"Yuebin", I really don't know which two words should be written next. "Hotel" reminds people of grand hotels, no; "Restaurant" is not like the word "building", but there is only one floor here. So I had to be naked. Fortunately, there is no plaque in this small shop, not even frontispiece's room. There is only a signboard with the word "Yuebin" outside, and it is not necessary to call them by their first names.
this small shop, though unknown, has a great reputation. As early as twenty years ago, when I was in college, I knew about this small shop. Whenever there is an exhibition in China Art Museum, I often take the No.113 tram from the northwest suburb with three or five friends, and spend 15 cents to see the exhibition in the art museum located on the east side of the Red Building of Old Peking University. Just across the street from the Art Museum, a small alley named "Cui Hua" in Lunan has a small white signboard with the word "Yuebin" written on it. From the satisfied smiles of the diners who came out, they knew that it was a place to eat. But at that time, a poor student, cash-strapped, could only take a look at it from a distance, where dare he have the idea of interest?
Later, I read Mr. Wang Shixiang's "Jin Hui Dui". In the second book "Catering Department", there was an article entitled "Restaurant Couplet", which mentioned this small shop. It is said that this is the earliest self-employed small courtyard after the reform and opening up. In those days, Mr. Wang came here out of curiosity and asked for two dishes: shredded pork with fish flavor and tofu with pot collapse. After eating, I feel very good: the price is not expensive, the raw materials are good-"at least lean meat"-the taste is ok, and the attitude is enthusiastic-"the attitude is not so strong as that of many public small restaurants."
don't think this is just a few ordinary words. Mr. Wang Shixiang is the leading food expert today! At that time, the national cooking performance appraisal meeting was held in the Great Hall of the People, and Mr. Wang was a senior consultant of the jury! It's not easy for a small shop with no face to get such an evaluation!
more than that. While Mr. Wang was happy, he also wrote a couplet to this small shop:
I am happy because of the good flavor, and the guests return home because of their good looks.
The antithesis is neat, hides its head, embeds the word "Yuebin" in the name of the store, and tells the story of the two characteristics of this store: high craftsmanship and good attitude, which is a good pair. It should be noted that Mr. Wang wrote a pair of couplets to Chang San Xiao Guan next to yenching university before liberation (because the famous "Xu Dishan Cake" will be made there), and only wrote it to people three times after liberation. The first time was to welcome guests, and the other two times, one was Suzhou Deyuelou, and the other was to live in the same house, all of which were famous restaurants. Can you be among the famous shops and have passed the title of famous family, can you still be worse?
However, as far as I'm concerned, I've always been ashamed, and I've never dared to go through the butcher's door and chew. Although I joined the work later, my hands were no longer empty, but there were fewer opportunities to sit in 113. Sometimes I wonder: Will that small shop still exist after so many years? Even if there is, in this materialistic season, can we still maintain the old family style of "good flavor" and "good color and harmony"
Unexpectedly, I took my wife and daughter to the art gallery to watch the "French Impressionist Art Exhibition" the other day. After enjoying the exotic masterpieces, it was just lunch time. When I went out to look south, the signboard I used to know was still hanging in that familiar place! I can't help but be overjoyed: "There is a good place to go for lunch today!"
So I went south, entered the hutong, dozens of steps away, and entered this small shop with no face and no face. This shop is really "small": it is only as big as three rooms, and it is long and narrow in the north-south direction. It is a small dining table for three or four people, and there is only a round table for six or seven people in the south. There are many people eating, and it is crowded. When we entered the door, the waiter greeted us warmly, packed up a table that had just been settled, sent the guests away, let us sit down, and immediately made hot tea-that tea is Peking man's favorite fragrant chip-which is completely homely!
when the menu comes up, we can make a mistake: we have long longed for fame, of course we want to taste more; But there are always three people, and they can't eat that much. What should we do?
"I'll tell you what, I'll recommend it to you. You can eat it!" The little proprietress smiled and solved problems for us. So, in a short time, several dishes were placed on the table in turn-
shredded pork with Beijing sauce. This is a child's favorite food, I know. Just as Mr. Wang said, all of them are made of lean shredded pork, which has a good edge and is tender. It has a strong bite instead of firewood. It is definitely not like most restaurants that use materials casually and don't talk about the edge. It tastes like chewing wood dregs. It tastes sweet and salty, and unlike other places, it tastes just like soy sauce. At the bottom of the onion, the tender core of the onion is used, and it is finely cut, yellow and white, which is very palatable.
