Riding the wind of rebirth

Chapter 526 Rong Paradise

Old Chai asked: "Just now you asked if this was the former Hongqi Restaurant. What does the Zhengxing Garden you mentioned have anything to do with the current Rongyuan and Hongqi Restaurant?"

Zhou Zhi and Lao Chai walked one by one, and said, "Because it absorbed the advantages of the northern and southern dishes and gathered the elders of the local families in the capital of Shu, Zhengxing Garden became a benchmark for high-end banquets, and it flourished until the [-] Revolution."

"When the Republic of China came, Zhengxingyuan closed down. The chef of Zhengxingyuan, Lan Guangrong, brought his uncle, Qi Lezhai, who was also the chef of Zhengxingyuan, and two brothers, to create a two-person restaurant together. The collectively named 'Rong Paradise'."

"The management method and dishes of Rongyuan Garden are inherited from the tradition of Zhengxingyuan, and the chefs in charge are famous chefs with prestige in Chengdu. The location of the store has been selected several times, and finally it is located on Liangui South Road, CD City."

"The characteristic of Rongyuan Garden is that it comes with dishes and delivers them to the door. At the same time, it can also undertake high and low banquets, so as to form its own style."

"Among the Lan brothers, Lan Guangrong is good at management, and it is his elder brother Lan Guangjian who has really made a greater contribution to Sichuan cuisine."

"Blu-ray Jian Rong Nanhui North has created more than 300 dishes and more than 30 banquet formats in his lifetime, solidified the serving procedures of modern Sichuan cuisine banquets, and opened Rongyuan as the first Sichuan cuisine in the modern sense, with private rooms and halls Dining room."

"So at that time, Rongyuan was highly respected by dignitaries and citizens. Deng Xihou, a famous anti-Japanese general and leader of the Sichuan Army, especially liked the dishes of Rongyuan. .”

"In addition to warlords and bureaucrats, there are two types of people who like Rongyuan's dishes very much-one is a large number of literati living in Shudu. Many stories about Rongyuan and Sichuan cuisine have been left in their writings, many of which are It is relatively influential in China, and it has provided a lot of intangible support for the promotion of Sichuan cuisine."

"There is another category of diplomats at home and abroad. At that time, the American consulate was in Shudu. American diplomats liked Rongyuan's Chinese food very much. The Lan brothers also met many foreign friends because of this."

"There are also diplomats stationed abroad. Before they leave, they often come to Rongyuan to choose a chef."

"These two situations also paved the way for Sichuan cuisine to go overseas."

"The most important contribution of Lan Guangjian is that he has trained many apprentices. To this day, Rongpai Sichuan cuisine, that is, the school of Lan Guangjian, is the majority of Sichuan cuisine, and most of the later Sichuan cuisine masters are his apprentices. Disciple."

"Rongyuan is good at making high-end banquets and home-style dishes. The famous dishes are those we just saw on the menu."

"Many people think that Sichuan cuisine is spicy, but it's not true. The most challenging Sichuan cuisine is the broth."

"Rongyuan also has a wide variety of soups, which are very particular and unique, so I just ordered these three dishes, steamed pigeon egg jelly, snowflake chicken, chicken and beef soup. The soup is divided into small, medium, and There are three more, try them all."

"There is an old saying in Shu, the opera singer's accent and the cook's soup come from here!"

Zhou Zhi smiled and said: "In addition to the red case, there is also the white case. Rongyuan also opened the famous noodle shop 'Jixue' in Chengdu. The noodle ordered this time is the signature of Jixue back then."

"Jixue means Xiaoxuelu, also called Mi Xue. Lan Guangrong obviously borrowed this meaning."

"Oh? That's interesting." Lao Chai laughed and said, "He's a man of culture!"

"Being able to make friends with the rich and powerful and communicate with calligraphy, I guess you still have a certain degree of cultural accomplishment." Zhou Zhi said with a smile: "At that time, people who could eat without worry and specialize in researching dishes were probably even rarer than scholars."

Everyone was smiling, it sounded unbelievable, but after thinking about it, it turned out to be the truth.

"It can be imagined that Rongyuan, which almost monopolized the food delivery business and high-end banquet hosting, was a prosperous scene. It is said that there were as many as 120 cooks. As for the errand delivery, there were even more. After school, every child has to participate in it.”

"In addition to the powerful local warlords, literati who came to take refuge in Sichuan during the Anti-Japanese War, there are also Han Ke, the US tank commander, Chennault, the captain of the Flying Tigers, Schultz, the US Secretary of State, and diplomats from the British, American and French consulates in Chengdu. Those who patronize are Glory Paradise."

"In addition to being unique in China, Rongyuan Garden is also gradually becoming famous overseas."

"How did such a large market and business decline later? This Rongyuan Paradise was only re-established two years ago. Before the capital of Shu... Old Fei, it seems that it didn't have this name, did it?"

"Yes, I haven't heard of it anyway."

Zhou Zhi explained: "It's normal if I haven't heard of it, because before the Kuomintang government collapsed, it used to issue gold dollar coupons indiscriminately. In the face of severe inflation, the money spent at the beginning of the month will not be worth a few cents even if it is recovered at the end of the month."

"Because the company was too large, the final expenses could not support the income, and finally it went bankrupt before the end of the year."

"It's a pity." Several uncles sighed.

"However, Rongyuan's bankruptcy this time brought the first opportunity for the development of Sichuan cuisine." Zhou Zhi said.

"Why is that?" asked the old man.

Lao Li was born in the Industrial and Commercial Bureau, so he understood these things very well, and he understood it immediately: "Is it natural? The owner's business closed down, and the famous chefs in Rongyuan must also find a way out, so they can only be scattered in various restaurants in Chengdu. To make a living. We brought down a family of Rongyuan, and revitalized the catering industry in the entire Shudu!"

"That's true, Uncle Wang is very knowledgeable." Zhou Zhi raised his glass, "Toast to you."

"So modern Sichuan cuisine actually developed in this way?" Lao Chai asked
"Not all, but there is no doubt that Zhengxing Garden and Rongyuan Garden are two monuments that cannot be bypassed in the history of modern Sichuan cuisine."

"So it's the originator of Sichuan cuisine, but I underestimated this place before." Lao Li said.

"The taste of the dishes is really good," Lao Wang also said, "But I never thought that such a small restaurant could carry so much."

"How did this place become Hongqi restaurant again?"

"After the founding of New China, most of Rongyuan's chefs joined the state-owned CD City Catering Service Company and got a public job."

"And Lan Guangjian opened the Qunli Canteen to take in those Rongpai disciples who didn't want to leave."

"Many of these apprentices later went to the capital and served many national leaders."

"Lan Guangjian was hired into the Department of Nutrition and Health Care of West China Medical University, and then he trained more than 200 famous chefs for the country."

"Therefore, it is not an exaggeration to say that Rongyuan is the cradle of new Sichuan cuisine."

(End of this chapter)