Defa's "ancient and modern" and "old-fashioned" ways to change

Speaking of Shaanxi's "time-honored brands", we always think of many well-known old brands in Shaanxi, such as "Xi'an Restaurant, Tongshengxiang, Defa Chang Dumpling Restaurant, Xifeng Wine" and so on. In the past 40 years of reform and opening up, these old brands that once carried people's memories are still "standing proudly" after experiencing the vicissitudes of the years? Today's (December 18th) "Those People, Those Things", we will take you into the Xi'an Defa Long Dumpling Restaurant, a time-honored Chinese brand founded in 1936, and listen to the stories behind them.

Ma Shunli, the fifth generation inheritor of the first batch of intangible cultural heritage of Shaanxi Province, Defa Long Handmade Dumpling Making Technique. Don't look at Master Ma now skilled, when she first entered Defa at the age of 16 to learn the craft, she was still a little girl who couldn't even do housework. At first, her work was often accompanied by tears.

Ma Shunli, the fifth generation inheritor of the provincial non-heritage handmade dumpling making skills: "We have at least 17 to 19 pleats of a dumpling, which is stipulated by the industry rules, and then the thickness of the dumpling side squeezed by hand is consistent with the thickness of the arch of the dumpling, the side is thick, the stomach is thin, the stomach is broken and not yet ripe, our basic skill crescent steamed dumplings, I wrapped it badly, so I was criticized by the master, the package can't be, you don't have a foundation, so you feel very sad, go home and cry, nail jewelry can't be worn, So far, my wedding ring has not been used until now, only one can be worn on the wedding day. ”

Everything was difficult at the beginning, and Master Ma gradually became competent for the job with a momentum of more and more frustration and courage. Since entering Defa in 1985, she has witnessed the fiery scene of this dumpling restaurant. At that time, many consumers would choose to eat dumplings with long hair from Dunde even if they were only willing to go to the next restaurant in a month.

Ma Shunli: "From Monday to Saturday, we have a long queue for fast food on the first floor, lined up on the road, riding bicycles, with children in front, and wife in the back, to eat dumplings, if I remember correctly, wrapped dumplings, up to 10 bags of noodles a day, a bag of noodles is 50 pounds, 9,000 dumplings, 10 bags of noodles is 90,000 dumplings." ”

The business is getting better and better, and slowly the traditional list of dumplings can no longer meet the needs of consumers; therefore, Defachang is facing the first transformation and begins to develop "dumpling banquets". From the first 9 kinds of dumplings, to the 318 kinds of dumplings that have set a Guinness record in China's great world, the "dumpling banquet" has been continuously renovated and the content has become more and more abundant.

Ma Shunli: "One dumpling and one shape, one dumpling and one hundred flavors, cooking methods, fillings, tastes, shapes, patterns, colors are different, such as our walnut filling, which is sweet, and sesame duck, with roast duck meat to make the filling, you say your lotus puff filling is so delicious, we use mountain spring water, make the filling, such as the thirteen holes of the lotus vegetable dumplings, its holes at that time we have to use calipers to card, how many centimeters is how many centimeters. ”

On the road of innovation and change, Master Ma has also grown. After several years of groping in the industry, he finally grew into the fifth generation of defa' heirs. Ma Shunli also clearly remembers that around 2000, people's living standards have reached a new level, every household is not short of dumplings to eat, and the requirements for taste have become more picky. At that time, de hair was long, but at one time, he was a door-to-door finch.

Ma Shunli: "At that time, the traditional dumpling banquet was already boring, as if there was nothing new to attract, we integrated our Shaanxi cuisine, Haipai cuisine and Shaanxi cuisine were integrated into the dumplings, both vegetables, dumplings, and local snacks, which changed this generation again." ”

In fact, it is not only the varieties of dumplings that are constantly evolving; Master Ma said that because Defa Chang is close to the bell tower in Xi'an's bustling area, she has been a witness to the changes in Xi'an for more than 30 years.

Ma Shunli: "At that time, the surrounding houses were basically two floors, not so new and so neat, relatively tattered, that is still a bus pulling the line, when you leave work, the bus on the road in addition to the pull line is a bicycle, and now the night view is particularly beautiful at night, neon lights, cars, big changes." ”

Ma Shunli: "The proportion of meat in our dumpling dishes at that time was basically 6 points of meat, 4 points of dish, and now our proportion is just reversed, because at that time people pursued food and clothing, now people eat health, the original once a month to eat, the maximum conditions are good to eat twice, now the restaurant I feel is the norm, now people say you come to my house to eat, I cook for you, this is a very luxurious idea, in the eighties people to feed and clothing, in the nineties people think that eating a brand, to the present people's dietary requirements, to the present people's dietary requirements, One fashion, one health, one health. ”

In 2010, Defa Chang was rated as "China's Time-honored Brand" by the Ministry of Commerce. At present, Defa Chang has seven stores in Xi'an. Although it has faced the pain of transformation, as a culinary business card of Xi'an, Defachang has received 1.2 million foreign tourists in the past five years, and the pace of innovation has not stopped.

Ma Shunli: "Now there are two directly operated stores, we also have several stores that enter the commercial complex, which is convenient for white-collar workers, one-stop service, even shopping with a piece of food to go, we have opened two takeaway deliveries on the platform, we have visited many countries, and we are also going out to promote our Chinese diet." ”

According to statistics, there are currently 27 Chinese time-honored brands certified by the Ministry of Commerce in Shaanxi. According to the provincial department of commerce's survey of the development of long-established enterprises in the province in recent years, as of the end of 2017, most of the time-honored enterprises, including Shaanxi Xifeng Group and Tongshengxiang Restaurant, have closely followed the theme of the development of the times, and on the basis of inheriting unique skills, they have continuously pioneered and innovated through cooperation with e-commerce and sales through multiple channels. In the next step, Shaanxi will carry out the work of local time-honored brand identification, prepare for the establishment of the Shaanxi Provincial Time-honored Brand Association, and promote the comprehensive development of the protection of time-honored brands in the province.