"Boss, I want a bowl of red noodle soup..." During the golden autumn season, the creeping tigers crawling on the Changmen site in Gusu District, Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province have turned from green to red.
Early in the morning, groups of diners flocked to Yumian Tang at No. 77, Nanxin Road, near Changmen.
Yao Wenqing, who was born in 1995, was sent to us and is familiar with the "jargon" of the old Suzhou guests.
The so-called "wide soup" in Suzhou dialect means more noodle soup.
On the other hand, "Yi Chuan Tou" refers to the noodles being scalded for a short period of time when they are boiled, and even taken out when they are fresh.
At this point, the noodles are quite hard.
Yao Wenqing said that many old Suzhou people like "a bunch of heads" very much.
The ancient city of Suzhou is different to Yao Wenqing.
He was born in Sri Lanka and grew up in Sri Lanka.
Since childhood, Yao Wenqing's family lived near Changmen.
Early in the morning, he always eats a bowl of steaming noodles with his parents.
Yao Wenqing's father, Yao Mingjie, is 52 years old and has been in the Chinese food business for half his life.
He is keen on studying Soviet-style eating habits.
In 2016, Yao Wenqing's great-grandmother was 90 years old.
On her deathbed, she handed the father and son several shabby photos and scraps of paper.
After reading, they discovered that this is a history of their ancestors.
In the second year of Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty, Yu Gentu, a native of Wu County, founded a noodle restaurant in Nanhao outside Changmen, Suzhou. Because of its honest operation and no deceit, it was deeply loved by the people of Suzhou. Over time, the soup noodles it made were called by the people of Suzhou. "Yu face".
This bowl of "Yu Noodles" has been here for 5 generations by Yao Wenqing.
"In the past, Grandma Tai never told us about this." Yao Wenqing recalled that Grandma Grandma was old and her memory was not as good as before.
But before she died, she repeatedly explained that she hoped the noodle shop would reopen.
In the following two years, Yao Wenqing and his father scoured historical materials to find clues that their ancestors ran a noodle shop.
They also contacted local cultural and historical units and tried their best to piece together the history of the time-honored brand from the local chronicles.
In ancient times, the Changmen area was very prosperous.
In "A Dream of Red Mansions", Cao Xueqin praised it as "the most wealthy and romantic place in the world".
After looking through the historical materials, Yao Wenqing found that the Yugen Soil's Yumeng noodles are "smooth and strong in the mouth, and the soup tastes like nectar, supplemented by toppings of cloves, which is one of the best." , the guest alone is delighted."
Due to the reputation of Yumian, the then cabinet secretary, You Xianjia, returned to his hometown and came here because of his fame.
According to the traditional production techniques recorded by the grandmother, Yao Wenqing tried to make a bowl of "Yu noodles", but the taste of the noodles was not satisfactory.
But the father and son did not give up.
In 2017, they registered the trademark of "Yu Nian Tang" and traveled to the noodle restaurants in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai to learn and improve the old recipes passed down from their ancestors.
Yao Wenqing, who graduated from Soochow University with a major in human resource management, had never been in contact with him before.
"Everything starts from scratch and starts from scratch." In Yao Wenqing's view, old Suzhou people pay attention to "not eating from time to time", and pay great attention to seasonal, seasonal and fresh when choosing ingredients.
For example, three shrimp noodles means that the toppings of a bowl of noodles include shrimp brain, shrimp roe and shrimp tail respectively.
How to make springy shrimp tails is the key to ensuring a bowl of three shrimp noodles is "splendid".
Yao Wenqing boiled the best Taihu shrimp several times, but the tail of the shrimp was not soft and tender.
Yao Wenqing learned an important process from the master who is proficient in Su-style noodles - mashed shrimp.
After repeated "experiments", Yao Wenqing finally determined that the practice of repeatedly grasping the shrimp, eggs and cornstarch, and refrigerating for 4 to 5 hours in the refrigerator can best ensure the "Q bomb" of the shrimp.
After more than two years of preparation, Yumentang officially opened.
Yao Wenqing hopes that the noodle restaurant can reproduce the elegance of "pink walls and black tiles, small bridges and flowing water" unique to the Soviet-style life.
When diners taste the three shrimp noodles, Yao Wenqing will also prepare exquisite Suzhou-style pastries, small tender ginger, etc. for them.
"I have tasted the little tender ginger, and then I took a bite of the three shrimp noodles, and my mouth was full of fresh fragrance and rich taste." After trying again and again, Yao Wenqing was very confident.
Most of the "old gluttons" in Suzhou like to catch a bowl of "head noodle soup". At this time, the bone soup is rich and the noodle soup is clear, which is exactly the answer to the sentence "Suzhou's morning starts with a bowl of noodles".
This means that the chefs of Yumentang will be waiting by the boiler for soup at 3 am to ensure that diners can eat "head soup noodles" at 7 am.
Every morning, as long as there is no extra work, Yao Wenqing will always come to the store early in the morning.
He attaches great importance to the opinions of customers.
Once, an "old Suzhou" told him that in different seasons, the proportion of lard in the noodle soup is different.
In winter, the weather is very cold, and the proportion of lard in the noodle soup should be increased, so that the diners can eat warm and the soup is dark brown.
Less lard is needed in summer, and in sweltering weather, diners are looking for a light bowl of noodles.
The soup is now amber in color.
Yao Wenqing recorded the opinions of the diners in detail.
As a young man in the ancient city, Yao Wenqing found that for more than ten years, the ancient city of Suzhou has maintained the Soviet-style architectural features of pink walls and black tiles.
Today, more and more young people inject new vitality into the ancient city.
He also began to promote ancient city culture and Suzhou-style pasta on platforms such as Douyin and Xiaohongshu.
The total number of short videos is over 300 million views and over 10 million likes.
"We will add many antique Soviet-style elements in the store, such as Suzhou fan, double-sided embroidery and other intangible cultural heritage handicrafts. In addition, there will be regular Suzhou Pingtan performances, which complement the modern urban style." Yao Wenqing said.
In addition, he also joined the Suzhou Gusu District Youth Chamber of Commerce, and "interacted frequently" with the delegation of the Gusu District Committee.
He hopes that more young people can become the "main force" of consumption and let Su-style pasta be passed on.
Today, his noodle shop sells more than 700 catties of noodles a day, totaling more than 2,000 bowls.
"Old Suzhou people in their 40s and 50s are the 'main force'" among the customers. The good news is that young people in Suzhou and even foreigners are increasingly appearing in noodle restaurants.
When the noodles came out of the pot, Yao Wenqing used a Guanyin bucket to put the noodles into the bowl.
With a quick dance of the wrist, the noodles form a smooth "carp back".
In the hot steam, Yao Wenqing heard the melodious Suzhou Pingtan in the store.
The fusion of music and delicious food, he said, is the romance that belongs to the ancient city of Suzhou.
Land Youqiang China Youth Daily and China Youth Daily reporter Li Chao Source: China Youth Daily
"China Youth Daily" October 13, 2022 Edition 04