The classic Taizhou breakfast consists of a pot of tea, a plate of heat shredded dried bean curd, a portion of crab-roe buns and a bowl of fish noodle soup, which have served as the “protagonist” of breakfast for more than a hundred years. Senior Taizhou people are extremely particular about having breakfast, a trivial matter for other people.
After taking a seat, the waiter will first make a pot of tea with porcelain pots used for holding the tea and tin pots or copper pots used for holding the water. A cup of fragrant tea whets the appetite. The next step is to order food, and shredded dried bean curd is always the first to order. There are two options of shredded dried bean curd: the heat one and the boiled one. The former is always served in a small dish with shredded ginger, peanuts, coriander, etc. added for flavor. The latter is just like a hotchpotch mixed with shrimp, pork skin, red sausage, dried peeled shrimps, and quail eggs. With a sip of tea, a mouthful of shredded dried bean curd, which is attached with full affection, whets the appetite slowly.
After a while of having shredded dried bean curd, the steamed buns will be served. There are a great variety of options for Taizhou Breakfast, as just for the category of buns, there are more than ten kinds, including three-chops buns, crab-roe buns, beef buns, shredded carrot buns, bur clover buns, and soup buns. Among them, the soup crab-roe buns are typical for Taizhou Breakfast. There is a four-step knack for eating soup crab-roe buns: lift gently, move quickly, take a sip of the wrap, and drink the soup later. To be specific, the diner should take a small bite on the top of the wrap first, and then suck the soup slowly. It is best to serve while it is still warm, as the warm soup is overwhelmingly delicious, and the crab-roe makes the wrap full of fragrance.
As the last and best part of Taizhou Breakfast, fish noodle soup is extremely particular about the soup, which is boiled over high fire slowly after wild eel bones, small crucian carp, and large pork bones are stir-fried with green onion and ginger. The noodles are boiled and put in the fresh and thick fish soup, topped with some pepper and garlic leaves, making the fish flavor irresistible. Fish noodle soup enhances the entire level of happiness created by Taizhou Breakfast. In the cold winter, taking a sip of fresh and smooth noodle and mellow fish soup will warm the diner up immediately.
In addition to the above-mentioned options, snacks such as yellow sesame seed cake, crispy long fish, Xuanbao small wonton, potherb sesame ball, fried dough stick, steamed shrimp dumpling, glutinous rice Siu Mai, and layered oil cake are also common options for Taizhou Breakfast.
The essence of Taizhou Breakfast lies in dining together to chat freely while tasting delicacies, which constitutes the happiness of Taizhou people.
