Zhou Zhi smiled and said: "Because of its professionalism, its superiority is certainly not available in ordinary family banquets."

“First, the dining environment is more varied. Banquet hosts can flexibly choose different banquet venues according to the banquet objects, banquet types, banquet time and season, banquet size and preferences, so that the banquet and the environment are more coordinated and different.

It’s just like an ordinary family banquet environment.”

"Second, for both host and guest, the atmosphere of the banquet hall is relatively relaxed. The guests are in such a public place and lose the rigidity of being in the host's residence; the host hosts the banquet in a special banquet hall, and the tea is prepared and served by dedicated personnel.

, the general services are also relatively complete, which saves a lot of household chores.”

"Of course, the banquet hall is paid for use. According to the prevailing standards at the time, for each table held, a land fee of 50 cents to one yuan must be paid. In addition to the land fee, some tips must be paid to the service staff as appropriate. Although this is not a rule, it is

It’s an unspoken rule that conforms to human nature and sophistication.”

"However, people are not suffering enough. Driven by the banquet trend that was very popular in the capital of Shu, people hope for a better restaurant to appear. If the environment of the banquet hall can be combined with the exquisite private cuisine, that will be the best.

"

"So a number of banquet halls that specialized in hosting banquets finally came into being. Among them, the most famous one is called 'Zhengxingyuan'."

"Zhengxing Garden is located on Mianhua Street in the city. The original site was the old residence of Zhuo Bingtian, a celebrity in Huayang County. It is small in scale, but has extraordinary magnanimity, especially the shop sign with gold letters on a black background and exquisite calligraphy. It is very eye-catching. Therefore, this environment is

Got it."

"When it was first established, there were very few types of banquets, just eight bowls of meat, nine large bowls, ginseng banquets, etc. It wasn't until the arrival of the famous chef Guan Zhengxing that he changed its name to Zhengxingyuan and introduced the layout of the northern banquet.

, which made him famous in one fell swoop.”

At this time, the dishes had been served one after another. Fei Guan opened Wuliangye and said, "Come on, let's chat while we eat. Tingting can have two cups, right?"

Zhou Zhi turned to look at Guan Tingting beside him: "Just one cup for junior high school students? The two cups Uncle Fei said is an imaginary number..."

"Real number, now is the holiday." Guan Tingting fought for power for herself: "There will be no class tomorrow!"

It made sense, so Guan Tingting only had two cups.

As for Jiang Shuyi and Guan Ma, there was no one to restrain them. Guan Ma was in high spirits today because of the happy event, and even started to attack the banker. Her peach blossoms' face was full of eyes, and she was even more charming, which raised the atmosphere at the table to another level.

Jiang Shuyi just stayed by Zhou Zhi's side, tasting wine, eating food, and listening to stories.

"Guan Zhengxing is a Manchu. He was brought to Sichuan by officials who entered Shu. He had seen some big scenes when he was in the north. He was the only person in Shu who could host a Manchu and Han banquet at that time. He was second to none."

"Because I am very popular in the officialdom, my business also receives special care from officials, and I am determined to make progress, so business has been good since it opened."

"As the business became more prosperous and stronger, he continued to cultivate and absorb talents, introduced innovative dishes, and continuously enriched the grades and specifications of the seats. After decades of painstaking management, by the time of Guangxu and Xuantong of the Qing Dynasty, his reputation, influence, and actual business

, all of them are leaders in the Shu capital."

"Gradually, Zhengxing Garden developed the biggest difference from the general banquet halls of the same era."

"The first is the configuration of equipment and facilities. As the saying goes, 'a good horse deserves a good saddle.' The exquisite bowls and bowls used are far beyond comparison with other banquet restaurants."

"Guan Zhengxing was good at collecting ancient utensils, and his collection of dining utensils was especially large. Ancient colorful porcelain plates and bowls, exquisite ivory and ebony silver-coated chopsticks were all displayed in the Pavilion, forming a unique scenery that made Chengdu at that time The upper-class diners were in ecstasy."

