After eating so many local dishes, only the tea restaurant is a special existence.

Some people say that tea restaurants originated in Hong Kong, but I personally insist that tea restaurants originated in Guangzhou.

Hong Kong is a place where Chinese and Western cultures are mixed, with a strong sense of hierarchy and a big class gap. People look forward to a "first-class" quality of life, but they can only maintain ordinary consumption.

The citizens at the bottom can't afford to eat high-class western restaurants. What should we do? Then make it yourself.

So, Hong Kong people borrowed from Guangzhou people's business thinking.

At the earliest, only tea (cold drinks) was sold in the tea restaurant in Guangzhou. It was the Hong Kong people who transformed it into a restaurant, making it look like "neither Chinese nor foreign". In addition to selling western-style coffee and milk tea, they also sold Chinese "snacks" such as rice rolls, fish balls and noodles.

because its business model is close to the people, it quickly became popular in Chinese communities in mainland China and overseas, and evolved into a tea restaurant with local characteristics according to the different cultural habits of each region.

Take Cantonese-style tea restaurant as an example. Almost every specialty in the restaurant is pineapple oil, fish balls, roasted meat, rice rolls, Cheetos, and a cookie cutter. Besides, all the walnuts in Guangdong look exactly the same.

these dishes are made in a unified way, with a unified name, and even the decoration of the shops is unified.

The food in a tea restaurant looks simple, but when you think about it, it's full of routines-once you eat it, then, whenever you can't remember what to eat, the Cantonese-style tea restaurant next to your house, which costs 2 to 3 yuan per person, will always be waiting for your rear area and the "spare tire" with no regrets.

maybe this is the sentence: no routine is the biggest "routine".

Over the past century, tea restaurants have stood firm in Guangdong (and some nearby areas in Guangxi), thanks to the great environment here.

The landform of Guangzhou is mainly low hills. People "shovel" the hills and build buildings on them. The buildings are towering and surrounded by dense trees. Between the new city and the old city, there are intermittent thick vegetation, and the house is hidden behind. Typical "hot and humid" climate, advantaged port conditions, eating habits of four meals a day (including midnight snack), overwhelming roadside stalls, and developed business acumen ... make the "temperament" of this city different from that of most provincial capital cities in China.

When I arrived in Guangzhou, I was greeted with a strong Cantonese flavor and a history with Lingnan characteristics.

and, food culture has a long history.

So when traveling in Guangzhou, don't worry about seeing the scenery, eat a few meals first. Guangzhou's beautiful scenery and the essence of humanity are all injected into its food.

The food in a tea restaurant

Generally speaking, a tea restaurant with a booming business can last for many years as long as it has one or two signature snacks that are especially delicious, and it is no problem to pass them on to three generations. Neighbors can eat them from grandparents to grandchildren.

This feature is also applicable in Hong Kong.

When traveling in Hong Kong, I often pass by those old and shabby shops. On the wall, there are photos of celebrities and shopkeepers. There are few dishes on the menu, but they are crowded and open for decades.

this is the unique charm of the tea restaurant.

Occasionally, you will see the legendary middle-aged man wearing a big vest and a pair of sandals, drinking a cup of lemon tea for ten yuan, and wearing a shiny brand-name watch on his wrist, which is low-key, subtle and invisible.

the meals in a tea restaurant are usually fixed.

a pineapple oil with a cup of iced lemon tea, a doll face with a cup of milk tea. If two people eat together, you can order a set meal for two, and on this basis, there will be an extra plate of curry fish eggs or lard rice rolls.

Northerners will probably be a little confused when they see these words, because these things are rare (renamed) outside Guangdong, and their taste is not authentic.

Northerners like to use their brains on the names and dishes of food, while Guangzhou people don't care about these "empty" things, and their enthusiasm is in the taste. Authentic Cantonese taste is also eaten locally in Guangzhou:

Pineapple oil, the piece of cheese sandwiched in it, is the essence of this whole dish. With it, the slippery eggs become more chewy and the taste of chicken chops is more full;

Noodles, which are never tired of eating for a long time, are versatile. From the plastic packaging to the shape of the bread, they seem to be very simple instant noodles, but after eating them only once, many people only recognize this instant noodle from now on-the routine is full, and one bite is for life;

Milk tea is bitter, but in order not to waste it, I insist on drinking the second sip, the third sip ... when I take the fifth sip, I feel dependent on it. When I drink that kind of sweet milk tea in the future, I will think of this cup of "bitter milk tea" in Guangzhou, and my heart arises spontaneously.

the serving time of the fish balls is very short: just pour the sauce on them after cooking, but the work behind them is all hammered out by hand with "raw meat", without adding starch, and it is not allowed to be OEM by machines. That sauce is also "mysterious": I don't know how much effort has been spent and how many generations have condensed it. Just look at it and pour it gently when it is served. You can tell that it tastes like curry, and there are other secret things added in it, so we don't know what it is ...

In Guangzhou, there are many such simple foods.

it looks super simple and very attractive-how can it be "simple"?

Cantonese people cook delicious food with kung fu behind their backs, which will not be presented to you, just like the people here.

After eating the rice in Guangdong, I deeply realized a sentence: "One side can nourish one side with water and soil."

The temperament, character, accent and way of doing things of people in a land are all hidden in the food they make.

Take northern cuisine as an example. The characteristics of unification are that it is a big share, heavy oil and heavy salt, just like the character of northerners. They are a little "awkward" and careless, unable to hide things in their hearts, quarreling loudly, and sometimes being ugly ... But in fact, the more such people are, the more "stupid" they are, the more careless they are, which makes people look at the end.

in Guangzhou, it will be different.

quarrel? No, dear, Cantonese people seldom play these "superficial kung fu" with you.

You rarely see people cursing the streets and quarreling in the streets of Guangdong, let alone quarreling. In the eyes of northerners, Guangzhou people even talk slowly. In contact with Cantonese people, there are few opportunities for any confrontation, even less unhappiness. Everyone is very introverted and has a deep mind.

I estimate that if I eat Cantonese food for another ten years, I may not be able to afford such a "shrewd" Cantonese.

For a detailed explanation of the food in the Cantonese-style tea restaurant, please go to this article: "When you arrive in Guangzhou, you have to eat like this"

I am Sister Dahong, the anchor of the audio radio travel channel, a professional travel player, focusing on minority games and sharing unpopular destinations. Travel is not an attitude, but life itself.