On the evening of March 4, the night scene of Songshan Road, Zhongyuan Road, Yihe Road and other roads in Zhengzhou City was illuminated, and I don't know how many passers-by were intoxicated. Driving around in between, like shuttling through beautiful paintings, makes people overwhelmed, relaxed, and directly sighs "Zhengzhou is beautiful".
In the evening, invited by Liu Kuan, the owner of The old Cai Ji Yihe Road store in Beijing, a long-established restaurant in Zhengzhou, Xiaobian and Chinese cooking master Tan Zengtao, hotel marketing planning expert Han Yue, Zhongma Chef Wang, Zhang Minghao, chairman of Dazhang Commune, and other people walked into the old Cai Ji Yihe Road store in Kyoto in the charming night.
Just arrived at the door of the kyoto old Cai Ji YiHe Road store, has not yet returned from the dazzling lights on the road, Kyoto old Cai Ji Yi River Road shop owner Liu Kuan has smiled and walked out of the store to greet warmly.
Kyoto old Cai Ji, He Ji, Ge Ji collectively called Zhengzhou "three records", Kyoto old Cai Ji mainly steamed dumplings, He Ji mainly played braised noodles, Ge Ji mainly played stew cakes, each with its own characteristics, and are "Chinese time-honored" restaurants, with a wide range of mass base.
Walking into the store, the traditional decoration style and quaint furnishing layout give people a feeling of déjà vu. Sure enough, it is a famous restaurant, and there are already many diners eating here, and the atmosphere in the restaurant is happy and harmonious.
Liu Kuan, a native of Beijing, claims to be not good at words, but when he talks about the development history of the old Cai Ji in Kyoto, he also talks endlessly, fully expressing his love for the old Cai Ji in Kyoto.
According to reports, the founder of the old Cai Ji in Kyoto is Cai Shijun, a Changyuan person, who helped cook in the Beijing Imperial Palace in the early years, after the Xinhai Revolution, Cai Shijun opened a small restaurant outside the front door of Beijing with the help of his friends, operating steamed dumplings and wontons, and the business was booming. A few years later, Cai Shijun and his family came to Zhengzhou. In 1919, he opened a shop in West Second Street and resumed his old business, and was named "Kyoto Old Cai Kee Wonton Museum".
After the death of Cai Shijun, his son Cai Yongquan inherited his father's business, and moved to Dehua Street in 1949 to continue to operate, he not only fully mastered the ancestral skills, but also insisted on quality first, small profits and high sales, therefore, Cai Ji steamed dumplings, wontons have become a famous flavor variety in Zhengzhou, and have been sold for a long time.
It is understood that perhaps because of the same surname as Cai with the founder of Kyoto's old Cai Ji, the well-known gourmet Cai Lan will go to Kyoto Old Cai Ji to eat every time he goes to Zhengzhou, and he loves Cai Ji's steamed dumplings. According to the investigation, Cai Lan also specially created an article called "Kyoto Old Cai Ji", which was forwarded countless times on the Internet.
Sit still and find that the cold dishes have been served. Beijing Gaobeidian tofu shredded, large pieces of beef, cold mixed silver strips, flowering water radish, each one is quite exquisite. In terms of age, Liu Kuan is a few years older than all the people here. As a result, he naturally became everyone's "wide brother", and he said that he was happy to be called that by everyone.
Subsequently, Brother Kuan arranged steamed saucer fish, pot three fresh, vinegar slippery bamboo shoot melon, spicy black chicken, roasted skin belly, fried eight pieces, each of which is a classic and amazing. As a century-old brand, Kyoto's old Cai Ji is still well known among consumers today, and just by looking at these exquisite dishes that adhere to tradition and are exquisitely made, you know that they are worthy of the name.
During the banquet, Zhang Minghao, the chairman of Zhongma Chef Wang and Dazhang Commune, also brought his own main product, crystal hawthorn jelly, for everyone to taste, sweet and sour, with a unique flavor. According to reports, in 2019, Zhang Minghao won the honorary title of King of Chinese Horse Chefs at the China Horse Cooking Competition held in Mayacia by virtue of the crystal hawthorn jelly.
Everyone ate and drank, and talked while respecting, and the atmosphere was very harmonious. Unconsciously, I felt that I had drunk enough to eat. However, the well-known Cai Ji steamed dumplings were served hot on the table again. This scene is typical of "eyes full of stomach". However, if you go to Kyoto's old Cai Ji to eat, if you don't eat Cai Ji steamed dumplings, it is equivalent to not eating here. Therefore, everyone still ate the steamed dumplings in the cage drawer. This steamed dumpling is thin and tender, fragrant and has a beautiful aftertaste.
It is reported that the production of Cai Ji steamed dumplings is very exquisite, after the meat filling is chopped, it is necessary to add water while beating, so that the meat filling is strong, all kinds of spices should also be in a certain proportion, indispensable, steamed dumplings with half dead and half hot flour, after repeated kneading to make the dough strong, and then rolled into a thin skin, filling into willow leaf folds, so that the steamed dumplings are shaped into a crescent moon, so Cai Ji steamed dumplings have the characteristics of thin yellow skin, bright color, full and transparent filling, beautiful shape, and soup flow oil. Due to decades of adhering to traditional operating procedures, the masses have praised its quality as "a hundred steps away from the door, and the afterscent remains in the mouth".
It's not the first time I've eaten at Kyoto's old Choi Kee, but it's the first time I've been accompanied by Brother Kuan. Thank you Brother Kuan, it was worth the trip.