Speaking of which, Hongbin Tower is 153 years old and is truly a century-old building. It was founded by several "connections" from the imperial court and "rich people" in Tianjin. The original location is on Xu Street, Tianjin and is now called Heping Road. It is said that Tianjin’s food was once “far better than the capital”. Because Tianjin is the eastern gateway to the capital, by the end of the Ming Dynasty and the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, there was already a huge concentration of wealthy people and prosperous commerce, and it was known as the "No. 1 City in the North." At the same time, the Bohai Sea is rich in products, and there are many famous chefs in Tianjin, so there are many delicious dishes and many famous restaurants. At that time, Jinmen was famous for its "Eight Great Buildings" of restaurants and "Nine Buildings" of halal restaurants. Among them, Hongbin Building ranks first among the "Nine Buildings" thanks to its Whole Sheep Feast and River and Sea Fresh Food.

Wang Shouqian, the 85-year-old old head of Hongbinlou, said: "Why did Hongbinlou come to Beijing? Because Beijing was short of high-end halal food at the time, and I chose Hongbinlou because Premier Zhou was studying in Nankai. I know famous shops in Tianjin and am familiar with Hongbin Tower.” The old man actually only scratched the surface. At that time, New China had just been founded, and most of the restaurants in the capital were Shandong cuisine, except for Beijing cuisine in old restaurants. Under the plans and instructions of government departments, old and famous restaurants from all over the country have gradually come to Beijing, such as Quyuan Restaurant in Hunan, Lao Xi'an Steamed Bun in Shaanxi, and Emei Restaurant in Sichuan. In 1955, under the instructions of Premier Zhou Enlai, Hongbin Tower was officially settled in the capital. At present, it is not an exaggeration to say that Hongbin Tower is a time-honored brand in Beijing. Firstly, it is 50 years old; secondly, when I came to Beijing, I thought I would take root in the capital. This can be seen from the three objects Wang Shouqian brought: a gold plaque of "Hongbin Tower" made of 625 grams of gold; an ivory chopstick once used by Cixi; and the Hongbin Tower in 1934. The owner spent a lot of money to buy the now extinct yellow lip fish maw. This piece weighs 920 grams and has a circumference of 115 centimeters. The yellow-lipped fish belly with "little braids", together with the plaque and ivory chopsticks, are the three treasures of Hongbinlou.

Today, the "three treasures" that diners in the capital can see are the golden plaques of "Hongbin Tower". This gold plaque was inscribed by Yu Zejiu, a second-ranked Jinshi in the Qing Dynasty, and cast with 625 grams of gold. This is also the only gold plaque among the time-honored brands in Beijing. However, what is attractive about this plaque is not only the gold casting, but also the "three mysteries" contained in the plaque. The first mystery: Yu Zejiu, the two-ranked Jinshi, wrote a "typo" in the plaque. The traditional Chinese character Hong has three dots for water on the left and a word for "I" in the middle. The traditional Chinese character for bird on the right should have four dots at the bottom, but the word "bird" in the plaque "The word is three dots on the bottom, why? Some people say that it borrowed the dot below the three dots of water, but the top dot of the word bird was written as a horizontal line. Why did the dignified literati only dot three dots of water? The second mystery: There is no inscription on the top or bottom of the gold plaque. , which is very "rare" among the plaques written by famous artists for business names. The third mystery is even more mysterious: in the autumn of 1998, when Hongbin Building moved to its current location at No. 11 Zhanzhan Road, the store owner sent this gold plaque to Rongbaozhai to see it new. When I opened this century-old plaque, I found a meticulous painting from the bottom plate that was painted by an unknown person and collected by someone else - the Peony Beauty. It was painted during the Xuantong period. Most calligraphy and painting connoisseurs know that Emperor Xuantong only reigned for three years and left very few works for posterity. The "dainty" hidden in the gold plaque is puzzling, and the lack of inscriptions on the top and bottom of the plaque makes it even more "confusing". Guo Lao’s registered trademark

In fact, in addition to the golden plaque at the entrance of the store, Hongbin Building also has two famous plaques. One piece was inscribed by Guo Moruo when the Hongbin Building was moved to No. 82 West Chang'an Street in 1963 and reopened. Guo Lao wrote a poem when he inscribed the plaque: When the wild geese come, the wind brings warmth, and the guests and friends are all here, urging them to have extra meals. The red flag on the building is as red as fire, and a hero is never afraid of difficulties.

