Chinanews.com, Hohhot, June 17th, title: Inner Mongolian "post-80s" guys open a special steamed bun shop: variety of shapes greedy little diners
Author Wang Mingyuan
"Mickey's shape, zodiac cartoon shape, little yellow man shape...we can basically make the cartoon shape that children like." Said Bi Chenggong, a young man born in Inner Mongolia after the 80s.
Bi Chenggong is the owner of a "net celebrity" steamed bun shop in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia. Because all the steamed buns made are in cute cartoon shapes, they are liked by children. He also claims to be the "mantou man" in the eyes of children.
"Do you order the Fu Niu steamed buns? Pick up next Friday?" When the reporter visited, Bi Chenggong was expertly remarking the order requirements for customers. After receiving the order, he handed it to the kitchen to make according to the customer's requirements.
The small shop is not big, but the products on the counter are full of fun, and many customers make a special trip to "check in".
"We came from Ulan Chabu, and we saw someone recommend it in our circle of friends, so we wanted to order one on the child's birthday." A parent who made a special trip to customize cartoon steamed buns told reporters.
The picture shows the cartoon-style steamed buns made by Bi Chenggong.
Photo courtesy of the interviewee
While busy, Bi Chenggong said that due to the complicated production process of cartoon steamed buns, the production takes a long time, and customers need to make reservations about a week in advance.
"Now I can sell about 20 pieces a day, most of the time it is in short supply." Bi Chenggong said.
Bi Chenggong opened the "net celebrity" steamed bun shop, it is really accidental.
He has a large number of different professions. He originally studied architecture and went to major cities to work in architecture after graduation.
The long-term high-pressure work in the construction industry gave him the idea of self-employment.
In Bi Chenggong’s hometown of Hohhot, there is a custom that children have to hold an "unlocking" (also known as round lock) coming-of-age ceremony on their 12th birthday, and they need to wear a ring-shaped steamed bun face lock during the coming-of-age ceremony.
After some investigations, he found that there are few local craftsmen who make steamed buns and noodle locks, and the traditional steamed buns and noodle locks have a single style.
Seeing the gap in the specialty steamed bread market, Bi Chenggong promptly returned to his hometown to open his own specialty steamed bread shop.
"I went to Shandong, Shanxi and other places to inspect, and learned from flour selection to style making for a year." Bi Chenggong told reporters.
After continuous practice, Bi Chenggong's special steamed buns are not only cute in shape, but also soft in taste.
“The colors on cartoon-shaped buns come from natural ingredients such as purple sweet potato, purple cabbage, pumpkin, spinach, carrots, etc., which are not only harmless to the body, but also greatly enhance nutrient intake.” Bi Chenggong said, because the characteristic buns are mainly sold to children, so Be extra cautious in the choice of ingredients.
As the business gets better and better, Bi Chenggong's specialty steamed buns shop employs more labor.
"The technical difficulty of making steamed buns is relatively low, so I leave the job opportunities to poor laid-off women nearby so that they can also have a stable income." Bi Chenggong told reporters.
Talking about the future, Bi Chenggong replied: "It is a very cool thing to be admired and liked by children. I hope that my specialty steamed bun shop can accompany more children to grow up." (End)