From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Feng Zhengming's acquisition and integration of snack shops at tourist attractions in Beijing went very smoothly.

The first shop to complete the rectification was that small restaurant serving boiled mutton head.

Although the shop is small, Feng Zhengming has renovated it, expanding the interior space considerably.

In addition, they added an antique-style storefront and hung up the old signboard for boiled mutton head.

It really does give everyone the feeling of an old, established store.

The restaurant's main dish is still boiled mutton head.

But besides boiled sheep's head, there are also various mutton dishes, as well as mutton spine and mutton hot pot.

And various dishes made with different lamb offal, and even a small window that specializes in selling large grilled lamb skewers.

In the blink of an eye, Feng Zhengming transformed the small shop selling boiled mutton head into a whole-lamb restaurant.

The mutton used was sourced from suppliers that Feng Zhengming specifically contacted from other regions.

Every morning, goods are supplied to several of Feng Zhengming's stores together.

On the day the Baishui Yangtou restaurant reopened, Feng Zhengming personally went to the store to provide guidance.

Then, Master Wang, Master Hou, and other chefs from Beijing who had a good relationship with Feng Zhengming all came to offer their congratulations.

Even some people from Beijing came specifically to see the results of Feng Zhengming's renovation of the store.

The attraction had just opened close to noon when many tourists began to flock to it.

Some children, seeing the sizzling, oily skewers of lamb grilling at the small window, naturally had no resistance and immediately clamored for lamb skewers.

People who bring their children on vacation are not stingy with the money for a skewer of lamb.

Furthermore, they believed that since the shop was acquired by Feng Zhuangyuan, the lamb skewers in the shop must be made with real lamb.

This is much more reassuring than the lamb skewers you buy randomly on the street, where you don't even know what kind of meat they contain.

The children, upon receiving the large lamb skewers, ate with gusto, raving to their parents how delicious they were.

Then there are some gourmets from Beijing who come specifically for the boiled mutton head.

Once inside the restaurant, the group of gourmets from Beijing found seats and sat down.

When ordering food, they not only ask for lamb cheek meat, but also for lamb eyes and the like.

Of course, the most important thing is to have a plate of sesame paste flatbread.

The sesame seed cakes in the shop were also improved by Feng Zhengming, who sent his apprentices to learn from professional masters.

Feng Zhengming also plans to open another small shop specializing in sesame paste flatbread later.

From now on, if people want to eat sesame paste flatbread with boiled mutton head meat, they have to buy the flatbread first.

When sesame seed cakes are served, connoisseurs know better and will break one open to take a look.

When you break it open, you can see that there isn't even a tiny bit of white flesh inside.

Immediately, gourmets applauded.

"Okay, that's authentic."

"Hey, I never thought I could still find such authentic sesame paste flatbread after all these years."

"Look at how well they make these sesame seed cakes, and then look at the sesame seed cakes from other places? They're just embarrassing."

"That's right. Feng Zhuangyuan is a Shandong cuisine chef, and he's the one who's passed down our old skills."

Next, the boiled mutton head was served, along with a special horn-shaped salt and pepper jar.

Seeing the accompanying horn-shaped salt and pepper jar, the gourmets couldn't resist reaching out to touch it.

Suddenly, even plain boiled mutton head meat didn't taste good anymore; this horn-shaped salt and pepper jar was much better.

"Oh my, this is really good stuff."

"I never expected to see this again."

"That's right, this stuff is really good."

Just as the gourmets were enjoying it so much, a voice suddenly rang out from the table.

"This is for seasoning. When you eat lamb, you can sprinkle the seasoning on top, but you can't take this away."

Upon hearing this voice, the several gourmets from Beijing turned around in surprise.

Then I saw a pretty little figure standing by the table.

"Oh my, whose child is this? So beautiful."

"This little girl is so pretty."

"Yes, yes, just like the princesses in the palace back then."

"What princess? She's the daughter of Scholar Feng."

"Oh, so this is Scholar Feng's daughter? She's grown up so much!"

Feng Nuanyou wasn't scared at all and continued to emphasize, "You're not allowed to take that horn."

These words amused the gourmets.

"Haha, okay, okay, we won't take it."

"Yes, yes, I promise I won't take it away."

At this moment, Luo Qing also came over and picked up her daughter.

"Excuse me, the child disturbed you."

The gourmets looked at the woman holding the little girl and smiled, indicating that it was alright.

"It's alright, the child is right, we can't take it."

