Today we present a story about these disappearing trades in old Beijing, not only to awaken memories of the past, but also to showcase the changing life of its people.

Chefs

An old saying in China proves the importance of chefs: "Eating is heaven for the common people."

The restaurants in old Beijing were categorized as chuhang (banquet caterer), fanzhuang (big restaurant), fanguan (small restaurant) and fanpu (street food stall).

Banquet caterers were at the top of the ladder, consisting of two teams responsible for food and tea. The team leaders would hang wooden plates at their doors with their names inscribed. If they had a job to do, the plate would be turned over and replaced when the job was done, so the client could see whether the chefs were available.

Banquet caterers and big restaurants were better choices for large dinner parties than small ones. At large banquets, most of the courses were braised, steamed, simmered or stewed, able to keep their flavors after long heating. However, the fried dishes demanded careful control of heat, as their tastes would be sacrificed if stir-fired in large quantity.

Though not stipulated in any regulations, it was widely accepted that the restaurants selling dishes were called fanguan, and the ones selling cooked wheaten food were called fangpu. Many of these restaurants had their unique customer positioning and specialties. To name just a few, Quan Qu De boasted the best roasted duck, Zheng Yang Lou the best mutton and crabs, Chun Hua Lou the best fried crispy rice and Dong Xing Lou the best steamed duck liver.

The service of the restaurants was also good. Many of the waiters were from Shandong Province and were trained to be polite and attentive to details like remembering frequent customers' favorite dishes and recommending the dishes that were in season.

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