Hongbin House Elegant Room 1963
When outsiders come to Beijing, they often disagree when they talk about "Beijing snacks", and even more, they think that Beijing is a "gastronomic desert".
In fact, in the eyes of old eaters, Beijing is not without authentic restaurants, but you may not have gone to the right place.
When it comes to Beijing cuisine, halal cuisine must have a place. In the usual sense, traditional Beijing cuisine is composed of Shandong cuisine, imperial court cuisine and halal cuisine.
Since the Yuan Dynasty, a large number of Hui have poured into the capital, and there have been many Halal restaurants operated by Hui in the capital.
Speaking of decent halal restaurants, we must first mention the Hongbin Building with the "first floor of beijing halal", and the "first floor, two baked three xuan and four shun" in the old-fashioned brand of Beijing halal, one of which is it.
The Hongbin Building on West Chang'an Avenue
Hongbin Lou is 167 years old this year, but in fact, this century-old number is from Tianjin. 65 years ago, Premier Zhou personally named the beijing.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-center-line" >Why did Premier Zhou name HongbinLou to enter Beijing? </h1>
First in the third year of Qing Xianfeng (1853), Hongbin Building was opened in Tianjin Xu Street (now Heping Road). Its name is taken from the "Autumn Moon, Hongyan Guest" in the "Etiquette and Moon Order", which has the meaning of guests and friends coming and sitting on the crown.
However, hongbinlou really became famous in Tianjin after 46 years. In the twenty-fifth year of the Qing Dynasty (1899), the Japanese Concession had already begun large-scale construction, and Tianjin celebrity chefs Qian Shuyuan and Qian Zhichen and other six people jointly established a joint venture and found a small Western-style building in the Japanese Concession to open. Although it is a Western-style building, the façade of Hongbin Building is very simple and elegant, and the plaque is also lined with the yanglian of all sheep dishes.
With the words of "Hongbin", under the blessing of several famous chefs' Yan cuisine mats (that is, the inheritance of bird's nest as the main material) and the whole sheep table, Hongbin Building is famous in Beijing and Tianjin.
The former Tianjin Japanese Concession Xu Street
It is rumored that the diet in Tianjin was once "far superior to that of The Beijing Division". With the excavation of the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal, Tianjin became the gateway for shipping grain into Beijing. Since then, Tianjin Xing, guests to, Shang Jia ji. As a result, Tianjin has been known as the "first city in the north". In addition, it is located on the edge of the Bohai Sea, rich in products, and many famous chefs, and tianjin has a collection of natural cuisines and famous shops.
And Beijing's "eight buildings", "eight residences", "eight springs" and "four springs", Tianjin also has "eight major cheng", halal "nine buildings" said, and Hongbin Building is the first of the "nine buildings" of Jinmen Halal, and its winning magic weapon is the store's signboard: full sheep mat and river fresh seafood. At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, many politicians and celebrities, as well as foreign merchants, came to dine, especially Japanese merchants.
Before the founding of New China, hongbin building san yi shop east, Qian Shuyuan family father and son two generations of management, poured to the second manager Lu Guilin, and later to the third manager Liang Delin.
Speaking of Beijing, at the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the restaurants in the capital were mostly Lu cuisine and court official cuisine, and halal cuisine lacked high-end restaurants that could carry handles. Therefore, under the "hand-picked" of Premier Zhou, in 1955, Hongbin Building settled at No. 50 Li Tieqiu Xie Street outside hepingMen. Later, because the business was too good, the shop was not enough, and it was moved to West Chang'an Avenue in 1963.
At the same time as him, there were also famous shops and old restaurants across the country, including Hunan Quyuan Restaurant, Shaanxi Old Xi'an Bubble Bun, Sichuan Emei Restaurant, and Shanghai's Lao Zhengxing and Delicious Zhai.
Then again, why did Premier Zhou choose Hongbin Building in Tianjin? Although Premier Zhou is from jiangsu and Zhejiang regions (born in Huai'an, Jiangsu Province, originally from Shaoxing, Zhejiang), his taste is also more inclined to Huaiyang cuisine. However, because he was studying in Nankai, Premier Zhou also had a lot of research on Tianjin's cuisine and famous restaurants, and was also very familiar with Hongbin Louna.
<h1 class="pgc-h-center-line" > Which three treasures did Hongbin Lou bring to Beijing? </h1>
The so-called "restaurant wants people to serve, all rely on the kitchen of the hall cabinet", when Hongbin Lou entered Beijing, it was the head led by The Tangtou Wang Shouqian. According to legend, his family ancestors had been on an errand in the royal palace, and at the age of 17, he was already an apprentice of Hongbin Lou, worked in Hongbin Lou all his life, and also participated in state banquets, serving Premier Zhou and many state leaders and foreign heads of state.
Hongbin Building senior banquet designer Wang Shouqian
When he entered Beijing, it is said that Wang Shouqian entered Beijing with three treasures of the town store, namely: gold plaque, ivory chopsticks and yellow-lipped fish belly.
