LAO TAI ZHOU

🐟🐚🦞🦀🐢First time eating Qinhu Eight Fresh Food 2023-8-4 Lao Taizhou on Taizhou Old Street, as the first meal for a small group after arriving in Taizhou😁Looking at the name, I think it should be the most authentic Before arriving at the store, I have been attracted by the Yangzhou tune at the door of the store. This store really knows how to control the atmosphere😂The singing is so beautiful, and the background is so beautiful. Ai Xiaomi is enjoying it [Environment] As soon as you enter the door, it is very lively and festive, but the private room upstairs is very ordinary, big is big, old is old [Taste] | Qinhu Eight Fresh Food^159, everyone is the first time to open their eyes, what is Qinhu Eight Fresh Food , there are many kinds of ingredients, small snails, crayfish, small turtles, it's really funny, but the taste is very ordinary, no freshness at all, just for fun |Su Chen Little Rooster^48, the taste is also ordinary, the chicken is not tender |Huangqiao Shaobing (piece)^3, this hot one is quite delicious, it may be the best of the night The private room has a minimum consumption of 900, I don't know if it is calculated per person or something, and then the side dishes are directly [Service] The auntie is very enthusiastic. Later, the dishes were served too slowly. I was in a hurry to catch the 8:30 cruise. The auntie also helped to refund the dishes that were not served. In fact, the minimum consumption of 900 was not reached in the end.

🐟🐚🦞🦀🐢First time eating Qinhu Eight Fresh Food 2023-8-4 Lao Taizhou on Taizhou Old Street, as the first meal for the group after arriving in Taizhou😁Looking at the name, I think it should be the most authentic Before arriving at the store, I have been attracted by the Yangzhou tune at the door of the store. This store really knows how to control the atmosphere😂The singing is so beautiful, and the background is so beautiful. Ai Xiaomi is watching with great interest

Traditional features! Good taste! There is also Huai opera! A double harvest of material and spiritual! High cost performance! I am from Taizhou, and every time I go to the old street, I must bring my elders to Lao Taizhou

As I walked along the bluestone pavement of Taizhou Old Street, the afternoon sun still lingering on my soles, a tantalizing aroma wafted through the breeze—not the deliberate commercial air of scenic spots, but the homely flavors of Taizhou's traditional kitchens, lingering for decades. The old restaurants here are unpretentious, their wooden signs embellished with a warmth tinged by the smoke of life. Once I opened the door and sat down, the owner's words, "Would you like to try our traditional dishes?" drew me into the culinary memory of Taizhou. First served was the wine-flavored pork. The cubes of meat, presented on an enamel plate, were perfectly shaped, glistening with oil, yet devoid of even a hint of greasy grease. This dish evokes the memory of Taizhou's salt merchants, who, when entertaining guests, would slowly simmer their meat in local rice wine, bringing it to a boil before simmering it down to a simmer. The aroma of the wine seeped into the meat's fibers, dissolving any greasiness. A chopstick-load of pork skin is so springy it's almost jelly, while the lean meat is crispy yet not dry. As you chew, your mouth is filled with the richness of rice wine and the sweetness of the meat, like a glimpse into the prosperity of Taizhou's past. Freshly fried Taizhou stinky dried tofu should be eaten hot. The owner removes it from the frying pan, sizzling as the oil drains. The crust is golden and crispy, but when you bite into it, you'll find a tender, tofu-like core. The aroma wrapped in the "stink" is the unique flavor of tofu fermented in a seasoned broth. This craft has been passed down in Taizhou for centuries. In the past, grandmothers sold it from carts at alley entrances, buying three pieces for one yuan. Dipping it in a local sauce of soy sauce, vinegar, and chili peppers was a favorite on the way home from school for many Taizhou residents. Today, the stinky dried tofu sold in the old streets is still made the same way, and the crisp bite evokes the cries of childhood vendors. Taizhou residents emphasize the importance of "hot" dried bean curd. Arriving steaming hot, the hair-thin strands of dried tofu are drenched in a rich broth and topped with shredded ginger, dried shrimp, and cilantro. While seemingly light, they possess a rich, complex flavor. This knife technique, passed down from generation to generation, requires the slicing of a block of dried tofu into even, thin strands without breaking. In the past, Taizhou literati would order a plate of hot dried bean curd with their morning tea, savoring it with their tea, savoring the intricacies of slow living. Today, eating dried bean curd in the old streets while watching the tourists pass by, one can embody a sense of the leisurely atmosphere of those days. Mixed stew is a staple of Taizhou's reunion dinner tables. During traditional festivals, families would often prepare a pot of this delectable dish: springy hand-beaten meatballs, tender white fishballs from fresh fish, and golden egg dumplings wrapped in egg skin. Served with vegetables and vermicelli noodles, the pot is so delicious that you could easily finish the broth. This dish's origins lie in the past, when entertaining guests, people would pool their ingredients to avoid running out of food. It unexpectedly became a local specialty. Today, every bite of this hodgepodge is filled with the warmth of home, like the simmering aroma of a grandmother simmering over the stove. Finally, the three-in-one noodles are served. The toppings—crisp and tender kidney, tender pork liver, and fragrant shredded pork—are freshly fried, creating a rich, wok-like aroma. Poured over the chewy noodles and mixed well, each bite is bursting with flavor. Taizhou residents love noodles, and the morning market noodle shops are always packed. The chef stirs the wok at the stove, and with a swish, the toppings are ready. The three-in-one noodles in the old street are prepared the same way, without any fancy seasonings, simply by the natural freshness of the ingredients. While eating noodles, listening to the elderly people at the neighboring table chatting in Taizhou dialect, I realized this is what an old street should be like. By the time I left the restaurant, the lanterns along the old street were already lit, illuminating the bluestone pavement with a warm glow. In fact, what you eat in Taizhou Old Street is not the food, but the history hidden in the flavors - the flavor of salt merchants' banquets, the flavor of childhood in the alleys, the flavor of morning tea for scholars, and the flavor of family reunions. If you come to Taizhou, don't miss this old street. Find a seat in an old restaurant and taste the traditional Taizhou cuisine, and you will understand the gentle fireworks of this city. #美食六期味会

