China News Service, Wenzhou, March 18 (Zhou Jianlin Ruyi) Dengzhan cake is a traditional specialty snack in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, and is also a Wenzhou municipal intangible cultural heritage.

Right now, the most popular local dengzhan cake shop is the shop owned by Chen Zhengmo, a young man born in the 1990s.

He released a short video related to dengzhan cake on the new media platform, which attracted the attention and likes of many fans and also brought traffic to the store.

　　In fact, just over two months ago, Chen Zhengmo worked for a state-owned enterprise.

"My family's making of dengzhan cakes is passed down from our ancestors, and I am already the fourth generation. I like cooking food very much, and I also feel that I have the responsibility to pass on the 'old taste'." Chen Zhengmo said, "After my father inherited the family craftsmanship, He opened a store on Jiefang Street in 1997 and has been operating it ever since. Because he was getting older, after careful consideration, I decided to resign and focus on the inheritance of intangible cultural heritage snacks."

Chen Zhengmo receives customers.

Photo courtesy of Lin Ruyi

　　Soaking and beating rice, peeling radishes, and preparing fillings... After resigning, Chen Zhengmo would start his busy day with his parents at 7 o'clock every morning.

At the end of the day, they probably have to complete nearly 1,000 orders, and they can't close the store until around 19 o'clock.

"Compared to working in the office, making lantern cakes is definitely harder, but it is a tiring and happy job." Chen Zhengmo said.

　　Although he has only been an apprentice for more than two months, because he has been exposed to it since he was a child, when Chen Zhengmo talked about the secret of making lantern cakes, he immediately started talking.

He said that in order to make deneng cake delicious, every step must not be sloppy. The ingredients must be fresh, the rice noodles must be freshly soaked every day, and the oil must be a mixture of rapeseed oil and soybean oil in proportion. “Which step in the middle is not done well? The fried finished product will be in a reddish state and the taste will be greatly reduced."

　　Slow work produces fine work, and good materials produce high-quality products.

With the belief of "doing the best", Chen Zhengmo's Dengzhan Cake Shop relies on its crispy and thin cakes to make many citizens "come back to taste after eating it", and it has been rated as the best in Lucheng District. Honors such as Top Ten Famous Snack Brands and Lucheng District’s Excellent Tourism Products.

Although Chen Zhengmo is still on the road of learning and inheritance, he also has his own plans for the development of the store.

Chen Zhengmo’s father makes lantern cakes.

Photo courtesy of Lin Ruyi

　　"If you want to inherit the intangible cultural heritage delicacy of Dengzhan cake, you not only need to adhere to the spirit of craftsmanship and strictly control the quality, but also continue to study and advance with the understanding and love of local food culture." Chen Zhengmo said , he is planning to study the introduction of new flavors such as kimchi to attract diners to try.

　　In addition, he will continue to publish daily videos of himself learning and inheriting the dengzhan cake on new media platforms.

"I want more people to know about the famous snack of dengzhan cake, not only in Wenzhou City. I hope that people in Zhejiang and even the whole country can eat this taste and remember this taste." Chen Zhengmo said.

(over)