Among them, the gold plaque is the only century-old plaque in the beijing's time-honored brand; ivory chopsticks are said to have been used by Empress Dowager Cixi; the yellow-lipped fish is worth millions, which has a high economic and scientific research value, and is now an endangered species, and its fish belly is as expensive as gold.
In 1934, the old owner of HongbinLou Restaurant purchased this fish maw, which weighed 920 grams and had a circumference of 115 centimeters, which was a treasure. In 1983, when former British Prime Minister Heath visited China, he hosted a banquet in hongbin building, and in order to entertain the vips, the chef of the restaurant made a two-color fish belly with a small braid on the right side of the fish belly, which won the applause of the guests.
Nowadays, if you go to hongbin building to eat, as soon as you enter the gate, the lobby hangs the gold plaque of "Hongbin Building" made of 625 grams of gold and inscribed by Yu Zejiu, a qing dynasty two-list jinshi. This is also the only gold plaque in the old brand of Beijing, which can be described as a real "golden signboard".
Hongbin Building Golden Plaque Image Source Network
However, what is more attractive about this gold plaque is its three unsolved mysteries:
First, the "bird" on the right side of the "Hong" character in this Hongbin Building should have four points but was written into three points.
Second, this plaque only has the name of the shop, but there is no money recognition, which is also very rare among the plaques inscribed by famous artists.
The third is that when this plaque was changed in 1998, it was obtained by Rongbao Zhai to see the new, and after opening the plaque, a peony beauty picture was found in the bottom plate of the plaque, and I don't know who painted it, I don't know who painted it, only know that the painting time was during the Xuantong year. The year of Xuan reunification is only three years old, and the works passed down from generation to generation are already rare, and it is even more puzzling to be hidden in a gold plaque.
In addition, it is worth mentioning that in addition to this gold plaque, Hongbin Building also has two famous plaques.
The first piece was written by Guo Moruo.
It is said that in 1963, Hongbin Building moved to No. 82 West Chang'an Avenue to reopen, Guo Moruo came here, and also tasted the long-admired "casserole sheep's head" during the banquet. Elder Guo rode on Yaxing, impromptu life pen, and composed a poem specifically for Hongbin Lou:
When the geese come, the wind sends warmth,
Guests are full of people to persuade them to eat more.
The roof is red in flames,
Good men are never afraid of difficulties.
Careful people must have found that this poem is still a Tibetan head poem, and the first word of each sentence is "Hongbin Lou is good", which shows Guo Lao's love and respect for Hongbin Lou.
The second piece is written by the calligrapher Qi Gong, or personally invited by Pu Jie, the brother of the last emperor Puyi.
It is said that in 1983, Pu Jie hosted a banquet in Hongbin Building, and one of the red grilled sheep's hooves won the praise of "Sai Bear Paw". Taking advantage of the excitement, the shop asked Mr. Pujie for a plaque. Unexpectedly, a few days later, Mr. Pujie sent someone to send a six-foot ink treasure:
Hongbin Building on the west bank of Tian'an, every time you stop, you can quickly lead Ou.
Oxtail and sheep tendon halal food, haiyi mountain treasures do not have the world's food.
It is not only a famous and wonderful wrist, but also a new look at the old karma.
The feast was set up on a fresh night, and the four heavy seats were drunk on five continents.
On the glorious journey of the four modernizations, strides are taken to drive away the wrapped rice.
Then, Mr. Pujie also personally asked Mr. Qi Gong to inscription a plaque for the Hongbin Building. In the following year, Mr. Pujie specially wrote the "Furong" hall number to give hongbin building.
<h1 class="pgc-h-center-line" > go to the first floor of The Beijing Halal How to order food without showing timidity? </h1>
Hongbin Building is now located at No. 11 Exhibition Road, and after entering Beijing, it has changed its location several times, of which it has been operating on West Chang'an Avenue for the longest time. At that time, Hongbin Building was located at the west end of West Chang'an Avenue, which was a stone's throw away from Xidan Downtown.
Hongbinlou Restaurant on West Chang'an Avenue
In the 1990s, the HongbinLou Restaurant on West Chang'an Avenue was being demolished after that.
In the 1990s, in the southeast corner of Xidan Road Junction, not far east of the Capital Times Square is Hongbinlou Restaurant.
1997 Long view of the south side of West Chang'an Avenue (Hongbin Building - Xidan Junction)
Today, the Hongbin Building on Exhibition Hall Road
However, how the address of the Hongbin Building has changed, the two signs of the whole sheep mat and the river fresh sea flavor are definitely not out of place.
Let's start with the whole sheep table. Since ancient times, there has been a custom of eating sheep as precious in the Central Plains. By the Qing Dynasty, the Manchus of the ruling class came from between the white mountains and black water, and they were even more fond of sheep, and they used the whole sheep table in important celebrations such as festivals, sacrifices, and marriages.
