day, Aniwal said that he had endless energy, "The government provides us with such a good operating environment and conditions, as long as we work hard, the days will get better and better." ”