Recently, for my family's birthday, I bought Kaisling's Nescafe chestnut cake, which was well received. When I was a child, my family lived near the factory on Kaisling Shimen Second Road, and it seemed like a luxury to eat a piece of cream cake at that time, so every day after school, in order to smell the cream fragrance, I had to take a detour to the factory door for a circle. Today, no matter how new cake brands emerge, this childhood flavor is still my favorite. Kaisling has a lot of items from snacks to large, such as Hadou, Niuli, Milk Cup, Napoleon, White Roll, etc., the taste is good, but I think the most representative of Kaisling is the chestnut cake.
Picture 1 Kaiser coffee chestnut cake
The establishment of the "Kaisling Western Restaurant Society"
Kaisling sounds a bit like a foreign name, it is actually a Western restaurant founded by Lin Gengmin and Deng Baoshan, two Chinese businessmen, in the winter of the 17th year of the Republic of China (1928) at the intersection of Jing'an Temple Road and Muerming Road, which was originally named "Kaising Western Restaurant".
I once introduced in the article "Shanghai Coffee" in the food article that after the opening of Shanghai, the pastry industry and the Western cuisine industry appeared at the same time, mostly operated by Western restaurants, cafes and food stores, and then gradually there were pastry stores producing and selling themselves. At that time, the Western restaurant was called "Fan Restaurant", but because the word "Fan" had a certain degree of regional discrimination, when Western food was introduced to Shanghai, Shanghai citizens changed a name for it, calling them "big dishes, big meals". The change of this word can be seen in the 180-degree change in Shanghainese attitude towards the overall diet of European and American countries: from the initial resistance, to the later acceptance, and even the pursuit. Later, it was uniformly called "Western food".
In the 1920s, as a symbol of status and status, the celebrities in the old Shanghai film and art business circles were proud of drinking and eating Western food, and for a time the Western food industry on the beach was booming, but these Western food industries were almost all monopolized by foreigners. In 1928, Two businessmen, Lin Gengmin and Deng Baoshan, sniffed a business opportunity and teamed up to open a Western restaurant at the junction of Jing'an Temple Road (now Nanjing West Road) and Moerming Road (present-day Maoming Road). Because it was the victory and triumph of the Northern Expeditionary Army at that time, the patriotic enthusiasm of the Chinese people was high, and in order to commemorate this inspiring historical event, the Western restaurant was named "Kaisling Western Restaurant Society". Literally, Commander Kai contains the meaning of commanding the Western restaurant industry, which is not only eye-catching, but also bright, easy to remember, and catchy; not to mention that the three words "Commander Kai" are read in Shanghainese, and it is like a foreign pronunciation, which is in line with the connotation of operating Western food and western food, which can be described as unique.
Figure 2 Kasetsung Western Restaurant upstairs
"Kaisling" was originally two facades, two floors up and down, one facade for the store, one façade for fast food-style dine-in business, as written in "Color Ring", "only a few card slots", the upstairs mood is better, "equipped with teak wood wall panels, but small, there are few seats." Chestnut cake and cheese chicken noodles and homemade cookies are the treasures of its town store, which was also a place frequented by film actors, writers and other literary circles, Zhang Ailing likes to eat Kaisling's cake very much, and often chats with her friend Yan Ying in the café there for a whole day, "one cream cake for one person, another cream, a cup of hot chocolate."
In Zhang Ailing's novel "Color Ring", the café that Wang Jiazhi and Mr. Yi met with was "although dark, there was no mood", which was "Kaisling", and in the novel, Wang Jiazhi and Mr. Yi got into the car, drove for a while and then turned back, and then passed by "the Kaisling Café just now", which was a named café. [2]
Figure 3 Ang Lee's "Color. In "Ring", Wang Jiazhi waits for Mr. Yi at the Kai Commander Western Restaurant
"Eat cake to Kaisling"
Not only are people eating in Western restaurants, but Western-style desserts have also touched the curiosity of the Chinese people, and people have begun to taste the peculiar smell and like these "foreign snacks". Klein started with Western food, but was known for its pastries. The reason why it has been able to gain a foothold in Shanghai Beach is due to the joining of Ling Qingxiang's father and son. Ling Qingxiang was originally a first-class Chinese technician who made cakes at the Feida Western Restaurant opened by the Germans, with profound skills and unparalleled in the Western food industry in Shanghai; the two sons were equally outstanding, the eldest son Ling Heming could make all kinds of cake molds and exquisite flower baskets, and the second son Ling Yiming's flower setting skills were magical, making all kinds of flowers and animals.