It is said that during the Guangxu period, the whole sheep dish made by Hongbin Lou has been recognized by the food industry. When Empress Dowager Cixi went out of the palace on a parade, she also ordered to eat the whole sheep dish of Hongbin Building. Later, on cixi's sixtieth birthday, the palace celebrated Lafayette's birthday with 108 whole sheep mats made by Hongbin Building. The author speculates that perhaps one of the treasures of the town store in the store is derived from this.
What is more interesting is that the whole sheep seat of Hongbin Building "eats sheep without seeing sheep, and eating sheep does not feel sheep". A total of 128 dishes were served, all from various parts of a whole sheep, according to the material, the layout was meticulous, and the feast began with the head of the sheep and ended with the tail of the sheep.
Taking the "sheep's head" part as an example, the top of the head is called "qilin top", stewed; the back of the head meat is called "golden crown", grilled; the brain is called "cloud head", stewed; the middle section of the ear is called "downwind", boiled; the eyelid meat is called "household skin", burning; the meat behind the sheep's ear is called "walnut meat", fried; the meat under the sheep's nose bone is called "Wangfeng Slope", cooking; the nose brittle bone is called "bright bone", steaming, and so on.
If you look at the names of the dishes in this menu: "Wangfeng Slope, Dragon Gate Corner, Scorched Crisp, Lantern Drum, Whip Hydrangea Ball, Night Pearl..." I would never have thought that this was a whole sheep feast.
Whole sheep table
According to legend, this is because Cixi has a taboo of belonging to sheep, so there is not a single sheep word in the name of the dish, but it is named with an alias for its characteristics, which is extremely elegant, but if you think about it, it is reasonable.
It can be said that the cultural value of the whole sheep table is actually higher than the economic value, and now it has become a national intangible cultural heritage. But after all, the dishes are hearty, the price is not cheap, and you need to book 5 days in advance, and the key is that the dishes are not sold separately.
Therefore, if you usually go to the store, it is recommended that you still try the river and sea double fresh in the store, after all, it is a halal old number from Tianjin Wei, not only the sea, but also the Haihe River nearby, and its fish and shrimp dishes are indeed more colorful, crisp and tender, and the taste is fragrant, such as chicken shark fin, white bungee fish, eight zhenyan cups, money shrimp saucers, etc.
White Bunting Ding Picture Source Know @ Naked Food Losik
(These dishes, now Hongbin Lou menu may only have white bunting fish)
In addition, as the "first floor of the Beijing Halal", the beef and mutton dishes in Hongbin Building are also quite brilliant, such as braised beef tail, red and bright color, crispy meat, deboning without losing the prototype, the elderly eat absolutely no problem, almost the table must be ordered;
Braised oxtail
Casserole sheep's head, soup color like milk, strong taste, fresh and not greasy, for autumn and winter supplements, it is more suitable;
Casserole sheep's head Picture source Zhihu @ naked food Losik
Coriander bursting sandan (sandan is the heavy flap stomach of cattle and sheep, but now niu sandan is more called louver), crisp and tender, refreshing and not greasy, after drinking wine and eating meat, if you can come to a coriander burst sandan, it is not smooth.
Coriander BurstIng Dan The source of the picture is zhihu @ naked food Losik
In addition, Hongbin Lou from Tianjin also likes to use a unique french dish, that is, adding a small amount of juice, boiling over a weak fire, it is rumored that because the production process will make a "beep" sound, so it is named, and some writing tuk, or toot, also confirms that the unique here is indeed transliterated.
Look at the menu "single fish rot", "single gluten", "single spinal cord", etc. are all made using this cooking method.
The single mandarin duck fish rot picture source knows @ naked food Losik
Du gluten is a famous dish in Tianjin, almost every Tianjin style restaurant will make this dish, look at the color to know the level of this restaurant, and sometimes often add shrimp.
The single spinal cord, the lamb spinal cord simmered in broth, is delicious and smooth, very stunning. Image source @ red bean house owner.
When you go to Hongbin Building, what dishes will you order?
Welcome to share in the message area~
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Acknowledgements and statements
The pictures in this article are partly from the Internet, and they are invaded and deleted.
Reference articles
[1] Xun Zhusheng, Xidan, Beijing Publishing House, 2015.6: P123-126
[2] Wang Zhihui, Hongbin Building, Century-old Halal Restaurant, Xicheng Famous Store, 1995.12:1-3
[3] Wang Junling, Hongbin Building, 1st Floor of Halal Catering
[4] Dong Hao, Hongbin Building– The First Floor of Beijing Halal Catering, CCTV, 2017.12.07
[5] He Yuxin, Beijing's long-established Hongbin Building is actually Tianjin's Twenty-two Gold Gold Plaques are also from Tianjin, Tianjin Free Trade Online, 2019.02.16
[6] Naked Food Losik, a collection of famous Chinese dishes | Beijing ₁₂ | Hongbinlou Restaurant, Zhihu, 2017.04.03
[7] Xiao Rong, Guo Moruoshi Gift Hongbin Building, Food and Health, 2001
[8] Hongbin Building Whole Sheep Mat Making Technique, Beijing Memory Website - Non-genetic Inheritance
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