Riding the wind of rebirth

Chapter 525 Zhengxing Garden

Zhou Zhi said with a smile: "Because of professionalism, its superiority is of course not possessed by ordinary family banquets."

"First, the dining environment is more varied. The host can flexibly choose different banquet venues according to the object of the banquet, the type of banquet, the time and season of the banquet, the scale of the banquet and their preferences, so that the banquet and the environment are more coordinated. It’s the same as the normal family banquet environment.”

"Secondly, for both the host and the guest, the atmosphere of the banquet hall is relatively relaxed. The guests are in such a public place, without the rigidity of being in the host's residence; the host hosts the banquet in a special banquet hall, and the tea is prepared and served by special personnel. , and the general services are also relatively complete, which also saves a lot of household chores.”

"Of course, the use of the banquet hall is paid. According to the prevailing standard at that time, each table should be paid [-] cents to [-] yuan for each table. It is in line with the unspoken rules of the world."

"However, the people are suffering and lacking. Driven by the flourishing banquets in the capital of Shu, people hope to have better restaurants. If they can combine the environment of the banquet hall with the exquisite dishes of private kitchens, that would be the best. "

"So a group of banquet halls specializing in banquets finally came into being. Among them, the most famous one is called 'Zhengxing Garden'."

"Zhengxing Garden is located on Mianhua Street in the city. The original site was the old residence of Zhuo Bingtian, a celebrity in Huayang County. It is small in scale, but it is extraordinary in style, especially the shop sign with gold letters on a black background, which is exquisite in calligraphy and very eye-catching. Therefore, the environment is considered to be There is."

"When it was first established, there were very few types of banquets, but there were eight bowls of meat, nine bowls, and ginseng belly seats. Until the arrival of the famous chef Guan Zhengxing, it was renamed Zhengxing Garden and introduced the layout of the northern banquet. , and became famous in one fell swoop.”

At this time, the dishes have been served one after another, Fei Guan opened Wuliangye: "Come on, let's chat while eating, Tingting can also drink two glasses, right?"

Zhou Zhi turned his head and looked at Guan Tingting beside him: "Students in junior high school should only have one cup? Uncle Fei's two cups is an imaginary number..."

"Real numbers, it's a holiday now." Guan Tingting fought for power for herself: "There will be no class tomorrow!"

It made sense, so Guan Tingting put two glasses wide.

As for Jiang Shuyi and Guan Ma, there was no one to restrain them. Guan Ma was in high spirits today, and even started to attack Zhuang. The peach blossoms' faces and eyes flowed, and they were even more charming, which raised the atmosphere of the banquet to another level.

Jiang Shuyi honestly sat beside Zhou Zhi to taste wine, eat food, and listen to stories.

"Guan Zhengxing is a Manchu. He was brought to Chuanzhong by the officials who entered Shu. He had seen some big scenes when he was in the north. He was the only one in Shuzhong who could hold a full banquet for Manchu and Han. He was second to none."

"Because it is very popular in the officialdom, and the business has received special care from officials, and it is determined to forge ahead, so the business has been good since it opened."

"As the business became more and more prosperous and his strength became stronger, he continued to cultivate and absorb talents, introduced innovative dishes, and continuously enriched the grades and specifications of the reserved seats. , all serve as leaders in the capital of Shu."

"Gradually, Zhengxing Garden developed four major differences from the general banquet halls of the same era."

"The first is the configuration of equipment and facilities. As the saying goes, 'a good horse deserves a good saddle', the bowls and bowls used are far from comparable to other banquet halls."

"Guan Zhengxing is fond of collecting ancient utensils, especially the collection of dining utensils. The colorful porcelain plates and bowls, exquisite ivory and ebony silver-coated chopsticks are all displayed in the banquet hall, forming a unique scenery, which made Chengdu at that time famous. Less upper class diners are ecstatic."

