Tuchengzi Zanbo Handmade Buns Introduction
Chen Ding-Hui's grandfather, Chen Lao-Gang (born in 1902), originally opened a grocery store at the current site on Chengbei Road. When the family divided, his father, Chen Zan-Tong (born in 1953), took over this store and changed its focus to selling rice and animal feed. In 1998, Chen Zan-Tong began making and selling handmade steamed buns and mantou. In 2003, he passed the shop to his sons, Chen Ding-Fu and Chen Ding-Hui. Older brother Chen Ding-Fu runs the breakfast operations in the morning, while younger brother Chen Ding-Hui operates in the afternoon, solely selling handmade steamed buns and mantou. Zanbo's meat bun contains only pork belly, while the vegetable bun is filled with mushrooms, vegetarian ingredients, and preserved vegetables, all made starting at 10 AM and coming out of the oven at 1 PM. The mantou is produced in two batches, with the first batch baked from 12 PM to 3 PM and the second batch baked from 3 PM to 6 PM, continuously coming out of the oven. Besides the plain mantou, there are also cranberry mantou and whole grain mantou. The cranberry mantou is made by mixing cranberries with the dough, giving it a unique flavor, while the whole grain mantou is made from whole wheat flour, five-grain rice, raisins, and the dough. Notably, Zanbo sets aside some of the fermented dough each day, storing it in the refrigerator to continue fermenting into "old dough," which is then mixed into the new dough the next day to make buns or mantou.
