The last alleyway kitchen in Shanghai exudes a taste reminiscent of the memories of the citizens, "This brand is still worth some copper jewelry... it's a pity" kitchen | residents | alleyways
On the morning of the 9th, in a alleyway near Dagu Road in Shimen, Master He, who was over sixty years old, was cooking noodles in front of the stove while caring about the heat of the sauce eggs next to him. Residents occasionally shuttled behind him. This is the kitchen of Shengyang Xiaolongguan.
Since 1958, this small restaurant with only a few dozen square meters and four square tables has accompanied several generations of residents in the surrounding area for 65 years. Recently, the alleyway where Shengyang Xiaolongguan is located has officially started renovation, and the small shop has entered the countdown to closure.
The business starts at 7am every day and closes at 2pm. The small shop is not open for long, but the business is very good. All the seats in the store are fully booked early in the morning, and queuing up at lunchtime is even more common. Master He recalled that when he first started working here, there were over 20 employees who worked three shifts a day and could work until 11 pm. Now the senior employees are gradually retiring, leaving only a few elderly people still holding on.
Shengyang Xiaolongguan is a state-owned and time-honored restaurant under the jurisdiction of Xinzhenjiang Company. It operates as a private contract and pays a certain proportion of profits to the company every month. Recently, the cashier at the small shop has been feeling cold and hot, and cannot come to work. On this day, the cashier sitting at the counter is a friend who was invited by Lao He to save the scene. She used to work at the steamed bun stall in Wangjiasha.
On the morning of the 9th, a continuous stream of citizens came to the store to have breakfast. Many of them are old residents who have heard that Xiaolongguan will be closed and come to taste it. They have moved out of this neighborhood many years ago, but they are deeply impressed by this restaurant that has grown from a snack to a big one.
The stall for watering the small shop has been selling cold noodles recently. The method is simple and traditional, but the taste is quite appropriate. The taste of noodles is soft but not lacking in texture, and the taste of toppings is mostly the sweet taste favored by Shanghai people. The price ranges from ten to 30 yuan, which fluctuates depending on the type of topper, making it very cost-effective.
On one side of the small shop, there is a window that connects to the serving entrance of the alley kitchen. In the early years, the kitchen used a coal ball stove, but later gas was connected. The renovated alleyway kitchen has a history of nearly 30 years, but with the evacuation of the small shop, the only existing alleyway kitchen in Shanghai will also enter history.
The stove in the alley kitchen has a strong sense of time.
On one side is the busyness in front of the stove, and behind it are the residents and pedestrians shuttling through the alleyway, which is also a rare sight in Shanghai today.
The kitchen's serving opening is open on the stove, and the Soy egg with thick oil and red sauce are boiling in the boiling pot.
At present, there is only Master He among the kitchen chefs in the small shop, while the cashier in the front shop occasionally comes in to help lend a hand. For people of this age, the intensity and hardship of working in such an environment during the hot summer can be imagined.
Nowadays, most alley kitchens only do some cooking work and do not produce any oil fumes. The stir frying of toppings and the production of small cages are all completed in the kitchen of the small shop located on Zhenning Road, and then the master shuttles back and forth to pick up the goods. Master He said that in the early years, the alleyway kitchen also used to cook oil pots, but with the changing times, the health awareness of surrounding residents is gradually increasing, and they have opinions about the smell of oil fumes in small shops. Master He decided to simply peel off this job from the kitchen.
Lao He is 65 years old this year and has already passed the retirement age. When asked about the future fate of the small shop, Lao He, who had an outgoing personality, smiled all over his face, but his tone was full of regret: "There are no young people willing to do it, so I have to bear it on my own. Currently, I can only open it for about two to three months at most. When the house is closed, this matter will be over, and I will be able to retire. It's a pity that this brand, which has been around for so many years, is still worth some copper jewelry."
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