The founder of "Wonton Hou" is Hou Tingjie. He sold newspapers as a child and worked as a railway patrolman for several years as a youth to support his family. Later, he secretly learned the art of making wontons and learned from others' strengths. In 1946, he used the money he saved to set up a wonton stall. After several moves, he finally moved to No. 16 Dong'anmen Street to sell wontons.

When Hou Tingjie was stalling, there was a cloth tent hanging on the back wall of the stall. The background of the tent was purple-red, with the three characters "Wonton Hou" written on it. Because it was the period of resisting U.S. aggression and aiding Korea, he also added a circle of peace dove decorations around the tent. This group of pigeons symbolizes peace and represents the individual businessmen's desire for peace and social stability.

At that time, Dong'anmen and Wangfujing were the prosperous commercial districts of the capital, where the People's Art Theatre, Dong'an Market, Jixiang Theater, etc. were all located. After the opera ended in the evening, people came and went on the street, which was very lively. After the opera, people generally have the habit of having late-night snacks. There are seven or eight stalls selling wontons here, and the best-selling stall is the Wonton Hou stall. Welcoming customers from the north, many customers are specifically looking for the Wonton Hou stall.

At that time, people had four evaluations of Wonton Hou: first, thin skin, second, fine filling, third, fresh soup, and fourth, popularity. Let’s just talk about the wonton wrappers he rolls out. This job is very hard, and he doesn’t use standard flour, but the specially batched and rationed Fuqiang flour. After kneading and resting the dough, use a rolling pin more than one meter long to roll it into paper-thin, translucent wonton wrappers. With such fine workmanship, it’s no wonder it’s so popular among customers.

It is said that once Guo Moruo passed by a wonton hou stall and after tasting it, he greatly appreciated it. Seeing Hou Tingjie's proficiency in making wontons, Guo Moruo couldn't help but praise: "It's so fast and beautiful. Can you tell me what's behind this?" Hou Tingjie replied humorously: "This can be called 'fish jumping'." From then on, many celebrities in the literary and art circles came here to eat wontons, and the reputation of "Wonton Hou" spread.