You may not believe it, but on the hottest day last summer, I almost cried over a bowl of noodles.
Not spicy.
It's the kind of feeling that, after one sip, your whole childhood comes back.
The sign of the store on the corner of my hometown has faded, but the boss is still the same stubborn old man.
The soup is always as rich and the beef is still as chunky, but that day I suddenly tasted that the taste has not changed after decades, but I am no longer the kid who licks the bowl after eating noodles.
For you, is it that feeling that we can never forget, or is it the version of ourselves that we can never get back to?
## Is there a smell that makes you instantly homesick?
People on the Internet are always asking where the food is the best.
In fact, there is no one that is the most delicious, only the most “deadly” one.
At that moment, that kind of fatal feeling appeared. Where was the place at that moment? It was the streets of a foreign land. What happened next? I accidentally smelled the familiar but particularly familiar smell of fried onions and ginger. What happened next? I was stunned.
The stomach is actually the place closest to the heart.
There is a bowl of Guangning wontons in Zhaoqing, Guangdong, which can make overseas Chinese fly back to eat it.
The mouthfuls of barbecue in the mouths of people in Yibin, Sichuan, are not simply meat, but the special energy that is presented after being roasted over a fierce fire, with the taste of "becoming comfortable".
I didn’t understand it before. Isn’t it just one meal?
As for that?
As for.
## The “anti-involution” war at street stalls
The current arena is very lively.
It may be hard for you to imagine that in order to allow you to taste an authentic taste, someone is almost moving the laboratory to the kitchen.
Just say that bowl of Lanxi beef noodles .
Do you know how hardworking the people of Lanxi are?
They are not only thinking about how to make good noodles, but also thinking about how to keep the noodles from being outdated by the times.
Some people are worried that machine-pressed noodles lack soul, and some people are studying how to convert the skills of old masters into data. The purpose is that even if you are thousands of miles away, you can still taste the steam when you open a pack of pre-packaged noodles.
There is also Shunde’s Double Skin Milk .
The thirteen generations of grandchildren of the He family were holding the yellowed recipe. Some came to look for it with tens of millions of dollars in cash. They only said one short sentence: "If you don't want to change the recipe, this money is not available." In an era where everyone is eager to move forward quickly, some people are willing to slow down the pace. Even if they only make thousands of drinks a day, each drink must have "never a drop of water mixed in."
Stupid or not?
stupid.
If it were not so "silly", then probably everything we eat now would be the smell of industrial flavors.
## Who is reshaping our taste memories?
Have you noticed that today’s young people not only know how to eat, but also “play” with food.
The young man from Chengdu who was born in 1995, with the qualifications of graduating from the Academy of Fine Arts, did not develop in the direction of a designer. Instead, he chose to set up a stall and sell food such as pancakes.
His pancakes are ridiculously expensive, the most expensive one is 65 yuan, and you have to queue up to grab them.
Why?
Because he transformed the pancake stand into a drawing board, using juice as a coloring material, he drew a customized cartoon character for you stroke by stroke and presented it on it.
Netizens put it very well, this is called "full emotional value".
There is also a place called "Fried Bean Cooperative" in a Beijing alley, which was run by a few young people. Its walls are covered with graffiti and photos, and even the grilled chicken wings are called "Honey Spicy."
You see, they are not selling food, they are selling an experience that makes you "reluctant to eat".
## Some "strange smell" is true love
Speaking of this, I have to say a few words about food in the north.
Many people went to Beijing to drink bean juice for the first time, and their expressions looked like they were drinking Chinese medicine.
It's gray-green and smells sour.
However, old Beijingers just prefer this kind of food. It is paired with a plate of pickles cut into shreds and a fried ring that is crispy. Then, there was a "suck" sound. Then, his brows wrinkled slightly. Then, with a satisfied look on his face, he slowly took a breath and ended the process.
You have to think carefully and taste it. The slightly sour and sweet aftertaste is just like this city. It seems to give people a hard and intuitive feeling, but in fact, everything inside is filled with warm and moving heat.
There is also the oil cake originating from Pucheng, Shaanxi. Its history can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty. Its outer skin is as thin as paper. When you take a bite, it will make a "clicking" sound. The sugar syrup inside is extremely hot, burning your mouth and causing you to keep breathing, but you are still reluctant to spit it out.
They don't cater to these tastes and they don't please them.
They just stand there, waiting for someone who understands to come.
## Don’t just eat, you have to “listen”
So, next time you go to any city, don’t just stare at the internet celebrity stores and queue up to check in.
Dig into those nooks and crannies.
Look, there is a ramen master sitting on the bamboo pole, pressing the dough again and again. This is using his own body to perform the dough mixing operation.
Listen to the constant "sizzling" sound coming out of the oil pan. In that sound, it is the oil cake, telling you its story of more than a thousand years.
The smell of barbecue smoke that can be found across several streets is a requiem for the city late at night.
What you put into your mouth is never just food.
It’s the character of the land beneath your feet.
It is a little comfort for workers in a foreign land late at night.
It's what mom wanted to say to you but didn't say it.
## Taste is the worst thing that can deceive people.
In fact, by writing so much, I just want to tell you——
Go back and eat more before it's too late.
While the old shop is still there, while the old man who has been a foodie all his life still has a steady hand.
Before we are completely tamed by cookie-cutter chain stores, our tongues are tamed.
Don't let down those who are still strict and stick to the old formula.
Don’t underestimate those who are racking their brains to retain the old taste in new ways.
The next time you pass by one of those steaming stalls, don’t just look down at your phone.
Sit down and eat slowly.
Maybe you can taste the city’s sincerity hidden in the smoke.
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