As for its special dishes, we might as well mention two.
In the history of Beijing, there was a single exception, a restaurant run by "Kouzi Chu". That was the "Runming Building" opened in Dong'an Market in the 1920s.
At that time, there were two signature foods of "Runminglou", one was "Huo Shao" and the other was "Crab Race".
Both of these items were created by Master Wuerhunwuqi of Shanzheng during the Tongzhi period. They are authentic imperial dishes. Later, they were introduced to this industry through the apprenticeship of "Kouzi Chef" He San.
Therefore, in addition to going to this restaurant, if people in the capital want to eat these two things, they have to do "ceremony and white things" to enjoy the food. It is also because of this special feature that the business of "Runming Tower" is booming.
As for later, "Kouzi Kitchen" gradually disappeared due to changing customs and simplified weddings and funerals. Instead, two guys from "Runming House" founded "Xiangrui Restaurant" in Menzhang Hutong, which is today's "Ruibin House".
The "fire-burning method" has been passed down.
Nowadays, this flavor has become the signature of this well-known time-honored brand in Beijing. Everyone in the old Beijing knows that the only way to eat "Huoshao" is "Ruibinlou".
Like other miscellaneous chain stores, the "Huo Shao Shao" they make is mushy and greasy, which may confuse people who don't understand it, or it's just for convenience.
Finally, there is a key point, which is the most popular thing about "Kouzi Chef". That is trustworthiness, being considerate of customers, being considerate, and never doing anything wrong.
People in this industry are very gangster-minded. Most of them are brothers in the same discipline, so they only give in and don't argue with each other internally.
When it comes to customers, because we rely on word of mouth, we pay special attention to personal reputation. We must keep our word, and our actions must be resolute.
And the most important thing is that not only do the dishes they make make good use of ingredients, they are always richer and more affordable than originally planned, and they never cut corners. For poor families, they can also decide according to the price agreed in advance, and find ways to save face for their customers.
Complete seemingly impossible tasks.
For example, there are two types of jobs accepted by "Kouzi Kitchen": "casual seating" and "reserved seats". "Single work" means that the host purchases the materials himself, and "reserved seats" means that the host has stated in advance how much each table will cost, and the workers and staff will
The materials are settled together.
During the negotiation, the style of the banquet must also be discussed, whether it will be fish, shrimp and sea cucumber, chicken, duck and fish, rice noodles and meat, lion head, braised pork elbow, etc. In particular, it must be stated whether it is for "get".
"Eat", "look good", or "save money", to decide the specific method.
Common banquet noodles include "eight bowls and one sea", "eight bowls and two seas", "eight seas and one pot", "nine pieces of flowers", "four bottoms" and so on. But no matter how frugal it is, it is mainly meat stir-fry.
, there must be some meatballs.
But what should we do if we meet people who can't even afford this money? For example, in today's terms, if there are ten people at a table, each person only has the money to eat a plate of egg fried rice or a bowl of beef noodles in the restaurant.
With money, can I still book a reservation?
In this case, the host often blushes and is embarrassed to speak out.
But as long as there are enough people, if you name a specific amount of money, "Kouzi Chef" can blurt out without thinking, "Okay, okay, how much money do you have to pay for our Kouzi service? We can do as much work as we want, anyway."
I am worthy of you, and I will never be indebted to you."
And then such a banquet can actually be done beautifully.
Either four large plates of meat stir-fry, two bowls of stewed vegetables, a large bowl of soup, rice, steamed buns and flower rolls. Or four large plates of meat stir-fry, a bowl of diced pork with fried sauce, a bowl of meat slices with stewed eggs, and enough water for noodles.
.
In fact, the money earned by "Kouzi Kitchen" here is all from the relationship with suppliers, and it never wastes raw materials. The principle of work is always "We must not lose anyone, hello, me, everyone"
"Good", so as to attract repeat customers.
For this reason, ordinary people in the capital never look for restaurants when doing business, but only look for holes. Their reputation is extremely high.
That's right, what I said above is actually to express one meaning.
Master Pang, who is in his fifties, is the canteen master who changed his career from "Kouzi Chef" in Zhenggen.
He studied under He Sanyi, whose master was a well-known "Cook Meng" in the south of old Beijing.
In the past, whether it was well-known or not mainly depended on whether it could create a brand name and whether a sign should be hung in front of the house. The full name of Master Pang's master's house was "Lam Gan City Kouzimeng".
How come the employees of "Polar Bear" are so good at eating? They are all "skilled" people, they can save materials, know a lot of dishes, and the taste is good. They are not ordinary team leaders.
As for Li Fu, after he returned to Beijing from his hometown in the 1950s, it was hard to find a job, so he worked as a "waitress" for a while.
Although the work was getting less and less, until the "Three Years of Natural Disaster", he could still make a living by running around.
Therefore, after meeting with Master Pang, he exchanged some pleasantries and said, "I would like to ask you to arrange a 'reservation' of 'luozuo' (meticulously made). One with a higher standard, are you interested?"
Master Pang laughed when he heard this, and then added another sentence, "Does that mean both 'wagging' (fish) and 'wanlao' (shrimp)? Or just 'gaoqing' (chicken) and 'flat mouth'
(Duck’s)?”
Well, just with these few words of insider knowledge, the two of them connected like secret agents who knew the secret code.
Since they are both from the same family, it will be easy to talk about it later. The two of them will talk about it in detail, and the matter will be settled.
The final price calculated by Li Fu and Master Pang was 600 yuan for thirty tables of seafood banquets of the highest standard, so they paid a deposit of 200 yuan on the spot according to the old rules.
Having said that, Hong Yanwu has two questions to ask.
First, since Master Pang has great faith, how could he agree to this?
Secondly, the price is really not expensive. Moreover, Master Pang also promised that if there is an increase in the number of seats, there will be no extra charge for adding three or five more seats.
So is his job hard? He won't be able to save face and end up working in vain, and he won't be able to earn much, right?
Unexpectedly, Li Fu laughed all the time when he heard him ask such a question. He first said, "How about I say that Master Pang is an expert." Then he explained to Hong Yanwu one by one.
It is clear that there is no shortage of business on some days. People who do business will come to ask for help in advance, and everyone, including the employer and the master, knows what to do.
Although he is very particular about his words and will not increase prices randomly according to market trends, there are still jobs that are large and small, rich and frugal.
Therefore, experienced "mouth masters" will first excuse others by accepting the job. In addition to seeing whether there are big jobs or sweet jobs in the future, they also prepare people with real friendships to come to them.
When it comes to this price, Master Pang will definitely not lose money.
Because money is saved in "Kouzi Kitchen", the bigger the job, the better the money.
Master Pang is now the chief cook of the big canteen, so he can think of many ways to deal with raw materials. When it comes time to make it, at least half of the 600 yuan will fall into his hands.
As for temporarily adding seats, "Kouzi" also has its own methods.
To put it bluntly, it is nothing more than a patchwork of things. Originally, the "Kouzi" banquet noodles are enough, so it is not difficult to make them even.
It doesn't even matter if it's a whole main dish like "Braised Pork Elbow" or "Braised Chicken".
The person in charge of serving the food only needs to show it to the guests first, and then say, "I will bring it down for you to open before serving." That's it.
In this way, when it is served and then cut, half the amount of food can be added. It is like preparing twenty whole elbows, but it can be enough for thirty people at the table. What is the added cost of this?
At this point, Hong Yanwu suddenly realized that he was completely enlightened. It is true that every walk of life has its own way. It may seem difficult to outsiders, but in fact there are secrets.