Creating Four Seasons Cuisine Based on Materials and Vegetables

Suzhou has "swordfish in spring and shad in summer, fat duck in autumn and vegetables in winter", and aquatic poultry and vegetables are on the market all year round. At different time of listing, chefs decide that famous dishes are sometimes fresh all year round because of their materials and vegetables. For example, when the spring rain is drizzling, fresh tea comes on the market. The "Biluochun Shrimp" cooked with the second tea juice of the famous tea Biluochun and shrimps not only has the smoothness of shrimps, but also has the green fragrance of famous tea, as well as "cherry meat" and "preserved bamboo shoots" which are red in sauce and melt in the mouth. In summer, the eel is tender and plump, and the timely "oily eel paste" is popular. When the eel is fried, add some chopped green onion, garlic paste and ham, and then pour a little hot oil, and the dish is still creaking when serving. This is a nutritious and noisy dish. When chrysanthemums are in full bloom in late autumn, the rice is ripe and the crabs are fat. As the saying goes, the feet of crabs are itchy in autumn. The clear water crabs in Yangcheng Lake are golden claws, yellow hair, green back, white belly and tender meat. They are the main ingredients of the famous dish "Snowflake Crab Fight". The chef uses crab shells as containers (one for each person when tasting), crab powder substrates and egg whites are stirred into snowflakes, which are steamed on crab powder for a while and then taken out of the drawer. These seasonal dishes satisfy Beijingers' appetite for "fresh children".

In the middle of winter, it is linked with the annual Spring Festival. The reunion banquet in Songhelou, Beijing is a new year's eve dinner which is a combination of Su Bang traditional dishes and Beijing Wei 'er innovative dishes eaten in Suzhou during the New Year. It is novel and unique, and sets off a family reunion, auspicious, festive and peaceful atmosphere. At the New Year's Eve banquet, there is the unique dish "Squirrel Mandarin Fish" of Songcrane Tower, which symbolizes that it is more than auspicious; Steaming with steam and golden color, the "whole duck with mother oil" (braised duck) looks lively and prosperous; The timely dishes of Hangzhou and Beijing flavor are: Song Saoyu Soup with delicious taste, West Lake Beef Soup with thick and fresh soup, Tianxiang Mandarin Fish with light and tender taste, and Songhe leg of lamb with strong fragrance and tender taste. Songhelou also listed rice cakes, glutinous rice balls and eight-treasure rice as gifts, which symbolize reunion and happiness. Songhelou's new year's goods have now become gifts, including Suzhou braised duck, braised pork with red pork, braised pork with winter vegetables, rice flour, beggar chicken, eight-treasure rice and various Soviet-style boat spots, which are packaged in porcelain plates, casseroles and plastic wrap respectively and put into gift bags. These famous dishes are taken home and heated properly, and the original flavor remains unchanged.

The service of Songhelou is also innovative. For more than ten years, we have been promoting "service dishes", that is, service brands. "Serving dishes" stipulates that the waiters are responsible for dividing the dishes of high-end banquets. For general banquets, gatherings of relatives and friends and family meals, there are "public chopsticks and spoons" on the dining table, and at the same time, each dish is equipped with a spoon for guests to use in arranging dishes and eating. Although they eat at the same table, everyone eats with the spoon cloth dishes on the plate, which not only expresses respect and friendship, but also naturally forms a separate meal system, which does not have a bad taste and avoids cross-contamination.