Reflecting the details of urban development, the "fireworks" story hidden in the restaurant of the oldest worker's new village in Shanghai
At 3 o'clock in the morning, at the Tuojiao Toumian restaurant on Meiling South Road, the master has been cooking the topping for the day, and it has been like a day for 30 years; At 9 o'clock in the morning, in front of the Fengyu Catering Cold Noodle Window on Meiling North Road, Changlong had already left the door; At 12 noon, as soon as the small half caf é in the residential area of Beiyang Garden opened, the owner saw another flower blooming from the potted plant. He couldn't wait to take a photo and share it with the customers who shared the food; At 2 o'clock in the afternoon, at the Xinzhenjiang Fumai Xiaolongguan on Zhongshan North Road, a set of afternoon tea dishes with a small cage and a cup of coffee were placed on the dining table on time
In the streets and alleys of Caoyang New Village, there are always some small shops hidden. Their environment is not as sophisticated as high-end restaurants, but they have a unique taste and warmth. Some of them have witnessed the innovation of neighborhood governance exploration, some have integrated with residential areas, and some have created new flavors through inheritance and innovation. As the "capillaries" of the regional economy, the "fireworks stories" inside and outside its diet also demonstrate the urban development details of the first worker's new village in New China, which continues to promote the construction of a "15 minute community living circle" and strives to create a "demonstration point for the people's city".
The inseparable bond with the neighborhood: witnessing governance reform
The inseparable bond with the neighborhood: witnessing governance reform
Eating a bowl of cold noodles on a hot day is a unique way for Shanghai people to pass the summer. Every morning at 9 o'clock, there is a long queue in front of the Fengyu Restaurant Cold Noodle Window located at the intersection of Meiling North Road and Lanxi Road. Some of them specially pack cold noodles and taste them with their families after returning home; Some drove specifically from Jiangqiao to taste the most authentic flavor in their hearts.
The store manager, Mr. Wu, introduced that the essence of Fengyu Cold Noodle lies in the mastery of the strength of the noodles, the ingredients used, and the proportion of the craftsmanship. "When cooking noodles, as soon as you take them out of the pot, you should blow them cool immediately. Once cooked too much, even if you blow them immediately, the noodles will still clump up. There is no need for special light soy sauce or dark soy sauce on the seasoning. Instead, use the most primitive soybeans to brew soy sauce, let it cool naturally, mix it with vinegar and peanut butter, and mix it in proportion to taste better."
Abundant Cold Noodles
This street side shop, which has been open for 18 years, has witnessed the changes in traffic control on surrounding roads. Driving southeast along the one-way street on the right side of the storefront for two intersections leads to one of the busiest commercial districts in Caoyang - Lanxi Road Commercial Street. Along this street, there are Caoyang Mall, Modern Times Square, Cyber Digital Square, Putuo District Central Hospital, etc., with dense pedestrian traffic and occasional congestion. In 1993, in order to improve the traffic situation, this section of the road was adjusted to a one-way street, with balanced traffic flow and significantly increased road capacity.
The road planning concept of "curved, narrow, and dense" also confirms the "neighborhood unit" construction concept adopted during the construction of Caoyang New Village. Residents can walk within 15 minutes for recreation, medical treatment, or shopping. The "15 minute life circle" among contemporary population began to take shape in Caoyang New Village as early as the 1950s.
Focusing one's perspective from a street to a store can also reveal the strong foot traffic in this area. At the end of 2020, Mingshi Baozi Shop opened at the entrance of Caoyang Mall. This is a derivative store of Xinmingshi Hotel. It mainly sells five kinds of goods, namely, fresh meat buns, vegetable buns, Meigan cai buns, osmanthus bean sandbags, and Shaomai. It is famous for its handmade products, thin skin and rich stuffing, and good quality and low price. The salesperson recalled that there were nearly a hundred customers queuing in a day, and they needed to pull up five folded red lines to maintain order. The combined sales of steamed buns and shaomai could reach nearly 100000.
Looking across from the bustling Caoyang Shopping Mall, Guixiangfang Pedestrian Street appears much quieter. Vehicles are strictly prohibited from passing, creating a more "slow living" atmosphere in this 388 meter long neighborhood. Xiaotaoyuan Restaurant, Longhe Japanese style Restaurant, and the Reading Crispy Family Bakery at the end of the street are all treasure shops that residents often visit.
Guixiangfang
Not only that, the staff of the Reading Crisp Family Bakery also attended this year's Caoyang Xincun Street Regional Party Building Conference, and together with representatives from other merchants, launched the initiative to create a civilized demonstration block. Originally, Guixiangfang completed an upgrade and transformation of environmental improvement, building renovation, and vegetable market renewal in 2021. In order to further consolidate the achievements of the renovation, the street led the establishment of the "Guixiangfang Street Federation" joint party committee, bringing various government management departments and street merchants into the "circle of friends" to jointly manage this pedestrian street with strong "fireworks" and create a model of civilized demonstration blocks.
