During the cold weather, long lines of customers wait outside the Shaguoju restaurant. Cong Lei, 36, the restaurant’s manager, said her favorite dish is a kind of pancake. It has a beautiful name, yuanmeng (dream coming true) pancake. It’s said the Empress Dowager Cixi (1835-1908) dreamed of eating yuanmeng pancake one night, but did not tell anyone. However, her chef cooked this dish and served it during a meal. The pancake got its name, as the empress was joyful and her dream came true.
Started in 1741, the Shaguoju restaurant serves traditional Beijing dishes. It lies in Xisi South Street, Xicheng district. It can serves to 500 customers at a time, covers three floors, has the same number of dining halls and owns 10 private dining rooms.
Cong said the “busy season” started in October and the restaurant is making more than 100,000 yuan ($15,214) each day. In autumn and winter, it is always crowded, with customers waiting at least half an hour for tables from midday.
Most of our customers are more than 50 years old and dining here is a daily habit for them. Yang Xin, a 35-year-old Beijinger, said she first went to the restaurant when she was a child. “My grandpa likes it a lot. Even though we don’t live nearby, we still go there often for a taste of the past.”
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