Tuchengzi Zhanbo Handmade Buns Introduction
The grandfather of Chen Ding-hui, Chen Lao-gang (born in 1902), originally opened a grocery store at the current location on Chengbei Road. When his uncles separated their family businesses, his father, Chen Zan-tong (born in 1953), took over this shop and switched to selling rice, feed, and other goods. In 1998, Chen Zan-tong began making and selling handmade buns and steamed buns. In 2003, he passed the store to his sons, Chen Ding-fu and Chen Ding-hui. Older brother Chen Ding-fu runs a breakfast business in the morning, while younger brother Chen Ding-hui operates in the afternoon, focusing solely on handmade buns and steamed buns. Zhan-ber's meat buns are filled only with pork belly, and the vegetable buns contain mushrooms, vegetarian ingredients, and preserved vegetables, all made starting at 10 AM and ready by 1 PM. The steamed buns are produced in two batches; the first batch is baked from 12 PM to 3 PM, and the second batch from 3 PM to 6 PM, coming out gradually throughout the day. Besides plain steamed buns, there are also cranberry steamed buns and whole grain steamed buns. The cranberry steamed buns are made by mixing cranberries with the dough, giving them a unique flavor, while the whole grain steamed buns are made from whole wheat flour, mixed grains, raisins, and dough. Notably, Zhan-ber reserves some fermented dough each day, keeps it in the refrigerator to continue fermenting into "old dough," which is then mixed with new dough the following day to make buns or steamed buns.