For catering operations, street side means convenient transportation and stable pedestrian flow. In Caoyang, a small restaurant hidden in a residential area unexpectedly gained popularity due to its high popularity. The small half of the caf é that opened last year has established a stable customer base, with over 30 square meters of space filled all day long - even if the left side of the store door is a garbage disposal station and surrounded by aging residential buildings. "When I first arrived, this was just a dirty and unused warehouse. I had some thoughts of escaping, but after getting in touch, I realized that Caoyang is a happy and nurturing place," said Ms. Wang, the shop owner.
A wonderful collision with the community: mutual integration and growth
For catering operations, street side means convenient transportation and stable pedestrian flow. In Caoyang, a small restaurant hidden in a residential area unexpectedly gained popularity due to its high popularity. The small half of the caf é that opened last year has established a stable customer base, with over 30 square meters of space filled all day long - even if the left side of the store door is a garbage disposal station and surrounded by aging residential buildings. "When I first arrived, this was just a dirty and unused warehouse. I had some thoughts of escaping, but after getting in touch, I realized that Caoyang is a happy and nurturing place," said Ms. Wang, the shop owner.
Previously, Ms. Wang had been operating a coffee shop in Xuhui District. In the past three years, her business has been declining due to the impact of the epidemic. Therefore, she decided to find a temporary foothold elsewhere to get through the buffer period of being out of touch. With the recommendation of a friend, she chose building 242 in the residential area of Beiyangyuan, which has low rent but is far from the bustling commercial area, for the new store in March last year. At the beginning of handling decoration matters, work was stopped from time to time due to the influence of the overall environment. Nowadays, the popular push-pull folding retro window sill has been hollowed out in the form of only installing window frames for over a month. Until one day, when Ms. Wang was able to enter the community and start the renovation plan again, she found that the center of the window frame had been easily covered by plastic film, and nothing inside was lost.
Half Coffee
Upon learning that the sanitation worker from the neighboring garbage disposal station was helping to cover the plastic film, Ms. Wang wanted to send a "red envelope" on WeChat to thank the other party, but was refused. "They said it was a small matter, and if there were any unused cardboard boxes and plastic bottles, I was touched by this simplicity and purity." After the business got back on track, there were also customers who voluntarily brought potted plants and learned how to make coffee from them. Ms. Wang, who has been working under a fast-paced and high-pressure environment all year round, now enjoys this leisure. "After coming here, my body and mind have been greatly restored. I also like the Huaxi Road, Huanbang, and Baixi Park here, and take a stroll in my free time."
Another caf é, which opened in May this year, actively joined the community autonomy and co governance work. Youshan Coffee, located at 3329 Zhongshan North Road, is under the jurisdiction of Caoyang Jinling Garden Residential Area. It is adjacent to a huge wutong tree. The decoration color of Klein Blue with beige white is quite Mediterranean Santorini style. Its main product, Hawthorn Cold Extract, has become a "favorite" of many customers.
Youshan Coffee
The leisure space that resembles a "secret courtyard" is not simple. During the period when Youshan Coffee settled in Caoyang, the Jinlingyuan residential area vigorously promoted the construction of a "youth community". The Party branch combined coffee, a popular form of food consumption among young people, with the project and invited shop owners to join the "second tier" of the community to provide youth discussion space and participate in community autonomy and governance. This is the main discussion base. In mid May, the first Youth Council kicked off here. I hope to arrange business training for community autonomy related personnel to enhance their work abilities. I also hope that youth activities can be more sustainable and organized regularly without interruption. Amidst the fragrance of coffee, the birth of people's suggestions adds a charm of integrated development with the community to this treasure shop.
Spicy diced pork topped noodles
Competition with the Times: Exploration by the Stove
The fireworks come from the stove, and almost all the stories of small restaurants start from here. At 3am, the Tuojiao Toumian restaurant located at 19 Meiling South Road lit up, and Mr. Gao, who was in his 70s, walked into the kitchen to prepare the ingredients needed for the day's business. Carefully inspect the purchased noodles again, knead them to make them soft and observe their color; The topping should be done freshly, especially the signature diced cured meat. It should be marinated before stir frying, firm and with a meat aroma. The seasoning should be spicy and sweet. He was busy and had a strong physique, and the name of the shop was also related to it - after starting to study noodles, Uncle Gao became fatter and fatter as he ate. Old customers liked to call him "Toutou" in Shanghai dialect, and because the noodle shop was located in Putuo District, he changed the originally named Maolin Noodle Shop to Tuotuotou Noodle Shop.
Spicy diced pork topped noodles
After changing its name and address, as well as three years of the epidemic, the Tuodaotou Noodle Restaurant has been open for more than 30 years without collapsing. Uncle Gao is a native of Caoyang. In order to make the dishes more in line with the taste of current customers, he and his wife pay attention to customer feedback and learn that many residents love to eat vegetarian mixed noodles, beef noodles, and fatty sausage noodles. Therefore, they started to increase the corresponding dishes; To make the dining space more spacious, they demolished the attic and left more space for the dine in area.
In recent years, Uncle Gao and his wife have gradually retreated to the second line and passed the baton to their son. Not long after taking on the business, my son innovatively improved the structure of the restaurant, allowing the head chef to cook in a more comfortable environment.
