Half of the world of Cantonese people is in Dai Pai Dong

As a foodie who often walks through the streets and alleys in search of delicious food, my friends from out of town always ask me where is the most authentic and delicious place in Guangzhou. Without exception, I will take them to one place - Dai Pai Dong.

It is best to choose a night that is extremely hot, and sit in an outdoor stall that looks a bit dirty, with a large round table, plastic stools, a large fan, and a group of old people wearing pants and flip-flops. around.

Don’t mention it, the signboards are all in the style of X Ji and Lao X. The surrounding area is very noisy, and the waiters will ignore you even if you don’t order loudly.

Salt and pepper shrimps, stir-fried vegetables with shrimp paste, stir-fried field snails... You also need a bottle of beer, sweating profusely and blowing in the cool breeze, yes, this is the right place.

It is no exaggeration to say that if the Cantonese people did not have big pai dong in summer, they would be no different from salted fish. Only after I went to Dai Pai Dong did I know what it means to be like a fish in water.

Guangdong’s Dai Pai Dong ranks second in terms of late-night snacking, and no one else dares to say it’s No. 1. To experience the most authentic Guangdong nightlife, you have to go to Dai Pai Dong. If you don’t come to Dai Pai Dong, you don’t know what the true temperament of Cantonese people is.

Iron skin, copper bone, big pai dong

There is a debate on whether it is a "big food stall" or a "big pai dong". But initially, this type of stall format originated from Hong Kong. According to historical records, it is more accurate to call it "big pai dong". When it spread to the mainland, the general usage took the meaning of "sitting in rows", and it was more commonly written as "big pai dong".

As early as 1847, the Hong Kong government began to set up hawker licenses. In 1921, the government divided hawkers into fixed hawker licenses and mobile hawker licenses, so there were "big brands" and "small brands".

△ Different stalls will sell different foods, and each stall owner will benefit from each other and increase business.

In the 1950s, street food culture was quite prosperous. At that time, there were various authentic "big pai dongs" in the streets and alleys of almost every district.

Considering that it would facilitate identification and help the poor have a chance to make a living, the authorities combined "big brands" and "fixed cooked food stalls" into one, both of which fall under the regulation of fixed hawker licenses.

△In the 1960s, the food stalls were usually located close to the sidewalk, with folding stools and were very simple.

Compared to the roadside stalls, the license plate of the food stalls was A large piece of paper, framed and hung in a conspicuous place. Compared with fixed restaurants, although the layout is messy and lacks style, Dapai Dong is more flexible and affordable.

The earliest Dai Pai Dongs had at most a kitchen built with an iron sheet and steel frame, covered with a rain canopy, and you could start the stove. When the store is open for business, the store owner puts out several foldable tables and chairs. When the furnace is closed at night, the store owner puts wooden boards and iron sheets on the roadside to tie up the stalls to cover them and prevent thieves.

△In the 1960s, there were already many big-name stalls on the street.

Wherever there is grassroots, there are big-name stalls. At that time, most of the stalls were hidden in the side streets and narrow alleys, where all the coolies gathered. The low-priced big-name stalls became a good place for these low-level people to rest and eat.

△In the Dai Pai Dong in the 1960s, women and children chose to sit at the folding table and dine slowly

Taking the most representative wonton noodles as an example, in the 1960s, Large, medium and small bowls cost 7 cents for a large bowl, 5 cents for a medium bowl, and 3 cents for a small bowl. One wonton costs 1 cent.

You can get a plate of rice rolls for 5 cents, and a plate of barbecued pork rice for 1 yuan. In short, for one Hong Kong dollar, you can enjoy a good breakfast.

Da Pai Dong is a bit rough, but its iron skin and copper bones have fattened the stomachs of a large number of common people.

During the heyday of Dai Pai Dong, there were at least 20 Dai Pai Dongs on one street, and most of them only came out at night. At that time, most common people’s canteens were Dai Pai Dongs first, then teahouses, and then there were Various types of restaurants, such as tea restaurants, are competing to appear.

Hong Kong movies have always liked to make a fuss about big brands.

When we can’t agree on something, we go to the food stalls to drink water and express our gratitude with one glass of wine. The big food stalls in the movie "Infernal Affairs" highlight a unique Jianghu atmosphere.

Love can also be talked about in the big pai dong, such as Andy Lau and Sammi Cheng's "Blind Detective". Eating a romantic French meal or eating abalone, ginseng and wing belly is not as good as eating the chicken feet in the big pai dong. Remove the human smoke of pink bubbles.

