Time-honored Brands
--Tong He Ju and steamed rolls

同和居与银丝卷

It has been a long time since my last visit to the Tong He Ju in Beijing Sanlihe. Most buildings in old Planning Commission compound had been pulled down, leaving several ones standning lonely near the Yue Tan North Street, which makes people feel dejected. Relocated from the original address of Henan restaurant in 1980s，the Tong He Ju, seems have already taken root here, making our young generation still has a sweet memory to those time-honored brands.

Old and famous, the Tong He Ju in Sanlihe was establishied in late Qing Dynasty, which enjoys equal popularity with Feng Ze Yuan , China Wok, Sha guo Ju as well as many other time-honored brands in Beijing. Since the establishment of new People’s Republic of China, the Tong He Ju eventually settled down in Beijing Sanlihe after several changes of relocations. However, having been famous for decades, the specialties such as the Sanbunian, gradually faded out of our sights. A great many guests get there to enjoy the leisure and pleasure at lunch time. If you step closer, you will find most of the guests are the grey-haired rather than business tycoons or celebrities. Perhaps, those kind of successful people will never make a feast in these relatively unsophisticated restaurants, for it is not luxurious and stylish enough. Actaully, authentic Beijing culture lies in the atmosphere in which retired locals chat with close frieds about national affairs while drinking Erguotou. Therefore, people who are enthusiastic about local cultures would be willing to eat here.

“Good foods can always express the true feeling of the cook and suit the taste of the public; also, they can show the local color rather than the artificial pretense. Good food is special, sometimes gentle, sometimes wild, always touching people with the vigour of youth.”wrote in the Bao Shi Jiang Hu of Taiwan gourmet JiaoTong. Sharing equal fame with other Shangdong cuisines in Beijing, Tong He Ju is famous for it’s Sautéed Sea Cucumber with Scallion and Cuttlefish Roe Soup. What impress people deeply and possess exuberant and lasting vitality are the ones adapted to the taste of the public. In Tong He Ju, regular customers would never refuse the charms of the Coke Sauteed Fried Meat Balls, Fried Fish Slices with Wine and Cuttlefish Roe Soup. Cooked in the traditional way , the Coke Sauteed Fried Meat Balls in Tong He Ju has perfect sauce and tender meat. As we know, Fried Fish Slices with Wine were offered both in Huaiyang and Shangdong restaraunts, but the quintessence exists in the quality of the meat and the sauce. What provide customers an unprecedented enjoyment of taste are not unique skills, but the mature control of duration and degree of heating as well as the manipulation to the souce. In addition, the taste of their souce is done to a turn, which is superior to the over sweet taste in southern food and the salty taste in northern cuisines. The Cuttlefish Roe Soup is a famous but simple dish, however, many restaurants cook it in the way of sour-pepper soup in which the nature taste coverd by the pungent odor of the spice. It is the insistence of retaining the original flavor of the food that contribute to the glory of the Tong He Ju. It is easier said than done.

I grew up in Beijing, however, my family were relocated from Zhejiang, hence, my eating habit has a tendecy to be more like southerners’. As my parents had never steamed breads and made fried pancakes, I have no relish at all for steamed bread since I was young. However, soft and chewy, big and round, the lure of steamed bread in Tong He Ju can not be resisted. Once I have it, I cannot stop biting it. The steamed bread is so delicious that only a quote from Shakespeare can express this kind of feeling,”Appetite, a universal wolf”. A typical southerner like me who is not fond of foods made of flour can eat two big steamed breads with a bowl of Cuttlefish Roe Soup. What a fantastic experience!

Although it is not realistic that people are yearned to enjoy the time-honored restaurants in five-star hotels. Since the Fook Lam Moon from Hongkong and the Nadaman from Japan have settled down in Shanghai Pudong Shangri-La hotel, I think, the star-rated hotels can also collaborate with some honoured brands .

许久没有去北京三里河的同和居了。儿时住过的计委宿舍大院已拆得只剩下靠月坛北街的几幢，睹之会让人神伤。八十年代在三里河财政部大楼北面的河南饭庄原址搬迁来的同和居倒是一直没有再迁的意思，使对老字号仍心存敬意的我辈仍有一个念想。

三里河同和居是清末的老字号，和丰泽园、翠华楼、砂锅居等北京城老牌馆子齐名，只是四九年以后几经变迁，最终落户在北京西城三里河，其名吃有三不粘等。但名吃已渐渐淡出人们视野。午餐时分的同和居居然也上了六七成的客人，仔细看有不少头发花白的长者围成一桌，像是老友叙旧，不见那些油头粉面的商界精英，大约这类成功人士不会到这家毗邻发改委财政部的老字号拉关系请客。一是不够奢华，二是菜品不时髦。殊不知，那靠窗一桌的三个退休老人喝着小二锅头，聊着国家大事的气氛才真正是老北京的感觉，就看是什么人对此环境有所喜好了。

台湾美食家焦桐在其《爆食江湖.》自序中写道：“美好的食物总是真情流露，适合大众的口味，不造作矫饰，带着地方特色和联欢性格，有时温柔，有时狂野，总是渲染着青春活力。” 同和居是老字号，其名菜一如其它名声响彻京城的鲁菜名店一样，以葱爆海参，鸟鱼蛋汤为特色。而其适合大众口味的一般菜肴则更是有着持久的生命力，让人难以忘怀。逋一落座，想都不用想即让服务员写菜下单。焦溜丸子、糟溜鱼片、乌鱼蛋汤自是必不可少。同和居的焦溜丸子勾芡焦汁浓稠恰到好处，丸子外焦里嫩，保持了一贯传统。糟溜鱼片这道菜无论淮扬还是鲁菜馆子都做，但其精髓在于鱼肉质量和糟卤汁的甜咸调配适度上。同和居在此菜上的功夫虽非独门绝技，其度拿捏的正好，厨师调汁熟练，绝对使这道菜得味道能称得上一流，盖因其甜咸适中，不像有些南方店过甜过腻，也不似北方菜式动辄使咸味露了峥嵘。鸟鱼蛋汤亦算得上一道大众汤品，并无奇特之处，可惜不少餐馆喜欢将其归于上海酸辣汤一类，随即大撒胡椒面，食之除辛辣外少了鸟鱼蛋汤的原始香味，变成了一盘胡椒粉汤，实在可惜。同和居的鸟鱼蛋汤好就好在不是辣糊汤。说来简单，实行起来亦不易。

笔者属于北京长大的“伪南方人”，皆因父母都是来自江浙，故饮食习惯偏南，家中从未蒸馒头摊烙饼，所以自小就对馒头不大感兴趣。同和居大馒头却让笔者难以抵御，口感既松软又有嚼劲，个大圆润，拿起爱不释手，自然口不能停。如此馒头挑起的食欲如同莎翁的名言：“Appetite, a universal wolf”，或曰口腹之欲有如世间的一匹狼。一个不喜面食的“南方人”此刻竟然就一盘乌鱼蛋汤干掉两个大馒头，真爽！

五星级酒店何时也能有雅俗共赏的老字号，令人心中有所期盼，纵然不太现实，但若看上海浦东香格里拉有香港有名的福临门和日本的滩万，看来星级酒店不是不能引进些国内的老字号。