China News Service Ningde, Fujian, December 12 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong and Taiwan couples in Ningde: meet friends with food and make every dish with heart
Author: Lu Qiaoqin, Lin Rongsheng
Open the fire, put the oil on it, and get it in the pho... In Fan Yuanguang's continuous stir-frying, a steaming and fragrant "dry fried beef river" came out of the pot.
On December 12th, Fan Yuanguang just stir-fried a steaming and fragrant "dry fried beef river" out of the pot. Photo by Lin Rongsheng
"'Stir-fried Beef River' is our signature dish here." Fan Yuanguang told a reporter from China News Service that customers who come to the restaurant will basically order this dish, which is also a classic staple food in Hong Kong.
Fan Yuanguang, 66, is from Hong Kong and lives and starts a business in Ningde City, Fujian Province. ”
In 2014, because his wife Lan Fang from Taiwan wanted to return to his ancestral hometown of Ningde City, Fan Yuanguang followed his wife to Ningde City, "Because of love, I didn't know where Ningde was and what it was like, but I didn't expect to stay for 10 years as soon as I came", he said with a smile.
When he first arrived in Ningde, Fan Yuanguang and his wife ran a 75-square-meter snack and noodle shop, and the business was not bad. More than a year later, the duo reopened a 150-square-metre restaurant called "Hong Kong Celebrity Chef" to serve authentic Cantonese cuisine.
Fan Yuanguang said that at that time, there was no Cantonese restaurant in Ningde, and he and his lover had always wanted to open one, "After opening the store, the business was very hot, many customers came to taste it, and the store slowly entered the field of vision of Ningde people." ”
Today, Fan's "Hong Kong Celebrity Chef" restaurant has expanded to 340 square meters. The area is changing, but what remains the same is that Fan Yuanguang still insists on cooking every dish himself, hoping to present authentic Cantonese cuisine to local diners, and also want diners to feel that this is a restaurant with love.
When a reporter from China News Service recently met Fan Yuanguang, who has been cooking for 56 years, he was busy in the back kitchen, and saw him holding a kitchen knife, moving quickly on the cutting board, and the ingredients were cut very finely. Stir-fried beef river, crystal shrimp dumplings, rainbow begonias, chicken feet in roasted sauce, roasted pigeon in Sha Tin... The delicious dishes on the menu are all made by Fan Yuanguang.
On December 12, Fan Yuanguang was busy in the back kitchen, and the ingredients were cut very finely. Photo by Lin Rongsheng
Fan Yuanguang said that customers are Xi to eating the dishes he cooks, and the taste customers can eat as soon as they eat, and his highest record is to fry more than 70 tables of dishes a day.
In order to present the authentic flavors of Cantonese cuisine, Fan Yuanguang wakes up at 6 a.m. every day to go to the market to carefully select ingredients and prepare dishes, and the restaurant is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. "Even though I'm tired, I'm happy." Fan Yuanguang said that he was fortunate to have met many friends in Ningde through food, and they also gave high praise to their cooking skills; In the future, I also hope to reduce stress by training chefs.
On weekdays, Lan Fang will also help in the kitchen in addition to stir-frying, and the couple are happy. Lan Fang said that they have also innovated traditional Cantonese cuisine to make the taste more in line with the taste of Ningde people, and will also make personalized adjustments according to the taste requirements of different guests.
In Lan Fang's eyes, Fan Yuanguang is a capable, talented, caring and patient person, "Old customers are also very supportive of us, and they often come to the store to eat and chat." ”
Talking about the future, Fan Yuanguang said with a smile that when he couldn't do it anymore, he would go on a trip with his wife, walk around, and enjoy the beautiful rivers and mountains. (ENDS)