When I was in Jiangnan, I came to Suzhou one day in incognito. March is spring, and people are going for an outing in the suburbs. Inside and outside the city, there are tourists everywhere. After watching several spring scenes with people, Gan Long was tired and hungry. When he saw the Songhelou restaurant in Guanqian Street, he strolled in. It happened that the boss of Songhelou celebrated his mother's birthday on this day, and he was very busy inside and outside. Gan Long sat for a long time before he saw a man coming. Seeing that he was wearing cloth shoes and there was a lot of dirt on the vamp, the man thought he was a farmer in the village, so he lazily asked, "Guest, what do you want to eat?" Ganlong laughed and said, "Just pick the delicious food."
The man wants to see you dressed up and have a good meal. Can you afford it? With this in mind, I picked the cheapest beer and sent it up. As soon as Qianlong saw that Huancai was as clear as water, with little salt and no taste, he asked, "Isn't there anything better in your shop?" The man was impatient and said, "No". At this moment, Qianlong suddenly saw a man coming out of the kitchen with a big plate of sweet and sour mandarin fish in his hand. Dry the finger mandarin fish and let that guy bring it here. The guy said haughtily, "Sweet and sour mandarin fish, can you afford it?" After listening, Gan Long spilled the bowl of vegetable soup in the man's face.
With a crash, an elderly man dressed in ordinary clothes came in outside the door. He helped Qianlong sit down and whispered a few words. The noise alarmed the shopkeeper. He hurried to the table to make amends. At this time, the old man took out two pieces of silver from his pocket and asked the shopkeeper to deliver good wine and food quickly. The shopkeeper saw that although the two men were dressed normally, they were distinguished and generous, which should not be underestimated.
So, I quickly brought sweet and sour mandarin fish, rice with crispy rice and eight-flying soup carefully cooked for my mother's birthday, filled a table and accompanied Gan Long constantly. Ganlong sees sweet and sour mandarin fish with high head and bright red tail, and its entrance is fresh, tender, crisp and fragrant, slightly sweet and sour. He thought the palace was not as delicious as before, so he praised it again and again.
Just then, I don't know where the Suzhou magistrate heard the news and waited quietly at the entrance of Songhe Building with a group of people, ready to welcome him back to the house. People in the shop were really surprised and scared when they realized that it was Emperor Qianlong. Fortunately, Qianlong was satisfied with his meal, so he put down his anger just now. When he left, he asked the shopkeeper about the practice of sweet and sour mandarin fish and rewarded the shopkeeper with some money.
The owner was very happy, and from then on, he played the brand of "Ganlong first, Su cuisine only". Later, when Ganlong went to the south of the Yangtze River for the second and third time, he always visited Songhelou and asked for sweet and sour mandarin fish by name. The sweet and sour mandarin fish in Song Crane Tower has been passed down as a traditional dish to this day.