Guangfu Hall - the old lady holds the spoon "fried knots", "MuKe Zhai" is well-known in Beijing City

The manuscript of the famous Hui scholar Wang Mengyang

(Authorized by Mr. Wang Lide, the second son of Wang Lao)

In the 1920s and 1940s, it was often seen that in front of the stove fire at the entrance, there was a fat old woman, energetically holding a large stir-fried spoon in one hand, holding a shovel in the other, with beads of sweat oozing from her face, diligently cooking exclusive, unique civilian food for diners - fried gnocchi. This is the famous Guangfu Hall in Beijing.

Guangfuguan was founded in the late Qing Dynasty, when the most prosperous area in Beijing was the Qianmenwai area, because it was not only a commercial center, but also theaters, tea houses and brothels, so famous restaurants such as Fengze Garden, Quanjude, Duyi, Ying Fan Restaurant, Yuanxingtang, Liangyixuan, Cuifang garden, etc., were located near this area, and Guangfuguan was also one of them.

This restaurant was opened by a Muslim surnamed Mu in the Niujie area, jointly run by husband and wife, initially just a small casual restaurant dedicated to civilians as the service object, specializing in the supply of fried gnocchi, this simple canteen, originally could not be elegant, but because of the Mu couple, the cooking excellence, made the fried gnocchi smooth and soft flavor, so the business is becoming more and more developed, some "dignitaries", also come to taste the peculiar smell, and gradually build a building. Stir-fried gnocchi has become a famous food. In the first year of the Republic of China, the treasurer Master Mu died of illness, and the task of the manager of this restaurant and the stove fell on the boss lady. Because Of mu da niang's shrewdness and ability to operate, the business is becoming more and more prosperous, and the customers admire her as a person and appreciate her skill, so they call Guangfuguan "Widow's Hall" in harmony, and the original name is obscured. And because her husband's surname is Mu, now she is the master of the family, out of the crowd, will think of the Peking Opera Mu Ke Zhai, so Guangfuguan has been spread under the name of "Mu Ke Zhai".

The fried gnocchi of Guangfuguan is made of fine flour and into a harder dough, and then use a knife to quickly and accurately cut into fava bean-sized knots, cook and then dry with water, and then fry once with a small ground sesame oil, so that each small piece is attached to the cooked oil, and then fried with special spiced bean paste, at the same time, in the gnocchi, mix some mung bean strips and leek segments, stir-fry together, and then add some pepper or other spices appropriately, stir evenly so that it is fragrant, and serve to the diners, not only delicious, It is also very popular because of its low price.

Due to the development of business, it can not be limited to the supply of fried gnocchi, so it has added a variety of stir-fried vegetables, pasta, etc., but customers always have to eat bowls of fried gnocchi after tasting a variety of exquisite dishes, so that this medium-sized restaurant always features fried gnocchi.

Around the 1940s, Mu Da Niang was old, and trained young technicians to be responsible for cooking, but she always did not leave the stove, sometimes still operated by herself, and some "face-saving" regular customers wanted to eat Mu Da's own fried gnocchi, otherwise it was considered a waste of the line.

Before the liberation, Mu Da Niang died of old age, but the Guangfu Hall was still opened in the same place. In order to preserve this special flavor, the people's government moved the museum to Coal City Street and renamed it the Fried Knotty Canteen, and the Guangfu Hall, a generation of grand events, was also continued.