"This is a treasure; we really can't take it away."

"We old folks haven't seen this thing in so long, it's quite a novelty for us."

Luo Qing: "Those of you can take a look around, it's fine."

The gourmets also expressed their gratitude to Luo Qing.

Afterwards, the gourmets followed the method they remembered from back then, shaking the ox horn to sprinkle the salt and pepper inside onto the mutton head meat.

First, he used chopsticks to pick up a piece of mutton and ate it with his mouth open.

"Yes, yes, that's the taste."

"It's really delicious, just like the old taste."

"Hey, I never thought I'd be able to taste the flavors of my childhood at my age."

"It was really not easy to eat this when I was a child."

He ate a piece of the meat on his bare tongue, then laid out a sesame seed cake, sandwiched the mutton head between the cakes, and added some slices of mutton's eyes as well.

The sesame seed cake was almost completely stuffed inside.

You also need to hold the sesame seed cake in your hand and not rush to eat it. You need to use the heat of the sesame seed cake to warm up the mutton first.

The salt and pepper granules on the surface of the mutton should dissolve, and the fat from the mutton head meat should also seep out due to heating.

Then take another bite of the sesame seed cake, the mutton head meat, and the slices of mutton's eye inside.

This bite offers the crispness of the sesame seed cake, the aroma of sesame, the fragrance of salt and pepper melting inside, the rich aroma of the mutton head meat with its fat, and the chewy texture of the mutton eyes.

The food left the several gourmets from Beijing thoroughly satisfied.

The group finished off a plate of boiled mutton head and several sesame seed cakes.

There's still a feeling of wanting more.

Then everyone ordered a bowl of mutton soup.

The dish served was a milky white mutton soup. Looking at the milky white broth, with a thin layer of oil floating on the surface, along with finely chopped scallions and cilantro, it was quite impressive.

Several gourmets from Beijing felt that this meal was truly satisfying.

In their minds, the shop that Feng Zhengming renovated was simply the most delicious little shop in their hearts.

Several gourmets have decided that they will definitely come more often when they have the time.

Customers both inside and outside the store were extremely satisfied.

Those who came specifically to see the store were all very satisfied with Feng Zhengming's improvements.

The key point is that everyone can see that Feng Zhengming is not just doing superficial work.

He has inherited the most traditional aspects of boiled mutton head and has even gained the approval of several gourmets in Beijing.

This is enough to show that Feng Zhengming is indeed serious about continuing to make good boiled mutton head soup.

Feng Zhengming opened a small window to sell lamb skewers to tourists visiting the scenic spots, which greatly increased his popularity and made many tourists remember the shop.

Sure enough, soon, many more tourists came looking for them with their children.

After all, if your own child sees other children holding big meat skewers, they certainly don't want their child to fall behind.

Moreover, seeing that the store only sells mutton made the parents feel at ease.

Feng Zhengming's shop also welcomed a few unusual customers today.

These customers all share the surname Ma.

They are Hui people from Beijing.

I came here today specifically to see if Feng Zhengming's shop meets the requirements. If it does, they will put up a halal label for the shop.

Feng Zhengming smiled and invited them into the store for a thorough inspection.

A chef surnamed Ma saw a young apprentice cutting mutton in the kitchen.

He smiled and said, "Feng Zhuangyuan's apprentices are really skilled. The willow-leaf cuts of this mutton are so well done. Are they preparing to make stir-fried mutton with scallions?"

Feng Zhengming responded: "Yes, Master Ma, this mutton is for making stir-fried mutton with scallions, and it can also be used for hot pot."

Master Ma then asked, "In your little shop, wouldn't you like a 'It's Like Honey'?"

Hearing Chef Ma's words, Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "This dish, 'It's Like Honey,' is quite difficult to make. Why don't you demonstrate it for us, Chef Ma?"

Master Ma laughed and said, "Alright, show the younger generation what you've got."

You can tell from his appearance that Master Ma is a very straightforward person.

After taking off his coat and putting on an apron, Chef Ma, wearing a chef's hat, walked into the kitchen.

"Children, it's clear from your knife skills that you've practiced diligently, which is excellent."

The apprentices saw Feng Zhengming accompanying a master chef into the kitchen.

They all greeted Master Ma with great respect.

Master Ma asked for a knife, carefully examined the blade, then asked for a piece of mutton, and began slicing the meat on his own.

While cutting, Chef Ma also explained the details to the kitchen apprentices.