Half a year after its opening, "Kaisling" was collectively operated by Hu Fusen and eight other Pastry chefs, and in order to make this Western restaurant, which was run by a person alone at that time, occupy a remarkable place on the Shanghai Beach of Shili Yangchang, Hu Fusen and others asked Ling Qingxiang, an excellent technician who made cakes at the Feida Western Restaurant opened in Germany at that time, for help. Master Ling suggested that they deal with a western-style cake with flavor and made the sample himself. This made Feida's foreign boss furious.
In the spring of 1932, Ling Qingxiang took his "left and right hands" eldest son Ling Heming and second son Ling Yiming to resolutely step into the gate of Commander Kai, thus breaking the monopoly of the Westerners' monopoly on Shanghai's pastry industry. At that time, Ling Heming worked in the Asia Fire Oil Company, and Ling Yiming worked in a commercial printing house opened by the Swiss, with a good income, but in order to compete with the foreign shop, the brothers resolutely resigned their jobs to enter Kaisling, and under the guidance of their father, they learned a good craft. Due to the joining of the Ling family father and son, the cake making of "Kaisling" at that time was not only good at the creation of various mold shapes, but also paid attention to the technique of cake mounting, the production of various flowers and various animals, the shape was lifelike, ready to come out; the pattern color was elegant, delicate and flexible, the three-dimensional sense was strong, and there was a strong atmosphere of life, especially the beautiful English characters in the hands of the masters, which were flowing and elegant on the cake, and more amazing, and the cake of "Kaisling" was soft, fat and delicate, and the sweetness was moderate, The exquisite pattern and the emergence of Western food in Shanghai have attracted people from all walks of life to buy, making it famous in the pastry industry. After the Ling family father and son joined Kaisling, the cake became a fist product, and there was a saying in Shanghai society at that time - "eat cake to Kaisling", which is the highest reputation for a restaurant.
"Commander Kai" and "Cheeselin"
"Kaisling" was the only Western restaurant on Jing'an Temple Road that was operated by Chinese. Zhang Ailing said in "Color Ring" that Commander Kai "was driven by the no. 1 West Cub of Tianjin Qishilin." In fact, Commander Kai has nothing to do with Kiessling in Tianjin, which is Zhang Ailing's misunderstanding. But there was a real lawsuit between the two.
Just after the rise of the Chinese Kai Commander in the Ten Mile Ocean Field, many foreign Western restaurant owners were jealous. After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, Tianjin fell, and Cheeselin moved to Shanghai and opened a café on Jing'an Temple Road, serving German-style Western food, pastries and coffee. The German owner of Feida Western Restaurant was even more angry, and he asked the owner of the "Cheeselin" Western restaurant opened by the Germans in Tianjin to sue the "Kaisling" shop name to allude to the "Cheeselin" signboard. At that time, the Shanghai district court knew that foreigners were unreasonable, but they did not dare to offend foreign businessmen, so they had to adopt delaying tactics and protracted. Because the foreign boss deceived people too much, Hu Fusen and others were very unconvinced, so they invited a barrister to sue Suzhou High Shipping, and as a result, they won the lawsuit, so that Commander Kai became more famous in Shanghai, and the business was booming, which made other peers in the Western restaurant industry unattainable.
Figure 4 Commander Kai logo
In the 1920s and 1930s, there were already many Western restaurants on Nanjing West Road, and there were more than 10 Western restaurants and cafes in the area from Maoming North Road to Xikang Road, and in addition to Kaisling, there were also royal, DDS, Lina, Kangsheng, Taili and Feida, etc., and the competition was fierce. But these Western restaurants were almost completely destroyed and did not continue to develop like Commander Kai. Kaisling is so successful that Shanghainese who grew up eating his chestnut cake, bucket and whipped cream will see the name "Kaisling" and their minds will flash a piece of high-value, sweet pastry. It is no exaggeration to say that "Commander Kai" almost once became synonymous with West Point in Shanghai.
Development after liberation
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Kaisling's mounted cake has always maintained the traditional characteristics of soft sticky rosin, oil but not greasy, and on this basis, it has innovated the art of mounting flowers. Once a university professor had a birthday, in The Commander of the Kai Order ordered a large cake, Ling Yiming ingeniously framed the cake in Chinese and English, the handwriting was exquisite, and won the professor's praise. There is also an old man who is over 70 years old, and his family brings a photo to ask if he can paint it on the cake according to the portrait, Ling Yiming boldly tries, and it is very similar. This mounting initiative shocked the city's peers, and Commander Kai's reputation was greatly enhanced, and even overseas Chinese living in Singapore sent people to order a cake by plane.
