Ningbo snacks, whether snacks, cakes or dishes, have a unique flavor. Runing-style pastry has become one of the twelve major factions of pastry food in China. It has the characteristics of strict selection of materials, refined processing, skillful modeling and rich nutrition, and has formed the distinctive characteristics of crisp-oriented, soft and crisp, sweet and salty, soft and fragrant. Ningbo-style snacks, but also pay special attention to the selection of materials. For example, lard dumplings are made of refined white glutinous rice flour with fine lard, white sugar and black sesame seeds embedded in it. Their color is like white jade, waxy but not sticky, oily but not greasy, soft and smooth, and their aroma is fragrant, making them a must in China.
If snacks such as dim sum and cakes are never tired of eating because of their unique flavor, then dishes are more appetizing because of their color and flavor. For example, Ningbo Loumaoji Xianggan, which has a history of nearly a hundred years, is different from Shaoxing spiced bean curd and Xianggan in Suzhou, Wuxi and Changzhou. Although its appearance is not good, its flavor is unique. Loumaoji Xianggan is made of high-quality Xianggan, which is baked by a special process. It is bright in color, fragrant, tough but not firm, soft and loose, salty and fresh, fresh and sweet. It is not only a delicacy for drinking and eating, but also a snack. Especially in summer, people like light food, and Lou Maoji Xianggan is a good drink and meal. Nowadays, the above-mentioned snacks can basically be eaten in Ningbo Chenghuangmiao Snack City. On weekends or holidays, a family of three, or friends get together, order a few plates of melon seeds, drag yellow croaker, two bowls of beef vermicelli, lard dumplings, and then put a few cages of fresh meat and crystal oil bags to taste slowly, which is a great enjoyment of life. ·
There are many special snacks in Ningbo, among which the Melaleuca Cake in Fenghua Xikou is very famous.
Xikou Melaleuca Cake is one of the three specialties in Fenghua, with a history of more than 100 years. Its founder Wang Maolong started making it in the fourth year of Guangxu in Qing Dynasty (1878). Nowadays, there are many thousand layer cake shops on the street of Xikou, among which "Wang Maolong Thousand Layer Cake Shop" is run by Wang Lingqi, the fourth generation descendant of Wang Maolong, with high quality and prosperous business.
The real name of "the best cake in the world" is "thousand-layer cake", which was originally a small cake produced locally. The main raw materials are flour, taro powder, sugar, refined salt, vegetable oil, sesame seeds, moss and so on. The method is to mix taro powder with flour, add seaweed, roll it into thin slices, and then fold it and bake it with charcoal fire. The entrance is crisp and sweet.
Speaking of this cake, I can't help but mention the innovative Wang Maolong. This farmer in Xikou is very clever. He groped for ways to improve the processing method of cakes, made a special oven with yellow mud, and added several sweet and salty flavors. The thousand-layer cakes he made had a unique taste and later became a famous specialty in Xikou.
But there is another reason to call it "the best cake in the world". Fenghua Xikou is Mr. Chiang Kai-shek's hometown. After Chiang took power, he missed his hometown specialty very much. He once sent someone to call the descendants of the Wangs to him, specially baked hometown cookies for him, and kept asking people to taste them. This kind of cookies became famous day by day, and finally it was called "the best cake in the world".
This kind of cake is made with little oil, especially without animal oil, which conforms to the nutritional concept of modern people. After the cake is made, it is not easy to go bad, and it can be guaranteed for two or three months at room temperature. The development of tourism has also promoted the prosperity of local flavor industries. As a result, there are more and more specialty cake shops in Xikou. Now, in addition to Wang Maolong's old shop, there are Wang Laotou's Melaleuca Cake Shop, Jiang Shengtai's old shop, Chen's shop, etc. They are lined up on Wuling Road in Xikou Town, and there are dozens of them, large and small. Each family has a special oven, which pays attention to baking and selling now. The Melaleuca Cake made by Jiang Shengtai's old shop is made of carefully selected materials, using nutrient-rich marine plant-moss, and improving the traditional technology. It is made by thirteen processes, and the cake can reach 27 layers, and won the "Best Taste Award" in the local flavor making competition.