Big Pai Dong, experts among the people

In Guangdong, which is adjacent to Hong Kong, in fact, as early as after the reform and opening up, there were also traders carrying burdens and riding coal stove carts to set up a stall in the streets or under the banyan tree. The shape of a small stall.

Until the introduction of Hong Kong’s Dai Pai Dong culture, especially in Guangzhou, a city with a lot of food, Dai Pai Dong has become an indispensable part of the scenery. In Guangzhou, music cafes, clothing night markets, and big-name stalls were the three major symbols of the 1990s.

I still remember when I was a child, several big stalls for brunch markets had opened early in the streets near my home. In the morning, there were usually some old people with newspapers and radios, ordering a Western toast and a cup of milk tea. wide.

The styles served at noon are rich: a bowl of wonton noodles, barbecued pork rice, a pot of claypot rice, a few bites of fried beef... What the neighbors in Guangzhou call "Pingliangzheng" That's probably how it came about.

The most exaggerated thing is that at night, if you walk a few steps to Sai Kung Fishing Port, there are more than ten big food stalls along the Pearl River. From 6 o'clock in the evening to 4 o'clock in the morning, several tables of people simply go shirtless while eating. Breathing in the river breeze and looking at the lights along the river, drinking beer and eating stir-fried snails and all kinds of seafood, it’s so much fun.

When friends from out of town come to ask me where the authentic and delicious Dai Pai Dong is, I will tell them -

The most authentic Dai Pai Dong is definitely not the kind that looks clean and decorated. For a fastidious stall, a tin canopy will be fine.

In the hot summer, don’t even think about turning on the air conditioner. A big fan would be good; a plastic chair and a foldable round table will do. If you are a germophobe, you may want to scald the tableware several times with boiling water when you see it. .

Secondly, don’t think too much about the service attitude of stall owners and waiters. Calling them “handsome boy and pretty girl” is a common address, so don’t think too much about it. They are usually very busy and rarely come over to ask you what you want.

The menus are also very casual. Some have paper on the wall with crooked fonts, and some simply omit the menu and just order the dishes verbally.

The protagonists of big-name stalls usually appear in late-night snack bars.

Some dishes seem to be simple to make. The most common one is "stir-frying". The essence of this type of cooking lies in the "wok gas", that is, you have to see the cook's flames in the process of stir-frying. Bear, "coaxing" sound is a dual pleasure of sight and hearing.

Both the technique and the heat are very skillful. Only the skill of throwing the pot in the fierce fire and quick eyes and hands can make the wok just right.

"Soy Sauce King" is a common classic seasoning for stir-fry. Don't underestimate one of the "Soy Sauce King Fried Noodles". The ingredients are nothing more than onions, green onions, bean sprouts and noodles. , but many big-name stalls rely on this sign to dominate the streets.

Those who know how to season well will add lard for frying. It is not normal for those who don’t eat lard when going to a big pai dong.

Many big-name stalls are famous for their soy sauce rice noodle dishes, which combine the freshness, flavor and texture that Cantonese people love to eat.

Although it is not the most top-notch product, this kind of civilian delicacy can often beat restaurants, teahouses and other high-end restaurants.

Many people were wondering why Guangzhou’s restaurants were not included in the Michelin selection last year. The old artist had already guessed this right away. In Guangzhou’s food circle, this kind of “down-to-earthness” is often talked about.

Many of the home-cooked dishes that seem to be on the street are very inconspicuous, but these stalls are not enough to attract people from Michelin, and they cannot even achieve one star for environment.

Ordinary people in Guangzhou don’t care about Michelin stars. The most popular ones are still the familiar street food stalls and snack bars, and the experts are among the people.

If you go deep into the atmosphere of Guangzhou’s Da Pai Dong, just a plate of fried snails and a few sips of ice-cold beer will feel like the best thing in the world.

△Stir-fried food is the theme of Da Pai Dong food

The vitality of Da Pai Dong is far more powerful than you think

In the 1990s, because of the big brands The hygiene of the stalls was too poor and the pollution to the Pearl River was too serious, so the government began to rectify it.

As more and more high-end restaurants enter the market, and the public rushes to pursue the trend of fine dining, problems such as noise, oil fumes, garbage and nuisance from the street stalls, as well as food hygiene and other issues are becoming more and more serious. It's getting bigger and bigger.

There are many shortcomings of Dapai Dong, and the phenomenon of mixed good and bad is particularly obvious. Today’s Dapai Dong is no longer as grand as before.