In 1954, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs invited Ling Yiming and Ling Heming brothers to Beijing to make cakes, they thought, the chief and foreign guests have tasted all kinds of cakes, they pioneered the chestnuts fried into puree, as the bottom embryo of the cake, and then layer by layer with white butter or cream mounting, the taste is silky and delicate cream and soft sweet glutinous and some powdery chestnut puree matching, the two aromas complement each other, the whole cake is soft and sweet, oily but not greasy, He was unanimously praised by Wang Bingnan, then vice foreign minister, and foreign friends. The ling brothers returned to Shanghai with the chestnut cake, which immediately swept the beach and became the signature dim sum of Kaisling. As a specialty of Kaisling, chestnut cake has been rated as a premium product of the Ministry of Commerce for many years and is still available as a brand-name product.
Figure 5 Ling Yiming
In order to meet the market demand, "Kai Ling" in 1956 public-private partnership, in Shimen 2nd Road No. 50 to establish a production factory of thousands of square meters, from workshop production to large-scale production took an important step, Ling Qingxiang's second son Ling Yiming served as the director of Kai Ling. The company also has two stores at No. 596 nanjing west road and 1001. The masters of "Kaisling", in order to solve the problem that there was no low-gluten flour in the country in the early days of liberation, developed a corn starch mixed into the flour to reduce the gluten of the flour, so that the cake blank is crisp and delicate; and then use multi-layer sandwich material to make the cake softer and more sticky, and the flavor is delicious. And on this basis developed chestnut cake, the use of freshly listed chestnuts fried after shelling and peeling meat, the chestnut fruit into a puree, and then with the mounted head squeezed onto the cake cake blank, shaped like a light brown dragon, and whipped cream contrasting with fun, endless aftertaste, chestnut cake is a specialty of Kaisling, for many years has been rated as a superior product, still favored by consumers.
In 1956, the Municipal Catering Service Company held a special food exhibition, Ling Yiming, Ling Heming brothers visited the children's stores in Shanghai, drawing on a variety of children's toys, shaping more than 40 kinds of children's cakes, the products were appreciated by peers after the exhibition. In the same year, the Municipal Catering Service Company organized a visit to a street in Minhang, and Ling Yiming returned to the store to make a large cake with the pattern of "Minhang Street" framed on it to send gifts to the city company and was praised.
On August 1, 1957, the East China Sea Fleet customized 4 special cakes, and Ling Yiming made 4 cakes for aircraft, artillery, warships and tanks to send to the fleet, which was appreciated by the commander of the fleet. In the same year, when the Minister of Commerce of the Soviet Union visited Shanghai, Zhu Xun, director of the Finance and Trade Department of the Municipal Party Committee, presented a book cake made by Ling Yiming, which was deeply appreciated.
In May 1960, the Ministry of Commerce held a national financial and trade conference, and Shanghai sent the Ling Yiming brothers to Beijing to participate in the national pastry baking competition, and won the "first prize" and was cordially received by Chairman Zhu De.
In 1966, the development of Kaisling can be described as a hardship, a long time frost, in the Cultural Revolution was renamed "Kaige Food Factory"
In 1981, the company reverted to its original name of "Kaisling" and continued to carry forward the long-established brand.
In 1993, Shanghai Meilong Town Group Company was established, and Kaisling, as one of the six core enterprises of Meilong Town Group, restored its name as "Kaisling Food Company".
In 1996, the company was named "Kaisling Food Co., Ltd." and relocated the factory to Memorial Road, thus entering a new development process.
In 1999, the company transformed and established "Shanghai Kaisling Food Co., Ltd." controlled by the group company, forming a business philosophy of common development of enterprises and employees, and enhancing the cohesion of enterprise development.
In 2006, the company broke the traditional direct store model, opened a multi-channel business model, and introduced franchise stores, so that the long-established brand can be inherited from the world. In order to further develop a series of tasteful cake pastry products, Kaisling specially set up a "baking research room", which is the first in Shanghai's food industry.
Over the past 80 years, Kaisling has gradually developed from a small Western restaurant in its inception to a comprehensive Western-style dim sum food company of Western pastry, Western food and coffee, with nearly 400 employees and thousands of square meters of production base and advanced equipment, more than 50 professional technicians and baking research rooms for new product development, and more than 50 stores in the city. [3]
Figure 6 Commander Kai Commander Nanjing West Road Store Department
Source:
[1] Foodie Paradise: The Various Satisfactions of Diners' Taste Buds. Shanghai Local History.2021/2/7
[2] Commander Kai of old Köhler. Check out the news.2016/5/10
[3] Klein's official website