"Secondly, the dishes and dishes are famous for their exquisite atmosphere, especially seafood dishes, from bird's nest, sea cucumber, to shark's fin and fish maw. Integrated cooking method and finished product style;”

"The restaurants that can cook this kind of dishes are mostly owned by people from the southern coastal areas. Such restaurants were called 'South Pavilion' at that time, and these dishes were collectively called 'South Pavilion Cuisine', which is similar to the status of Cantonese cuisine in the catering industry today. .”

"In addition to inheriting and carrying forward the characteristics of the Manchu and Han Dynasty banquet dishes, Zhengxing Garden also absorbed the essence of 'Nanguan Cuisine' and integrated them into one. At the same time, it vigorously developed local special dishes. The knife work is also very exquisite, such as the usual "Fu" character meat, "Wan" character meat, "Shou" character meat, chessboard meat, tiger skin meat, etc., no matter the knife method or the plate, it is very regular without losing its own style; "

"Soup dishes are a combination of Nanguan cuisine and the emphasis on 'broth' in the 'Baba Banquet' in central Sichuan. It integrates color, aroma, taste, and nourishment, and has always enjoyed a good reputation among diners."

"The third feature is that Zhengxing Garden monopolizes the highest standards of the top banquets in Rongcheng at that time, and has become the maker of banquet rules."

"Zhengxing Garden hosted the Manchu-Han Banquet for three times in the late Qing Dynasty, which was the unique qualification among the private banquet halls in Chengdu at that time."

"The serving procedure of the modern Sichuan cuisine banquet, cold appetizers first, then big dishes, then dim sum, and finally fruits, is derived from the inheritance of Zhengxing Garden, which has been used until now."

"The last one is that Guan Zhengxing attaches great importance to the recruitment and cultivation of talents."

"At the beginning of its opening, many famous chefs gathered together, such as Qi Lezhai and Gui Baoshu from the Manchu nationality, Zhou Zhicheng and You Bingquan from the Han nationality, all belonged to the culinary elites in Sichuan's catering industry at that time."

"Afterwards, we have successively cultivated famous chefs of Sichuan cuisine like the Lan Guangjian brothers. Their superb cooking skills and exquisite dishes are quite convincing to diners in Chengdu."

"At that time, it was by no means an exaggeration to evaluate the Zhengxing Garden at that time with 'the beauty of dishes and utensils'. In the "Chengdu General View" written by Fuqiao Village in the late Qing Dynasty, Zhengxing Garden was also given a high evaluation, saying that at that time Chengdu was the There is only one place in Zhengxing Garden for those who pay attention to the surface.'”

"It can be said that Zhengxing Garden directly raised the level of Sichuan cuisine banquets to a level comparable to that of Huaiyang official cuisine and Jingzhong court cuisine at that time, and directly brought about the rise of a new school of cuisine."

"Ancient porcelain bowls, ivory chopsticks..." Old Chai couldn't help being speechless: "It costs a lot of money to eat in such a venue, right?"

"Of course." Zhou Zhi said with a smile, "Due to Zhengxing Garden's 'good ostentation' and 'high style', the cost of booking a table is naturally quite high. Calculated per table, the usual charge is as follows: A table of ordinary field seats costs two taels of silver, a table of common sea cucumbers costs three taels of silver, a table of sea cucumbers totals five taels, an ordinary table of shark fins costs six to seven taels, a full table of shark fins costs 12 taels of silver, a table of jelly jelly 15 taels, and a full table of jelly jelly plus barbecue 18 taels. "

"Attention, these are only expenses, not including 'material money', which is the cost of ingredients."

"This kind of banquet consumption standard grade, except for some powerful officials, and some wealthy businessmen and tycoons, ordinary people dare not care about it.

While drinking and drinking, everyone listened to Zhou Zhi's explanation of the stories that happened here, and they couldn't help but feel that the dishes that were originally delicious were now enriched.

(End of this chapter)