Feng Zhengming remained silent, allowing the kitchen apprentices to take the opportunity to learn properly.

After slicing the meat, Chef Ma's next steps also made the apprentices in the kitchen take things seriously.

Watching Master Ma marinate the mutton and then cook it.

Especially the quick flip of the ladle before serving, which made the apprentices in the kitchen applaud.

"Alright, here it comes. This is an old imperial dish. It tastes like honey, and it was named by Empress Dowager Cixi."

Feng Zhengming smiled, clapped, and stepped forward: "Great job, Master Ma's skills are truly amazing."

Master Ma looked at Feng Zhengming: "Scholar Feng, there are quite a few halal restaurants in the capital. We can exchange ideas more often in the future. There are many ways to cook mutton, not only stir-fried mutton with scallions and mutton with honey, but also braised mutton chops, and mutton-filled buns."

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "Then I will have to ask all the masters for guidance in the future."

The other masters also smiled and expressed their willingness to come and exchange ideas more often.

After seeing off Master Ma, Master Hou, and the people who came to inspect, etc.

Feng Zhengming then spoke to the old shopkeepers again.

"If we're going to run a restaurant, we have to do it to the best of our ability. Your boiled mutton head is the best of our ability, and the mutton dishes I've added for you are also all meant to be the best of our ability. Only in this way can we run a successful restaurant."

The old shop owner exclaimed, "You truly deserve to be called the national culinary champion! Your changes have really revitalized my little shop."

Feng Zhengming: "Although this is a small shop, your craftsmanship is worth passing down. As a classic street food in Beijing, we should still try to preserve it."

The shop owner said, "Thank you. With you here, there won't be any problems."

Feng Zhengming's restaurant, Shui Yangtou, quickly became famous in Beijing.

The key point is that his pilot project to reform snack shops has gained everyone's approval.

Master Hou and Master Wang were invited to attend a related symposium.

At the meeting, relevant departments also praised Feng Zhengming's acquisition and integration.

“We should give more support to talents like Feng Zhuangyuan and help him to run our Beijing snack shops well so that those classic snacks can be passed down.”

Then, the people in the capital also felt that they should find a way to keep Feng Zhengming in the capital.

"Keeping him in the capital is truly the best thing for the development of our city's food and beverage industry. Otherwise, people will always think that we in the capital don't have any decent food and that it's all just offal."

These words made Master Wang and Master Hou, who were present, laugh.

If it were up to them, wouldn't they also want to keep Feng Zhengming in the capital?
Feng Zhengming's abilities are simply too strong.

He always manages to pinpoint the unique characteristics of local delicacies.

He can also uncover those flavors that people can't forget.

This is something that makes everyone feel comfortable.

Unlike some business owners who are more interested in making money and take over an old shop, quickly ruining it.

Even some long-established brands have not been spared, as they have been overly commercialized.

It has lost the original flavor that time-honored brands should have, and it has also lost the status that time-honored brands have in people's hearts.

Feng Zhengming takes a different approach; he tries his best to study the unique features of the old shops.

Based on the unique characteristics of the original store, some commercial elements were added.

In this way, the unique characteristics of the old store are preserved, and the old store can be accepted by young people.

This is also a development path that established businesses should take.

Otherwise, they simply cling to so-called old things, but in reality, they do things in a way that is neither here nor there.

Not only will it fail to retain the original characteristics of the old store, but it will also be difficult to attract more customers.

Master Wang said, "It's difficult to keep Zhengming in the capital, but we can have him come to the capital more often and do some things well there. I believe he will do a good job in doing things well before he leaves."

Master Hou: "He has done a great job. The boiled mutton head is a good example. There is also another small pancake shop not far away, which has already opened and is very popular."

Another chef chimed in, "There's also a small shop in a hutong (alleyway) that serves incredibly delicious braised pig's head, even though it's a bit further from the tourist attractions."

"There's also a noodle shop that serves braised pork. I went there and it was really delicious. It tasted just like the old days, and it was reasonably priced."

After hearing everyone's introduction, the people at the meeting realized that Feng Zhengming had indeed done a lot.

Many inconspicuous small shops in Beijing have truly been revitalized after his acquisition and integration.

It also reversed the stereotype that shops around tourist attractions in Beijing are rip-offs.

Although the situation hasn't completely reversed yet, it's believed that after some time, as word-of-mouth spreads about Feng Zhengming's small shops, more and more tourists will choose to eat there. (End of Chapter)