The Northern Stories of Chef Lao Tan

Chapter 142 The opening of the Hohhot store

July [-], [-], the fifth day of the sixth lunar month.

Party building day, Hong Kong handover day.

Hushi Aqiao Dumpling Restaurant officially opened.

It's still the old way of doing things. On the opening day, there are no treats, and there is no big fanfare to create an atmosphere. It is to place a few flower baskets in front of the store to tell people that it is open.

But it still exploded.

Customers are flooding the doors, and the seats are full.

All the customers who entered the store said that the dumplings are delicious, the food is delicious, the food is served quickly, and the service is considerate.Especially white wine and health wine, the guests drank it smoothly and praised it.

At the beginning, no one drank the health-preserving wine. Later, three ladies came to the lobby. On Mulan’s recommendation, each of them ordered a pot of rose wine. Praise the wine for its deliciousness, and the pot went down quickly.

Then came the second pot, and then the third pot.

When twelve pots were placed on the table, the guests next to them began to order——
The wine was good, the food was good, but flawed, something went wrong on the most professional of dumplings.

A table of guests ordered five dumplings, one of which was stuffed with mutton and green onions.After the guests ate it, they were full of praise for the other four dumplings, except for the mutton and scallion stuffing.

This situation was immediately reported to the kitchen. Yaru tasted it and felt that there was nothing wrong with it, so she went to Lao Tan.Lao Tan tasted it and felt that there was nothing wrong with it, it was delicious.

But why did the guests say something bad?

Lao Tan came to the front desk with doubts, paying attention to the guests who ordered dumplings stuffed with mutton and green onions.

Let's put it this way, eight of the ten tables who ordered mutton dumplings said it was not good.There was half a plate of dumplings left, but none of the other stuffed dumplings were left.

Lao Tan was a little puzzled, and wanted to ask what happened, so he came to a table of guests who ordered dumplings stuffed with mutton.

There are five guests at this table, three men and two women.

Old Tan picked up two jugs of wine and said with a smile, "Sorry to bother you, let me introduce myself first. I am the manager of our family. The shop opens today. Thank you for your support. I would like to offer a toast to everyone."

Old Tan spoke politely, with a pleasant smile, and his bald head was a bit naive, giving people a real feeling, and the guests first had a bit of a good impression.

One of the men with a northeast accent stood up and said, "You're welcome, thank you! Thank you!"

Lao Tan picked up the jug and poured wine for five people, and said while pouring, "This is my family's shop wine. It's made in my own winery. It's pure grain and lightly roasted. Everyone, try it."

Hearing what he said, the five people couldn't help holding up their wine glasses to their noses to smell it. The man who spoke just now said: "Well, it's a small fever, and the degree is not low."

Old Tan held the wine glass and said: "45 degrees, pure grain, you can't drink it. Come, I will do it first."

Seeing that Lao Tan did it, five people did it one after another.

Lao Tan quickly poured the wine again.

"Good things come in pairs, and drinking is in pairs. Thanks to five good friends, this second cup wishes everyone good health, smooth work, and good luck in everything!"

Wine is a good medium at any time.

After two glasses of wine, it seemed that an invisible barrier had been removed, and they became friendly and familiar.The guest wanted Lao Tan to sit down and have a drink or two, which was also the purpose of Lao Tan, so he sat down and asked Mulan to add two more dishes by the way.

After drinking two cups politely and enthusiastically, they chattered over the dumplings.

A woman with a local accent said: "Your dumplings are delicious, but the mutton stuffing is not used to eating, it tastes really good, but——"

"We locals like to eat big pieces of mutton. Even when making dumplings, we cut the meat into cubes instead of mincing it. Your mutton stuffing is too thin, and it tastes bad to us—it's not that it's tasteless, it's just No rush, no taste." Another woman said.

Oh, that's what happened.

Old Tan felt remorseful and blamed himself.

Before opening, he ate almost all the dumplings in Hushi, but he didn't pay much attention because he didn't like mutton stuffing.I have eaten it once, and they really cut the mutton into cubes.He felt that the stuffing was very loose and tasted mediocre, and he laughed at the dumpling master in his heart, thinking that the diced mutton was so good that the stuffing was mixed, how could anyone from the Northeast make it so well, chop the meat finely, Eat delicious, bite into a small meat ball, fragrant and oily, that's called dumplings.

I didn't expect to be beaten back to its original shape by a sap. Customers don't like dumplings made with minced meat at all, but diced ones.

He made empiricist mistakes, and there were loopholes in not catering to the eating habits of the local people.To put it bluntly, he is self-righteous and a little overbearing.

The woman who spoke last said, "Manager Tan, your family can cut this meat into cubes. The taste will not change. It is very good, better than others."

Old Tan gratefully said thank you.

So I waived the order for this table of guests, immediately notified that the sale of mutton stuffed dumplings was stopped, and then went to the kitchen to start readjusting.

It's easier to know where the problem is.

In the afternoon, Lao Tan personally went to the market to choose the right lamb meat, took it back and cut it into cubes, and tried it several times. After satisfying the taste, the lamb stuffed dumplings were re-sold at night, and the customers were very happy.

Although it was an episode, it also sounded a wake-up call for Lao Tan.

Empiricism and self-righteousness are not advisable.

Generally speaking, the opening was still very successful. It sold 5000 yuan that day. Although it is not very high, it is much better than before.

The turnover was between fifteen thousand and seventeen thousand for three days.