As I walked across the time-worn bluestone slabs of Taizhou Old Street, the evening breeze carried the sweet fragrance of osmanthus flowers from the alley entrance. The red lanterns on the brick walls gradually lit up, reflecting the wooden sign that read "Old Taizhou Intangible Cultural Heritage Cuisine," making it feel like an old acquaintance waving at me from the end of the alley. The door creaked on its hinges as I pushed it open. Yellowed black-and-white photos hung on the walls, showing fishing boats moored at the Taizhou docks from the last century, and a chef in a blue shirt bent over slicing dried bean curd strips. The waiter smiled as he handed me the menu, saying, "Every dish in our family carries the roots of old Taizhou. Some of our techniques have been passed down for four or five generations." Taizhou cuisine is the branch of Huaiyang cuisine that most embodies "freshness." This freshness isn't achieved through a combination of seasonings but rather through the nourishment of the local waters and soil—fish and shrimp from Qinhu Lake near the city, fresh river food from the Yangtze River estuary, and soybeans and greens grown in the local soil and water. The older generation incorporated this gift of water into their meals, slowly becoming a part of their intangible cultural heritage. First came the hot dried bean curd strips, served in a white porcelain bowl so fine they translucent. The waiter explained that the knife skills were honed by a third-generation hand. Local small soybeans are soaked for twelve hours, ground into a paste, and then dried until half-dry. Then, they're finely chopped with a flat knife and blanched three times in boiling water to remove the bean smell while retaining its tenderness. Dipping a chopstick into the sesame oil and soy sauce, the bite was filled with a rich, fresh flavor, the aroma of the bean spreading slowly in the mouth. Unlike the tough dried bean curd strips found elsewhere, this one was soft and tender, like holding the tenderness of spring in your mouth. Next came the freshly baked Huangqiao sesame pancakes, still steaming from their paper bags. Breaking open the layers of crispy shells, the salty ones, coated in chopped scallions and lard, were crunchy yet not pungent; the sweet ones, filled with a delicate bean paste, were sweet but not cloying. The chef explained that these pancakes, which accompanied the troops through the war years, are now made on the old street, hoping to share the traditional flavors and stories. Later, we ordered the Qinhu Lake Crab. The shell was a dark green, but when opened, it was filled with orange-red crab roe. Dipping it in vinegar, it was incredibly delicious. The waiter explained that the "catch" method is unique to Taizhou. Only crabs that are fat enough are accepted when catching crabs in Qinhu Lake. This custom has been around since the Ming Dynasty and is now a geographical landmark. Sitting in the shop, gazing out the window, I watched as some people gathered around a sugar-painting artist, others sat on bamboo chairs listening to pingtan (Chinese folk tales), the crab legs still fresh in my hand. I suddenly understood the meaning of intangible cultural heritage cuisine—it's not just a cold, rigid craft, but the stories of the lives of Taizhou residents, woven into the tenderness of dried bean curd sheets, the crispness of sesame cakes, and the savory crab meat. If you enjoy slowing down and exploring the old alleys for a taste steeped in history, don't miss this restaurant. After all, the opportunity to savor a meal steeped in the centuries-old tradition isn't something you can find everywhere. #美食六味会