Craftsmanship and gastronomy have always been complementary. Especially when hearing words such as "tradition", "century", "craftsman", etc., foodies will pay extra attention, lest they let go of any important information if they are not careful. After all, the speed of food innovation is very fast, and there are not many old crafts that can really be retained with care.
What we want to talk about today is related to the old craft, that is, traditional Chinese pastries. Sounds ordinary isn't it? Don't worry, this shop has been open for nearly forty years, and there is no door. And what's more special is that there is no door, and diners who want to buy can only place an order through the window.
The stall is near Tongbai North Road, if there are no diners coming to buy it one after another, you will not notice its existence when you pass by there. The glass window stalls facing the street, what diners want, just report it. The pastries are packed in advance, one bag at a time, not zero.
Well, on the day we went, we didn't see the phenomenon of queuing up. However, there are also many diners who come to buy one after another, and they buy and go, and the delay cannot be too long. I also met some fans and gained some important information: not sweet, not greasy, crispy and delicious.
Egg twist, although the name has the word twist, it really doesn't look like the twist flower we often eat. In the words of the director, he grew up so big that he had never seen it (heck, is it because the director is still young). Listening to the name, you know that this snack and eggs are inseparable, made with eggs and noodles, white sugar beaten into flour and mixed with flour.
Don't look at the small head, but it feels very comfortable in your hand. Pinched up hard, I thought it tasted general, but after biting it, I would feel "worried about myself". The entrance is not sweet, although it is relatively dry, but the aftertaste is more fragrant, and there is no greasy feeling.
Old-fashioned chicken cake, there is a soft heart under the ordinary appearance. Before I could eat it in my hand, I smelled the rich egg aroma. How to describe the taste of eating? A little more fluffy than bread, a little less spongy than a cake, but just right!
Taro puff pastry is one of the main pastry snacks in Chinese pastries. The shape is more arbitrary, and it can be slender or short. Embellished with a layer of white sesame seeds, I almost forgot its characteristics of "pine as snow, crisp as frost flowers", and it tastes sweet and delicious without any effort.
Bypassing the glass windows and through the alleys, you come to the operation room. The most immediate feeling we have when we go in is that we seem to go back to decades ago. Although some processes have been replaced by mechanization, more old-fashioned molds have been preserved. Especially when you see those mottled marks on the mold, you know that the years have come.
There is a wide variety of pastries in the store, and we counted them, and there are probably more than twenty kinds of pastries. In addition to the common ones, there are many old-fashioned pastries in memory. The price is well, the old-fashioned chicken cake is 9 yuan / jin, taro crisp 12 yuan / jin, tiger skin cake is 13 yuan / jin, and egg twist flower is 15 yuan / jin.
Listen to the pastry chef who said that he had been doing this since he was young, and until now that he was at the age of retirement, he was still reluctant to rest. He said that because the profits are average, many young people are now reluctant to learn, but he is not willing to lose this craft.
- Two or three things about Chinese pastries -
Shop name: Mai Xiang Zhai pastry
Address: Zhengzhou City West Ten Mile Paving Road and Tongbai North Road intersection to the west 100 meters (click to navigate)
Consumption: 15 yuan per capita
Opening hours: 08:00-20:00