stir-fried Artemisia annua with garlic. This home-cooked dish is difficult to cook. One is to choose materials, if you choose (read zh? I) if it is not refined, it will be firewood when eaten; First, the heat is insufficient, and there is a unique green smell of Artemisia; After that, it will rot easily. What is done here is impeccable in several aspects.
dry-roasted yellow croaker. You have to fry it first, and you are also very particular about the temperature. After that, it really became dry-burning, too hard, almost dry-fried. If it is undercooked, it is not ripe and fragile. Followed by seasoning, the taste is heavy, but it can't take away the original taste of yellow croaker. What is used here is diced mushrooms and winter bamboo shoots, plus a little diced cucumbers and carrots. Just from the color point of view, it is appetizing. It's good to have a taste! Without losing the original flavor of yellow croaker, the flavors of all kinds of seasonings are also fully displayed, which really makes people feast!
five-wire tube. It's a housekeeping dish here. Pig lean meat, celery, coriander, etc. are selected, shredded, stir-fried, wrapped in a thin spread egg roll, in a cylindrical shape, changed the knife and cut into sections, hence the name. When eating, it is accompanied by a double-layer pancake, sweet noodle sauce and shredded green onion. When eating, it feels really indescribable. I can only borrow the words of Granny Liu in Daguan Garden: "It's delicious!"
this meal is a combination of meat and vegetables, sweet and salty, and there is no need to order staple food. Three people spent a total of seventy yuan, which was affordable and cheap. My wife and children are very satisfied and full of praise.
"Thanks to Grandpa Wang!" The child said happily.
meanwhile, the owner, Mr. Guo, an old man in his sixties, has been greeting guests and chatting with customers in the store.
I asked Mr. Wang why the couplet he wrote didn't hang up. He said half proudly and half mysteriously, "That's a national treasure. I put it away long ago! If I hang it, "he pointed to the art gallery in the north," I can knock their words down! "
I asked him whose handwriting was "Taste it" on the wall. "This word is more valuable. It was written by the teacher who started the work! Jia Zhen (? ), Qi Gong is a teacher, he is the principal and secretary of the Party Committee. "
"why didn't you sign it?"
"He's a teacher, and he doesn't write as well as the students. The word Qigong is hanging over there, so he's embarrassed here!" As he spoke, the old man laughed.
"You're blind here with others!" It seems that the little proprietress is either the old man's daughter or his daughter-in-law, and she is a bit blaming the old man for talking too much.
"am I telling the truth?" The old man smiled. "When Mr. Qi Gong came here, he didn't eat, but worshipped the word. That style, pointing to a table of dishes, said: how much is this? I am all inclusive! "
It seems that the old people can't avoid some old Beijing habits, such as boasting and exaggerating, and it seems that they can't believe all of them. However, the hospitality made all the customers in the room feel at home-they were also called "Yuebin", which reminded people of the famous saying of "A famous person is a real guest", which is really true. We always talk about improving the quality of service. After decades, the quality of fake goods has become more and more heavy, and the service attitude has been on the wall, but those good words are not on the face. Places like "Yuebin" are really rare, and there are few left! Even if you want to listen to such enthusiastic "white", how many places are there?
coming out of the shop, I thought of Mr. Wang's couplet again. Now my husband is old and seldom goes out. A few years ago, he wrote me a word as a souvenir. I wanted to give him the wild vegetables I picked from the ground by myself, but he politely declined on the phone-because he was old, he had lost interest. Mr. Qigong, now he is not good at business because of his old age-can they come to this shop again?
at the same time, it occurred to me that "Yuebin" is located in the bustling place, which was frequented by many scholars and professors on the side of the Red Mansion in those days. After several decades, when this commodity tide is booming, it can still be said that it is rare to keep the old family style for twenty years.
however, I didn't go far. When I looked up, I saw buildings that had sprung up not far away after demolition, and I couldn't help worrying-how long can this small shop be kept? But on second thought, "things are too vast to be expected", and Beijing can be torn down, not to mention this nameless shop? Alas! I have to let him go!
On October 7th, 2114, my wife and daughter went to Beijing to visit the "French Impressionist Art Exhibition" brought by French President Jacques Chirac, then went to Yuebin for lunch, and went to Hanfen Building in Wangfujing to buy "The Art of Eating" and "Eat All over the World", and went home in the evening to write this article. Wife cloud should be presented to Mr. Wang Shixiang for reading, but I don't know if Mr. is still happy. Thinking is natural. Liu Deshui is an expert in Sanyu Bookstore.
Looking at the public service advertisements of CCTV in the past 31 years of reform, there is a self-report of Yuebin's proprietress. Thinking of this old article, I'm quite busy recently, so I'll post it and enjoy it.