Dragon Tiger Network News (reporter Shi Jun) shrimp dumplings, quicksand bags, Jinling square cakes, as well as milk, soy milk, green tea... On April 17th, the 2021 Entrepreneur Service Day Breakfast Meeting and the University Student Employment and Entrepreneurship Industry Forum arrived as scheduled. The breakfast of the day was rich and distinctive, among which shrimp dumplings and quicksand buns were recommended by the Free City Bureau of Commerce as a long-established restaurant in Nanjing under the Gunandu Group - the old Cantonese restaurant.
Nanjing "Old Guangdong" was founded in late 1945, the original site of No. 1, Lane 86, Zhongshan Road, initially to supply Cantonese flavor wontons, noodles, white chopped chicken and other snacks, because of its high quality of wontons, distinctive, so won the "wonton king" reputation. In 1950, the registered store was named Guangdong Wonton King, which was later renamed as the Old Cantonese Restaurant, and gradually developed into a Cantonese-style meal such as fake roast goose, dawang rice, sand chicken rice, and roast duck. Fake roast goose is a famous dish in the shop, its color is golden, crispy on the outside, soft and tender on the inside, and such a delicate dish is made of pig intestine. After several changes, until No. 45 Zhongshan Road on the north side of Xinjiekou was expanded into a three-story building, the old Cantonese restaurant can accommodate more than 50 tables at the same time, and during this period, it has successively created eight signature dishes of "pineapple duck slices", "king onion shrimp", "smooth fresh milk", "crispy fried lion ball", "hometown fish cake", "Portuguese chicken leg", "red braised eight treasures" and "kirin cinnamon fish". Tasting food every three to five years to old Guangdong and other old brands is also a big hobby of many old Nanjing people.
At the end of 2017, Nanjing Gunandu Group rebuilt the old Cantonese restaurant in The Sunshine Square in Gulou District. The old Cantonese restaurant that has returned to the past, the specialties are "beautiful soup milk pigeon", "gollum meat", "shrimp dumplings", etc., and its "roasted wax products" are also well-known, especially the "deep well roast goose" made of black brown goose as raw material.
Take the dishes of the day of the breakfast meeting, shrimp dumplings are the famous point of the old Cantonese restaurant, with two or three shrimp wrapped in a layer of cheng noodle skin as the main filling, accompanied by bamboo shoots and pork. After the basket, the skin of the shrimp dumplings is crystal clear, and the filling is refreshing and elastic, which is incomparably delicious. Quicksand bao is a traditional famous spot in Guangdong and is a dim sum commonly found in Cantonese-style tea houses. It has a flexible taste, a rich wheat aroma and a high nutritional value. The bun filling can flow like golden sand and make people who have eaten it remember.
Old Guangdong, Ma Xiangxing, AnYuan Land... Among the long-established brands in Nanjing, a considerable part is related to eating. Each city has its own unique cuisine, which is also a living carrier of culture, which carries the memory of the city and highlights the character of the city.
Why revive a Cantonese restaurant in Nanjing? Once upon a time, Sichuan cuisine, Cantonese cuisine, Hunan cuisine... Many cuisines have come to Nanjing to develop alongside local cuisine, and the old Cantonese restaurant is a product of that time. Sichuan cuisine pays attention to one dish and one grid, hundreds of dishes and tastes, Cantonese cuisine has a wide selection of ingredients, fresh ingredients, in the development and collision, they have jointly promoted the formation of "Nanjing taste" and become part of the city's culture and memory.
Vegetarian vegetable buns in Luliuju, crab shell yellow cakes in Yonghe Garden, deep well roasted geese in old Guangdong... In the view of Mr. Liu, an 80-year-old citizen this year, it is already a habit to go to a long-established brand to taste food. "Since I was a child, I grew up eating the food in Nanjing's time-honored brand, and as I started a family, I brought my children and grandchildren to taste it again." Mr. Liu said.
In Nanjing, in addition to the buying and selling relationship, the long-established brand and consumers have also established an emotional connection, which has brought many conveniences to the public during the epidemic prevention and control period. In 2020, when the epidemic prevention and control was at its strictest, many catering stores were temporarily closed. The long-established catering enterprises in Nanjing, such as Luliuju, Jiangsu Restaurant and Old Guangdong Restaurant under the Gunandu Group, have actively taken action to establish community WeChat groups and settle in hundreds of communities in Nanjing to serve the majority of community residents. Customers place orders in the WeChat Mini Program, and the staff of the restaurant counts in the background, and the next day the dishes will be delivered to the door of the customer community. The intimate approach of the old brands has really sent warmth to the hearts of consumers.