Entering the three-volt day, eating a few bites of mutton every day has become the "standard" for many locals. After six o'clock in the morning, Qibao Old Street was still silent, but the Baofeng Hotel was already crowded, and the uncles and aunts who came to eat mutton sat around the table, some tasted the delicacy of Fuyang with relish, and some probed from time to time looking forward to the mutton on the table.
"I come to eat every day, and if I don't eat, I feel like something is missing." Uncle Yang, who lives in Qibao, has just retired, often brings his wife to eat mutton, two people order about three taels, sometimes order Qibao liquor, and then chat with the diners next to them, after eating, everyone disperses, and the next day they come together, like rushing to a summer date.
Roasting lamb is like an heirloom craft
Speaking of Baofeng Hotel, the old Qibao people are familiar with it, and his mutton is also everyone's "favorite". However, the so-called "Boss Lin" began to run this store in the 80s of the last century. At first, Lin Dongmei, the boss of Lin, came to Shanghai from Wenling, Zhejiang to work hard, and saw that Qibao Old Street was very prosperous, so he settled here. He started as a roadside stall, sold breakfast, and after having the first pot of gold, he considered opening a store, just happened to meet the opportunity of outsourcing Baofeng Hotel, so he took it down and followed the signboard of "Baofeng Hotel".
At first, Lin Dongmei did not burn mutton. Fortunately, there is a ready-made master in Baofeng Hotel, this master is surnamed Zhang, he was already very old at that time, Lin Dongmei learned from the master, and it didn't take long to be able to be alone. "Roasting lamb is actually either difficult, or very hard." Zhuang Tingting, Lin Dongmei's daughter-in-law, resigned from the real estate company in 2016, inherited the family business, and became the head of the mutton business of Baofeng Hotel. "The old man is older, and I like food myself, so I took over."
Although a layman, Zhuang Tingting quickly entered the role. "The employees are relatively stable, many of them have worked here for seven or eight years, and the longest is more than 10 years, so I have more peace of mind." Let's just say that the master of roasting lamb was an apprentice in the store at the age of about 30, and he learned to roast lamb, and now the young man has long become a master. In fact, Zhuang Tingting's family will burn mutton, and for them, it is like a heirloom craft.
Over the years, the Baofeng Hotel has been renovated several times, but the antique style has not changed. Familiar tables, familiar tastes, and some diners even have fixed positions and fixed "eating friends". Here, they eat not only mutton, but also a habit, and Zhuang Tingting's family, who opened a store, making mutton has also become a family inheritance.
Only salt and ginger are added, and the taste is mellow when cooked
Now is the time to eat Fu sheep, every day Baofeng Hotel produces two pots of mutton, the first pot is around 3 a.m., and the second pot is around 5 p.m. The first pot of lamb is put into the pot at 5 p.m., and after cooking, turn off the heat and smother. At 3 a.m., the chef who burned the lamb went to work and began to be busy scooping up the lamb, removing the bones, and preparing the lamb for the afternoon pot. When everything is ready, diners are almost ready to try it.
"Most of the people who come in the morning are locals who live closer, and they eat a little and bring a little." Zhuang Tingting said that there are more than 10 diners in the store, except for extreme weather, they come to eat mutton almost every day. Most of them were uncles in their sixties and seventies, and occasionally the faces of three or four aunts appeared, and if they asked carefully, they turned out to have come with their wives. There are also some old diners who have moved to the city, even if they have to take several bus trips, they have to come to eat a bite of soft and sticky lamb.
If you want to ask when lamb sells best, it must be in the morning. The lamb that has just come out of the pot is steaming hot, and you can smell the strong aroma of mutton from afar. "Hot lamb tastes very sticky, especially suitable for the elderly, and it is stuffy for one night, with a faint milk aroma." Zhuang Tingting said that only salt and a small amount of ginger were put in the lamb when it was burned, and the taste was mellow after it was cooked, which is also the deliciousness of lamb.
The hot lamb is delicious, and the cooled lamb has a different flavor. After 11 o'clock to 5 p.m., it is mainly tourists who come to buy it, they prefer the Q bomb of white cut lamb, which is also easy to carry and suitable to take back and share with their families. After 5 p.m., another pot of hot lamb is baked, and diners who can't get up in the morning come to find the taste, and feel the fireworks hidden in Qibao mutton in the bustling crowd. "Generally, there will be more in the morning and less in the afternoon."
Baofeng Hotel
Address: Qibao Ancient Town South Street No. 1-5
Business hours: 6:00—21:00
Reporter: Chen Meiling
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