The modern young people’s definition of Dai Pai Dong generally refers to restaurants on the roadside with relatively simple decoration. For example, in some food streets, just a few stir-fried dishes and a few plastic beach stools are what they call a big-name stall.

They prefer to check in at Internet celebrity restaurants, and even Internet celebrity big pai dongs have appeared, imitating the traditional Hong Kong big pai dong style. Elements such as green iron sheets, dim yellow light bulbs, and plastic stools are all in place, but there is always a sense of old-fashioned twist.

The atmosphere can be nostalgic, but the core is still food. Not only are the classic dishes not very affordable, they also lack the original wok flavor.

"Dapai Dong" was once synonymous with civilian food culture. It was not only popular in food streets in Shanghai and Beijing, but also in Southeast Asia and even Australia. The "Oxford Dictionary's New Vocabulary" also included Cantonese words The word "Dai Pai Dong" is transliterated.

Although the hygienic and noisy environment is worrisome, dapai dong still grows wildly all over the world, existing in various forms relying on its flexible and stretchable iron and copper bones.

In addition to traditional Cantonese-style big-name stalls, representatives from Guangdong also have Chaoshan casserole porridge stalls and dog and mutton stalls from western Guangdong. Some have made their way out of Guangdong, evolving from the north to the south and developing into local specialty Dai Pai Dongs. Crayfish, skewers, barbecue and beer are the soul of Dai Pai Dong.

Beijing’s dirty stalls and Chengdu’s fly restaurants are actually the twin brothers of big pai dong.

The essence is the same - open air, good taste, good food, as long as you don't mind the dirty environment, the people being shirtless, the diners next to you with their legs crossed, talking loudly, and the boss's attitude Also order some skewers, you might be in for a surprise.

Some have moved to restaurants and restaurants, such as Feng Tong Hui, who has dominated Guangzhou’s barbecue stalls for many years. He started as a barbecue stall and now rents a restaurant on the second floor, specializing in night barbecue.

I didn’t know that I had gone to several places, but a foodie who knows how to eat will still find the place where the wind tube Hui is.

Some have become ghost stalls wandering around, such as the fried snails that were once popular among big-name stalls. Once known as the "Night Market Enchantress" in Guangzhou, she was famous for selling and singing on the streets while frying snails. She often wore long blond hair and pushed an old-fashioned bicycle with a small pot of fried snails on the back.

In the past, he often appeared in the big-name stalls in Beijing South, Baoye Road, and Yuexiu South, but now he has slowly disappeared from the big-name stalls in the food streets.

Regular customers all know that in the past, whenever they encountered fried snails, they would order a plate of rock snails and listen to a saltwater song. Although some people always think that he is too vulgar and unconventional, he is a real grassroots. In the minds of many people, because of the snail speculation, Guangzhou's big-name stalls have a touch of worldly fireworks.

The old artist feels that this may be the reason why Da Pai Dong will not disappear after going through several twists and turns. The existence of big-name stalls is a core requirement of urban market culture.

Shed off the tired shell of the day, put on T-shirts and flip-flops, and the nightfall is the home of the big pai dong.

Life is always a bit sad and difficult. The grassroots citizens in the city need such late-night canteens to satisfy their stomach and heart.

At Da Pai Dong, meet up with a few friends, drink a few beers, have a few dishes of stir-fried dishes, and chat with the stall owner about daily life.

In Guangdong Dapai Dong, you never know how many houses a Cantonese wearing slippers has.

Here, no matter whether you have a monthly salary of 3,000 yuan or a monthly income of 30,000 yuan, you may sit in the same big pai stall and be fed by a plate of fried beef river for 15 yuan.

The relationship between people can be very direct, even queuing, making noises, and quarreling are unrestrained. This is a human touch that cannot be replaced by other restaurants.

The rise and fall of everything is the inevitable fate of everything, and the same is true for the changes of Da Pai Dong. But relax, the vitality of Da Pai Dong is far more powerful than we imagine.

Suddenly I feel lucky that we live in a street that has been nourished by Da Pai Dong and have lived through the golden age of Da Pai Dong.

Reference materials:

Research on the culture of Da Pai Dong Interactive

Food stall or big pai dong? Detailing the evolution history of the food stalls in Guangzhou Lianhe Zaobao

Once very popular, can the food stalls in Guangzhou still be popular? Information Times

What do you remember about Dai Pai Dong?

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Mr. Crab

Editor | Chow Mo-Wan

Typesetting | Mr. Crab

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