On Friday of the fourth day, it started to explode, and it was sold for [-] at once, followed by more than [-] on Saturday and Sunday.

Such a turnover is not bad for a store of [-] square meters, and it is enviable and enviable.

Next to the dumpling restaurant is a smoking hotel, and next to the smoking hotel is a copper pot shabu-shabu.The store is small, [-] square meters, and the business is very good. The owner is a middle-aged couple, who lead their daughter and son-in-law to work together, and no one else is hired.

Lao Tan, Yan Zi, and Zhang Yu are sitting here cooking mutton.

"I love hot pot, but I don't like boiled mutton. Most of the mutton rolls in the provincial capital are adulterated, and the non-adulterated ones are not delicious. They are very smelly. After calling Hohhot and eating this sun roll, I became addicted .” Old Tan said.

Zhang Yu said: "The mutton in Hohhot is good, tender, not smelly, and the more you eat it, the more delicious it is. Most of the hot pots in Hohhot are boiled in copper pots. There are no mandarin duck pots and spicy pots. They are all boiled in clear water and have the original taste." .”

"This good mutton boiled in a spicy pot is blinding, and the original taste cannot be tasted." Old Tan said.

"At the beginning, I didn't want to eat mutton. I thought it was smelly. I didn't believe it when he said that the mutton in this place was not smelly at all. Once I ate it, it was tender and not greasy, especially when dipped in it. Wild leek flowers are very fragrant. I am addicted to it now, and I will miss it for three days." Yanzi said.

"The mutton here is good." Old Tan said sincerely.

"Most of the mutton we eat comes from Jining, which is Ulanchabu. The place is famous for haggis. I will take you two to taste it when I have time." Zhang Yu said.

"Okay." Old Tan responded.

"The best mutton in Inner Mongolia is Sunit mutton, from Dongsu, where the pastures are good, there are many sand onions, and there is plenty of water. I haven't heard people say that Sunit mutton is grassland abalone, and the sheep there eat Chinese herbal medicine. What I drink is mineral water, and what I pull out are Liuwei Dihuang pills."

Zhang Yu's words made Lao Tan and Yanzi laugh, but to be honest, his description was very appropriate.

Inner Mongolia mutton is really good, not smelly.People in Inner Mongolia love to eat mutton, just like the Han people love to eat pork, and there is a great demand for it.The mutton in some pastoral areas can hardly get out of Inner Mongolia and is digested by local people, so it is sometimes difficult for outsiders to eat real Inner Mongolian mutton.

Some mutton sellers say they are grassland sheep in Inner Mongolia, but they are actually fattening sheep brought from Shanxi and Henan areas. After a period of time on the pasture, they become grassland sheep.

The three chatted while eating.

The dumpling restaurant opened successfully, and the three of them were in a happy mood, eating happily, with smiles on their faces.

Zhang Yu drank a glass with Lao Tan, and then filled it up.

"There is your provincial and city chamber of commerce in Hohhot. It was established by people from your province, and it is doing very well. In Hohhot, besides the Wenzhou chamber of commerce, it is your provincial and city chamber of commerce." Zhang Yu said.

"Hehe, we still have our natal family." Lao Tan laughed.

"The chairman's surname is Sun, and his name is Sun Yucong. He is from Fuxin. He dumped coal before, and his assets are [-] million yuan. After the coal failed, he came to Hohhot with money and bought a few shops in the ancient street to open an antique city. He did it. Early, earning a lot of money. In the first two years, we gathered people from your province who were doing business in Hohhot to set up the Provincial City Chamber of Commerce." Zhang Yu said.

"Have courage!" Old Tan said.

"I know him, but I'm not familiar with him. We just say hello when we meet. There are quite a few catering companies in Hohhot in your province, all of whom are members of the chamber of commerce, like Sanqianpu. The boss, Li, is always the vice president of the chamber of commerce."

"Sanqianpu now has five stores?" Old Tan asked.

"Well, there are five in Hohhot, and there are also branches in other places, all of which are in Inner Mongolia. Besides Xibei, Inner Mongolia is his home, and its strength is strong."

"Our family will be like his family in the future." Yanzi said confidently.

Lao Tan smiled and said realistically: "It is possible for our family to reach his family's level, but it is not possible to achieve it in a short while. Sanqianpu has developed in Hohhot for 18 years and has a deep foundation. We have just started , Small fights are nothing in the eyes of others.

We are developing, others are also developing.You can't compare with others in this respect, it's a matter of doing yourself well.If you have a chance, you can get to know each other. They are all fellow villagers, and they report to the group to keep warm. "

"President Sun and Minister Zhao of the Armed Forces Department are friends, and I have the opportunity to ask him to introduce him." Zhang Yu said.

When Zhang Yu mentioned Minister Zhao, the old man who could drink alcohol appeared in front of Lao Tan. He couldn't help laughing, and said: "Our store has been open for a week, so we should invite him. I also notified the great virtue of Guanyin Temple. He said that in a few days . If not, let’s just let it go.”

Zhang Yu said: "Okay, tomorrow I will contact Minister Zhao and call the director of the Dongcheng District Public Security Bureau. He and my fellow villagers were transferred from Baotou."

"Okay, that's it. You can contact me." Old Tan said.

Yanzi said: "Let me contact Toya from the Food and Drug Administration, we are getting along very well now, sister."

"I don't think anyone who gets along badly with you is all sisters." Old Tan joked.

"It's okay, so-so."

Swallow is full of humility, but his expression is not humble at all, and he is very arrogant.

(End of this chapter)