A discerning person can tell at a glance that this is an "acrostic poem" praising "Hongbin Tower is good". The current registered trademark of Hongbin Building uses the three words "Hongbin Building" inscribed by Mr. Guo.

There is also a plaque inscribed by a calligrapher and painter. This plaque is also extraordinary. In 1983, Pu Jie, the younger brother of the last emperor Pu Yi, entertained guests at Hongbin Tower. One of the dishes, red braised sheep's trotters, won the praise of "racing bear's paws". Taking advantage of the excitement, the store owner asked Mr. Pujie for an inscription on the plaque. Unexpectedly, a few days later, Mr. Pujie sent someone to deliver a six-foot calligraphy treasure: Hongbin Tower on the west bank of Tian'an. Halal delicacies such as oxtail and mutton tendons are delicacies from all over the world. Not only are you satisfied with the famous restaurant's skill, but you are also looking forward to the renewal of the old business. The banquet is set up on a fresh and empty evening, and the four seats are full of beauty and the five continents are intoxicated. On the glorious journey of the four modernizations, we are marching forward with great strides. Later, Mr. Pujie personally asked Mr. Qigong to inscribe a plaque for Hongbin Tower. The next year, Mr. Pujie specially wrote the hall name "Furong" and presented it to Hongbin Building. Hongbin Tower has been relocated four times in the 50 years since it came to Beijing. Among them, the one on West Chang'an Street has been operating the longest. In 1998, the Xidan area was renovated, and Hongbin Building left Chang'an Street and moved to Zhanzhan Road.

In the same year, Hongbinlou carried out joint-stock reform and established Hongbinlou Catering Co., Ltd. However, no matter how the Hongbin Building is moved, the store’s “Three Halal Specialties” of whole lamb mats, cooked double delicacies, and French-made dishes will remain the same.

The best thing about Hongbin Tower is the all-sheep banquet. When Hongbin Building opened, one of the two bronze plaques hung on the door was a whole-sheep dish, which is also a whole-sheep banquet. By the time of Guangxu, Hongbinlou's whole lamb dishes had been recognized by the food industry. It is said that the Empress Dowager Cixi asked for the whole lamb dish from Hongbin Tower when she was out on a palace tour. Later, on Cixi's 60th birthday, the palace celebrated Lafayette's birthday with 108 whole-sheep banquets from the Hongbin Tower. The whole sheep banquet not only has unique cooking techniques and rich food tastes, but the most outstanding thing is its rich cultural connotation. There is only one "sheep" in the name of the all-sheep banquet dishes: Wangfengpo, Longmenjiao, Honey Fat Cake, Jiao Liu Crisp, Lantern Drum, Whipping Hydrangea, Luminous Pearl... After entering the new century, Hongbin Building continues to inherit the tradition. According to the changes in modern people's dietary tastes, the whole sheep banquet has been revised.

The Dufa cuisine can be said to be Hongbinlou’s exclusive method. The so-called Du method is a cooking method that uses low heat to cook the ingredients to infuse the flavor. It is named after the sound of the pot making a gurgling sound when cooking. The famous chefs of Hongbin Tower learned the essence of the three methods of roasting, stewing and grilling that are popular in Tianjin. After moving to Beijing, they developed this method of cooking based on the characteristics of Beijing people's tastes. The dishes cooked with the Du method are golden and red in color, fresh and mellow in taste, oily and soft in texture, neat and beautiful in shape. There is only a slight oily sauce on the plate without gravy or soup.