Western desserts are now the mainstay of all afternoon teas in Shanghai. An afternoon full of sunshine, a dessert cake, a cup of coffee or a cup of tea, and enjoying your free time is an indescribable pleasure and comfort.

In Shanghai, drinking afternoon tea in the end from when it started, I really can not find information to verify, but in Hong Kong, drinking afternoon tea is a very important meal, whenever 3:00 p.m., people will always stop the hands of things, buy a cup of milk tea or coffee, with a pineapple oil or egg tart, enjoy their own time.

People always talk about sea flavor, what exactly is sea flavor? In fact, it is very simple to explain it literally, it is the flavor of Shanghai.

Shanghai is a city of immigrants, gathered people from all over the country, naturally, in the food is also from all over the country, but, no matter where the food, to Shanghai, will inevitably make some changes and improvements, so that it is more suitable for the tastes of the Shanghai people, and then rooted in this place, and became the taste of the sea.

In addition to having the unique thing of Haikai western food, in fact, Shanghai also has Haikai pastry, which are delicious western food introduced from abroad, and after continuous improvement and modification, eventually also become the unique western food in Shanghai, which, of course, includes some western food invented by Shanghainese people themselves.

Chestnut cake

Shanghai in the liberation of the former is no low-gluten flour, no low-gluten flour naturally there is no way to do the cake embryo, so the Shanghai people came up with something else to replace the traditional cake embryo, that is, chestnuts, chestnuts into a puree, flavored, made into a cake, and then framed on top of the white off the cream, a good chestnut cake, a spoon scoop, thick chestnut cake, a spoonful of chestnut cake, and a spoonful of chestnut cake, and the cake was made. A spoon, thick chestnut flavor and cream flavor filled the mouth, this sense of satisfaction not to mention how comfortable.

Where the chestnut cake is the most famous, of course, is the Kaiser Bakery, this is their signature product, many old Shanghai is for this mouthful of chestnut cake from far away to taste, and even a lot of foreign settlement of the old Shanghai people, every time to return to the country, have to come to here, a good taste of this from the snacks to the big delicious pastry.

Chestnut core is more flavorful than the traditional cake blanks, but also more satiating, do not be greedy to eat too much Oh, or easy to eat up.

Now Kaiser also launched the Nestle chestnut cake, is the cocoa cream chestnut cake, eat more feeling, this is also my favorite oh.

Butterfly pastry

The Peace Hotel on West Nanjing Road, I believe we will not be unfamiliar, but when it comes to famous, his pastry room seems to be more than the hotel is remembered, why is it, is because of the Peace Hotel pastry room production of a pastry, butterfly pastry, has penetrated into the heart of the Shanghai people.

Butterfly pastry is from France to Shanghai, in France called ear cake, spread to Shanghai, because the shape is like a butterfly, so the Shanghai people gave this snack a "butterfly pastry" name.

As one of the pastry representative of the butterfly pastry, crispy texture, butter taste full of peace hotel in order to cater to the tastes of the Shanghai people now, the original sprinkled on top of the sugar to remove, so that the taste is not so sweet and greasy, in line with the requirements of the current people pay attention to the taste of the requirements of the light, to eat butterfly pastry can be really careful, oh, be sure to use your hand to support the mouth under the mouth, a bite down, crispy butterfly pastry noted! The crispy butterfly pastry fell down, if you do not hold, it can be a lot of waste, fall down can be the essence of ah.

But the Peace Hotel butterfly pastry is not good to buy Oh, queuing up too many people, want to taste the small partners can be prepared for Oh.

Milk cubes

As the signature of the British pastry brand Ruby, the fame and flavor of the milk cubes have really taken over the hearts of every Shanghai people.

I remember when I was working in Nanjing West Road in 1998, every evening at 5 o'clock, the Ruby in front of the Wujiang intersection is always crowded, because after 5 o'clock Ruby inside the cake discount, so attracted a lot of people to come to buy, this point in time also happens to be almost all off work, so naturally, a crowd of people.

Fresh milk small square is cut into small pieces of fresh milk cake, ruby's fresh milk small square, whipped cream delicate, taste is not very sweet, just right, the following cake blank fluffy delicious, will not let you eat a feeling of tired mouth, we are a child, this fresh milk small square is a luxury thing, can eat a can brag for a week.

Curry Dumplings

Don't think that pastry is all sweet, this authentic old pastry from Boss Chang is really "savory".

Crisp pastry wrapped inside the curry beef filling, just out of the nose, a bite, full of curry beef flavor, overflowing, the whole mouth is meat, really called to eat to the root of the teeth are fragrant.

Unlike the Thai curry and Indian curry outside now, the curry dumplings inside the beef curry is authentic old Shanghai flavor, and our childhood home burned curry potatoes is a flavor, especially special nostalgia.

This delicious pastry has been out of stock for some time for some reasons, and then it was reintroduced by Boss Chang, and after the public learned about it, many old Shanghainese lined up to buy it, and the scene was very hot.

Beast Joy

I'm afraid that this name is now many young people have no idea what it means, right, say the name, many people will ask you a question, what is it?

It is no wonder that this pastry is now sold outside very little, only some of the old bakery to buy.

So, what is this Bessie in the end?

In fact, it is a slice of bread coated with cream, baked out of a pastry, the taste is very crispy, bite a mouthful, thick cream and butter flavor, whether it is used with coffee or tea, or usually used as a snack or, are very suitable.

Where is the most famous Beastie, of course, is the old bakery in Shanghai, Jing'an Bakery, it has been around for a long time, and even the toothless grandparents often buy some of them, and they are addicted to it.

Hadou

The name is even more baffling, isn't it, Hadou? What is this?

If you explain it more straightforwardly, Ha Doo is the generic name for all the puff products out there, so if you explain it this way, I'm sure a lot of people will get it.

The old Shanghainese population of the ha-dou, basically refers to a layer of chocolate sauce on top, which is sandwiched between the cream of the pastry, this is really my heart, as long as I passed by the Kaiser or the boss of the Chang, I will be begging my parents to buy me one, perhaps a child for the chocolate is no resistance to it, ha-dou entrance fluffy, a mouthful of down, on the top of the chocolate, the middle of the cream, plus the flavor of the ha-dou itself, three kinds of chocolate, cream, and the taste of the chocolate. Plus the flavor of the ha doo itself, the triple experience is simply satisfied to the extreme, when I was a small person can eat two, haha.

Compared to the puffs made by many stores nowadays, Hadou's sweetness is not greasy, and the taste is very good, so it's true that "ginger is still old and spicy".

If I could go backward in time, I would like to sit on the second floor of Kaiser on West Nanjing Road in the afternoon, order a cup of iced coffee with cream, ask for a chestnut cake with a Hardou, light a cigarette, and enjoy the time of the afternoon tea of the sea school just like an old kleptomaniac.