Songhelou

Introduction

Introduction

Ching dynasty Qianlong twenty-second year (1757) by the Xu family in Suzhou Xuanmiao Guan founded, operating noodle with selling meals. It has a history of more than two hundred and fifty years.

Songhelou is currently the longest history of Suzhou area, reputation at home and abroad, the authentic Su Gang cuisine restaurant. It is the cradle of Su Gang Cuisine chefs and the first batch of old restaurant brands recognized by the Ministry of Commerce. The famous chefs of Songhelou have won many gold medals in domestic and international cooking competitions, and Songhelou has been honored with the titles of "Golden Tripod Award", "Chinese Famous Snacks" and "National Premium Cuisine" granted by the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Domestic Trade. The restaurant was also honored with "Golden Tripod Award", "Chinese Famous Snacks" and "National Special Grade Restaurant" by the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Internal Trade. Since Songhelou represents Suzhou cuisine in a sense, it is often seen in movies and literature.

The movies "Three Tastes of China" and "The Gourmet" are both based on Songhelou, and the famous novelist Jin Yong mentioned Songhelou many times in his "The Eight Parts of the Dragon". 2007, at the age of eighty-four, Jin Yong went back to Songhelou, and after tasting the food of the Suzhou gang, he was pleased to order the pen, and wrote an inscription, "A hundred years old, always new, like the pine, like the crane, and add longevity! "The inscription. SongHeLou from the weather of the Ming and Qing dynasties, out of a long and soothing years. More than two hundred years of wind and rain, so that SongHe Lou floating and sinking interpretation of all its prosperity and clamor. Nowadays, Songhe Lou is starting a new legend in the rapid rise of Suzhou. As Mr. Jinyong expected of it, as the first restaurant in Suzhou, it will be "always new".

The restaurant was founded in the second year of the Qianlong reign in the Qing Dynasty (1737) by the Xu family in the vicinity of Xuanmiao Guan in Suzhou, and operated as a noodle shop with meals. During the Guangxu years (1875-1908), the rice business was booming, and the business amount exceeded the noodles. By 1918, the restaurant was on the verge of closure due to poor management. Later by the Tianhexiang store advocate Wen Bing led in the form of joint-stock lease the store, renamed Hutchison Songhe Lou. The restaurant was renamed Hutchison Pinehurst Restaurant and operated authentic Su Gang cuisine. Zhang Wen Bing took over when the SongHe Lou, is still just a two small open room of the inconspicuous restaurant. Operate the sauce square, vinegar carp, stewed meat and tofu, red mix, fried three fresh dishes. Zhang Wenbing as manager, the first thing to do is to hire a famous chef, pay attention to talent training. Successively from Tianhexiang, Tianxi, Daxinlou hired Su cuisine chef. Famous chefs gathered, not only skilled in the traditional techniques of stewing, simmering, simmering, baking and other traditional techniques of Soviet cuisine, but also pay attention to the selection of materials, knife work, fire. The color, aroma, taste and shape of each dish should be done according to the authentic flavor of Su cuisine. And successively create dozens of new famous dishes, such as shark's fin with original sauce, Yuan Cai with white sauce, Mandarin fish with squirrels, steamed meat with lotus leaf, watermelon chicken, Ba Lung Soup and warm pot and other seasonal delicacies, which are all unique, showing the unique style of the original flavor of the Soviet cuisine. This is a major turnaround in the history of Songhe Lou's store. SongHeLou is also located in the city of an ancient and prosperous, lively center of Guanqian Street, so it became a celebrity gathering place.

Because it is "out

Outside view

Outside view

Born in the Qianlong era, Emperor Qianlong went down to the south of the Yangtze River in the SongHe Lou anecdote a lot of things, that is, there is a section of the Suzhou commentary on the book of the SongHe Lou of the Qianlong fuss it. But the most widely rumored is that: the Qianlong emperor's fourth trip to Jiangnan, had the alias of Gao Tianchi, accompanied by two bodyguards, green small cap, walked into the Songhe Lou, see the god on the platform jumping "Yuanbao fish" (sacrificial carp), very beautiful, they want to catch to eat. But at that time, this fish is a "sacrifice" to honor the gods, but also deterred by the "holy orders" is difficult, the hall official will discuss with the chef, came up with a "plan": take the head of the fish is like a mouse, the first word of the SongHe Lou has a "Pine" meaning, the fish will be cooked into a squirrel-shaped (later changed to Mandarin fish), to avoid the slaughter of "God fish" crime. After eating, Qianlong praised it. From then on, SongHeLou's "squirrel fish" is famous all over the world. These anecdotes by exaggerated rendering, became known to women and children in suzhou, the good news.

In 1956, the public-private partnership, SongHe Lou was reborn. But the good times did not last long, and then by the "Cultural Revolution" impact. After a number of expansions, and now the restaurant, the total area of 3,295 square meters, more than four times more than the private sector, the design and layout, delicate and elegant, both rich in national style, but also suitable for entertaining foreign guests, the whole building is spacious, bright, beautiful, generous, can accommodate more than 2,000 guests to dine. Sweet potatoes are sweet, braised pork is sweet but not greasy,