“Second, the dishes and dishes are famous for their exquisiteness, especially seafood dishes, from bird’s nests, sea cucumbers, to shark fins and fish maw. The cooking methods and varieties vary with the seasons; mountain delicacies and game dishes also have their own unique characteristics. Integrated cooking methods and finished product styles;”

"Most of the owners of restaurants that can cook such dishes are from the southern coastal area. Such restaurants were called 'Nan Restaurant' at that time, and these dishes were also collectively called 'Nan Restaurant Cuisine', which is similar to the status of Cantonese cuisine in the catering industry today. .”

"In addition to inheriting and carrying forward the characteristics of the Manchu-Han banquet palace cuisine, Zhengxingyuan also absorbed the essence of 'Nanguan cuisine' and integrated it into one. At the same time, it vigorously developed local unique dishes, even those made with ordinary ingredients. The knife skills are also very exquisite, such as the usual "Fu" meat, "Wan" meat, "Shou" meat, checkerboard meat, tiger skin meat, etc., both the cutting technique and the plating are very regular without losing their own style;"

"The soup dishes are a combination of Nanguan cuisine and Sichuan's "Baba Banquet"'s emphasis on 'high soup'. It integrates color, aroma, taste and nourishment, and has always enjoyed a good reputation among diners."

"The third characteristic is that Zhengxingyuan monopolized the highest standards for the top banquets in Chengdu at that time and became the setter of banquet rules."

"Zhengxing Garden hosted Manchu and Han banquets three times in the late Qing Dynasty. This was a unique qualification among banquet halls in Chengdu at that time."

“The serving procedure of a modern Sichuan banquet, with cold cuts first, then main dishes, then snacks, and finally fruits, is inherited from Zhengxingyuan and is still used today.”

"The last one is that Guan Zhengxing attaches great importance to recruiting and cultivating talents."

"At the beginning of its opening, it gathered many famous chefs, such as Qi Lezhai and Guiboshu from the Manchu ethnic group, Zhou Zhicheng and You Bingquan from the Han ethnic group, etc. They were all culinary elites in Sichuan's catering industry at that time."

“After that, we also successively trained outstanding Sichuan chefs like the Lan Guangjian brothers. Their exquisite cooking skills and exquisite dishes are quite convincing to Chengdu diners.”

"The evaluation of Zhengxing Garden at that time as 'exquisite dishes and beautiful utensils' is by no means an exaggeration. Fu Qiaocun's "Chengdu General View" in the late Qing Dynasty also gave high praise to Zhengxing Garden, saying that Chengdu was 'excellent' at that time. Those who are particular about appearance can only do one thing in Zhengxingyuan.'"

"It can be said that Zhengxingyuan single-handedly raised the level of Sichuan cuisine banquets to a level that was comparable to Huaiyang official cuisine and Beijing palace cuisine at that time, and directly led to the rise of a new style of cuisine."

"Ancient porcelain bowls, ivory chopsticks..." Lao Chai couldn't help but exclaimed: "Doesn't it cost a lot of money to have a meal in such a venue?"

"Of course." Zhou Zhi smiled and said: "Because Zhengxing Garden is 'good' and 'high-style', the cost of hosting the seats is naturally quite high. Calculated on a per-table basis, the usual hosting charges are: Generally, a field banquet costs 2 taels and 45 taels of silver, an ordinary sea cucumber banquet costs 3 liang and 5 liang, a sea cucumber banquet costs 5 liang, an ordinary shark fin banquet costs 6 and 7 liang, a shark fin banquet costs 12 liang, agar-agar banquets cost 15 liang, and agar-agar banquet plus barbecue costs 10 liang. Eight taels."

"Please note that these are only expenses and do not include the 'material money', which is the cost of ingredients."

"Except for some powerful officials and wealthy businessmen, ordinary people would not dare to care about such banquet consumption specifications.

While everyone mingled with each other and listened to Zhou Zhi's explanation of the stories that happened here, they couldn't help but feel that the originally delicious dishes were now richer.
Chapter completed!