The first day when I arrived in Shanghai at where I live now, I was totally amazed by a long line in front of a Benbangcai restaurant named Guangmingcun. The line was so long that it extended even to the front door of another popular restaurant-the only Popeyes in China that opened not long before-which actually made me think the line was for Popeyes but not for Guangmingcun. The restaurant is on Middle Huaihai Road, where stores and restaurants with high popularity (or “Wanghongdian” in Chinese) gather, so it is not that normal that the longest line is for a Benbangcai restaurant that does not have very fancy look from the outside and even looks a little bit old. I remembered it was a weekday, but the line was still very long. There were many senior people in the line, but I could also see some young people in the line, busy with the stuffs on their phones to kill the long waiting time.
Every day, the line is long. There are always people queueing up in front of the restaurant. But what made me become really curious about what on earth makes this restaurant so attractive was on another cold rainy day, I still saw the line. Those elder people wearing raincoats, and holding umbrellas on hands, were bearing with the bad and cold weather just for a meal when they could have stayed at home, which seems to be a better choice considering their ages. I have seen many popular restaurants that require a very long waiting time, but I have never seen one that has so many loyal customers who are determined to eat even when the weather condition is so bad. This is strange and makes me wonder how delicious could Benbangcai served in this restaurant be? (I have heard that people from outside Shanghai barely find Benbangcai delicious)
After searching on Internet, I learnt that Guangmingcun is a classic “Laozihao” restaurant specialized in Benbangcai, probably the favorite “Laozihao” restaurant to local Shanghai people. It has a history of over 80 years. For many Shanghai people, the taste of the food in this restaurant is the taste from their childhood and it stays the same over so many years. This restaurant has become the pride of Shanghai people, especially elder people.
Actually, what is attractive about this restaurant is not anything magical. Instead, the unadorned but honest attitude, the consistent quality and taste of classic Benbangcai, and the affordable price that seems to be much lower than prices of those Wanghongdian, are what make it an evergreen must-go restaurant of the city. I couldn’t help but wonder: is it true that if a restaurant can always meet these requirements, then it is able to remain popular over a long time? (although it is also not easy to meet these requirements at least in terms of price) And for those “Laozihao” restaurants, when older generations become a past and when more and more young people do not consider these restaurants to be the memory of their childhood, will its glory still remain the same to those tourists who are merely curious about the taste of local food? To me, I may try it for once, but going there frequently may never become a thing to me since I have almost no interest in Benbangcai as a “Waidiren”.
read more about Guangmingcun here
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