Tucheng Zai Zan Bo Handmade Buns Introduction
Chen Dinghui's grandfather, Chen Laogang (born in 1902), originally ran a grocery store at the current site on Chengbei Road. When his uncles divided the family business, his father, Chen Zantong (born in 1953), took over this shop and switched to selling rice, animal feed, and other products. In 1998, Chen Zantong began making handmade steamed buns and mantou for sale, and in 2003, he passed the shop to his sons, Chen Dingfu and Chen Dinghui. The elder brother, Chen Dingfu, runs a breakfast operation in the morning, while the younger brother, Chen Dinghui, operates in the afternoon solely selling handmade buns and mantou. The meat bun is filled only with pork belly, and the vegetable bun contains mushrooms, vegetarian ingredients, and preserved vegetables. These are produced starting at 10 AM and are ready by 1 PM. The mantou are steamed twice: the first batch is from 12 PM to 3 PM, and the second batch is from 3 PM to 6 PM, continuously being made throughout the day. In addition to the plain mantou, there are cranberry mantou and whole grain mantou. The cranberry mantou is crafted by mixing cranberries into the dough, resulting in a unique flavor, while the whole grain mantou combines whole wheat flour, mixed grains, raisins, and dough. It is worth mentioning that Chen provides part of the fermented dough every day, which is kept in the fridge to continue fermenting into “old dough.” The next day, this “old dough” is mixed into new dough to create buns or mantou.
