Chapter 528 Rong Paradise
Lao Chai asked: "Just now, you asked if this was the former Hongqi Restaurant. What does the Zhengxing Garden you mentioned have to do with the current Rong Paradise and Hongqi Restaurant? What?"
Zhou Zhi and Lao Chai walked away and said: "Because it absorbed the advantages of northern and southern cuisine and gathered the strengths of various families in the capital of Shu, Zhengxing Garden became the benchmark for high-end banquets and flourished until the Revolution of 1911. ”
< br>"When the Republic of China came, Zhengxingyuan closed down. Lan Guangrong, the chef of Zhengxingyuan, took his uncle Qi Lezhai, who was also the chef of Zhengxingyuan, and two brothers to create the restaurant. The two names are collectively called 'Rongyuan'."< br>
“Rongyuan’s business methods and dishes are inherited from the tradition of Zhengxingyuan, and the chefs are all famous and prestigious chefs in Chengdu. After several selections, the store location was finally decided on Liangui South Road, CD City.”
"The characteristic of Rongyuan Garden is that it can prepare dishes at the restaurant and deliver them to your door. It can also host high and low banquets, thus forming its own style."
"Among the Lan brothers, Lan Guangrong is good at management and is really good at Sichuan cuisine. It was his elder brother Lan Guangjian who made the greatest contribution.”
"Blue Light Jianrong Nan Hui Bei created more than 300 dishes and more than 30 banquet formats in his life. He solidified the serving procedures of modern Sichuan cuisine banquets and opened Rongyuan Garden as the first Sichuan cuisine restaurant in the modern sense. There is a lobby restaurant in the private room.”
“So Rongyuan Garden was at that time. Extremely respected by dignitaries and ordinary people, Deng Xihou, the famous anti-Japanese general and leader of the Sichuan Army, especially liked Rongyuan's dishes and asked his adjutant to bring them back to Rongyuan every day at seven o'clock in the evening. "
< br>"In addition to warlords and dignitaries, there are two types of non- People who often like Rongleyuan's dishes - one type is a large number of literati living in the capital of Shu. Many stories about Rongleyuan and Sichuan cuisine have been left in their writings. Many of them are relatively influential in China and have great influence on Sichuan cuisine. The promotion has provided a lot of invisible help.”
"The other category is diplomats at home and abroad. At that time, the American consulate was in the capital of Shu. The American diplomats liked the Chinese food in Rongyuan very much, and the Lan brothers also met many foreign friends."
" There are also diplomats stationed abroad who often come to Rongyuan to select chefs before departure."
"These two situations also paved the way for Sichuan cuisine to go overseas."
< br>"The most important contribution of Lan Guangjian is that he trained many apprentices. To this day, the Rongpai Sichuan cuisine, which is Lan Guangjian's school, is responsible for most of the Sichuan cuisine, and most of the later Sichuan cuisine masters are from him. "Rongyuan's famous dishes are those we just saw on the menu."
"Many people think that Sichuan cuisine means spicy food. In fact, it is not the case. The most test of Sichuan cuisine is the soup stock."
"Rongyuan also has a wide variety of soups, which are very particular and unique. , so I just ordered these three dishes, steamed pigeon eggs and agarwood, snowflake chicken soup, and chicken and beef soup. The soup is divided into three types: small, medium and long. Try them all."
"Shu. There is an old saying in The actor's accent and the chef's soup are all here!"
Zhou Zhi smiled: "In addition to the red case, there is also the white case. Rongyuan also opened the famous noodle shop 'Jixue' in Chengdu. The noodle I ordered this time was Jixue’s signature dish.”
“Jixue means Xiaoxue, also called Mi Xue. Lan Guangrong obviously borrowed this meaning.”
"Oh? This is a bit interesting." Lao Chai said with a smile: "He is a cultural person!"
"Being able to make friends with powerful people and communicate with each other, I guess you have a certain degree of cultural accomplishment." Zhou Zhi said with a smile: "That At this time, people who can eat without worrying about food and specialize in studying dishes are probably even rarer than those who are knowledgeable."
Everyone smiled. It sounds incredible, but it turns out to be true when you think about it.
“You can imagine how prosperous Rongyuan Garden was at that time, when it almost monopolized the food delivery business and high-end banquet hosting. It was said that there were as many as 120 cooks. As for running errands There are even more people delivering meals, and even the children of the Lan family have to participate in it after school. In addition to the powerful local warlords, the literati who took refuge in Sichuan during the Anti-Japanese War, including the US tank commander Han Ke, Flying Tigers captain Chennault, US Secretary of State Shultz, and diplomats from the British, American and French consulates in Chengdu, loved to visit ”
"In addition to being unique in China, Rongyuan Garden has also gradually become famous overseas."
"How did such a large market and business decline later? This Rongyuan Garden was only re-branded two years ago. Before that, Shu Du... Lao Fei, it doesn't seem to have a name, right?"
"Yes, I haven't heard of it anyway."
Zhou Zhi explained: "It's normal that I haven't heard of it. Because the Kuomintang government Before the collapse of the government, gold dollar coupons were issued indiscriminately. At that time, the distinguished guests of Rongyuan Garden consumed money first and paid later, commonly known as "hanging water cards". They settled on January 1st. As a result, when there was severe inflation, the money spent at the beginning of the month was lost. It was not worth a few cents even if it was collected at the end of the month. "
"And because the company was too big, the expenses could not support the revenue, and it finally went bankrupt before the end of the year. "
"What a pity." Several uncles sighed.
“However, the bankruptcy of Rongyuan Garden has brought the first booming opportunity for the development of Sichuan cuisine.” Zhou Zhi said.
"Why is this?" Lao Wang asked.
Lao Li is from the Industrial and Commercial Bureau, and he understands these things very well. He immediately understood: "Isn't it natural? If the owner goes bankrupt, the famous chefs of Rongyuan Garden must also find a way out. They can only He worked in various restaurants in Chengdu to make a living. He opened a Rongyuan restaurant and revived the catering industry in Shudu! "
"That's it. Uncle Wang is very knowledgeable." Zhou Zhi raised his cup: "Respect. A cup for you.”
"So this is how modern Sichuan cuisine actually developed?" Lao Chai asked
"Not entirely, but there is no doubt that Zhengxingyuan and Rongleyuan are two unavoidable places in the history of modern Sichuan cuisine. "It's a monument."
"It turns out to be the originator of Sichuan cuisine. I used to underestimate this place." Lao Li said.
“The food tastes really good,” Lao Wang also said, “But I didn’t expect that a small restaurant could carry so many things.”
“What happened here later? Is it a red flag restaurant again? ”
"After the founding of New China, most of the Rongyuan chefs entered the state-owned CD City Catering Service Company and got a public job."
"And Lan Guangjian opened Qunli Canteen to accommodate those who were unwilling to leave. "The Rong Sect disciples"
"Many of these disciples later became They all went to the capital and served many national leaders.”
“Lan Guangjian was hired into the Department of Nutrition and Health Care of West China University of Medicine, and he later trained more than two hundred famous chefs for the country.”
“Therefore, it is not an exaggeration to say that Rongyuan Garden is the cradle of new Sichuan cuisine.”
(End of this chapter)