Eat fresh by the sea. The map of "fresh" in the sea is getting bigger and bigger
Each city has its own main cuisine. Speaking of traditional Shaoxing cuisine, I believe that the first reaction in most local people’s minds is stinky tofu, moldy vegetable stalks, braised pork with dried plums and other dishes. For Lihai Street in Yuecheng District, the unique geographical location and natural conditions provide rich seafood ingredients for the local area because the sea head is located at the mouth of Qiantang River. Because this kind of local small sea is tender, delicious and affordable, it has gradually attracted diners from Xiaoshan, Hangzhou, Jiaxing and even Shanghai to come to Lihai to buy and try early, and gradually formed an industry featuring little seafood’s wholesale, retail and catering, which is well-known both inside and outside the city.
Jubilant vendors in Lihai comprehensive market. Correspondent Feng Yanni photo
A morning market gathers customers from all directions.
"Today’s Xiaomei fish has a good head, and the steamed taste is very delicious." Walking from Haidong Road to Lihai Comprehensive Market, the enthusiastic stall owner sipped all kinds of seafood from the booth to reporters. Walking in front of the lined seafood stalls, there are all kinds of aquatic products such as Xiaomei fish, white jade crab, swordfish, horizontal crab and mud clam. In addition to fresh food, pickled products such as mackerel, dried fish and dried shrimp marinated with distiller’s grains are also readily available.
"Customers are here, and all they buy are little seafood caught by fishermen on the same day to ensure freshness." Gao Baijiang, the person in charge of Lihai Comprehensive Market, told the reporter that with the gradual recognition of Lihai little seafood by diners, from 7: 00 a.m. every day, the market was crowded with people who came from Shangyu and Yuecheng City to buy food early, and most of them came specially for little seafood. "Especially on weekends, some popular seafood varieties even have to be booked in advance to buy them." Gao Baijiang said.
There are nearly 140 stalls in Lihai Comprehensive Market, but there are only 17 stalls for aquatic products and seafood, because they have high requirements on electricity consumption, drainage and cleaning. In 2020, the market underwent a major renovation, upgrading facilities and equipment such as electricity and sewage, providing a better business environment for merchants and giving customers a good experience when shopping in the market.
The owners of aquatic products and seafood stalls No.5-15 are He Xinjuan and his wife. Her husband is in charge of fishing and her wife sells them in the market. "Whether you can go fishing and catch more or less is closely related to the tide and the weather." He Xinjuan told reporters that if the weather is bad and they can’t go out to sea, they won’t come to the booth for sales that day. "In business, especially seafood products, quality is the top priority." In He Xinjuan’s view, the popularity of Lihai little seafood is largely due to its characteristics: it grows in salty and light waters, and the change of salinity improves the composition of fatty acids in aquatic products and makes them more delicious.
Yidao seafood diners smell fresh and come
When they first arrive in Lihai, many people will choose to go for a walk in Lihai Old Street, in addition to catching crabs in Haitu. In ancient times, seawalls were rich in beaches, and "the tide retreats and people advance, and the tide retreats" summarized the life of fishermen in Lihai from generation to generation. Nowadays, after continuous construction and transformation, this street with a long history and culture is transforming into new beauty, which makes little seafood, the most local flavor, continue to be popular.
Wang Zengqi has such a statement in The Doctor of Fishing: The fish cooked out of the water is delicious, which is called "fresh from the water". In Lihai, the main thing to eat little seafood is "fresh water". The fish is tight, the crab is fresh and sweet, and the clams are sand-free. With the help of strong fire and simple and homely ingredients, the freshness of the ingredients is preserved to the greatest extent, which attracts the diners’ forefinger to move, and the crack of cold beer or various drinks during the dinner constitutes the "wonderful seafood" of this Lihai. During holidays, in a restaurant featuring little seafood on Haidong Road, many Shanghai and Hangzhou gourmets drove for an hour or two to punch in.
Abo Seafood Restaurant is located on Yu Haidong Road. As soon as customers enter the door, they will choose their own little seafood and cooking method through what you see is what you get. "little seafood is directly transferred to the kitchen for production after weighing, and the fresh experience from the sea to the tip of the tongue can be felt in less than 12 hours." Zhao Qin, the 42-year-old director of Abo Seafood, introduced.
Zhao Qin, a native of Lihai, has been running a seafood restaurant with her husband for nearly 20 years. "The main store is Lihai little seafood, and the dishes are affordable, which can ensure that diners can eat fresh and delicious little seafood." Zhao Qin said that in little seafood, the restaurant has special local fishermen to deliver goods every morning, and the restaurant will select the fish received to ensure the quality.
"Watching kites and eating seafood, today’s parent-child time should give full marks." At noon on April 21, with all the dishes served, Shen Yiping, who was eating at Suntory Restaurant, took out his mobile phone to take photos and sent a circle of friends in Jiugongge. "I took a break today, just to take my children out for a walk." Shen Yiping told reporters that his family lived in Tashan Street, Yuecheng District, and it was the first time to come to Lihai that day. At the kite festival, local people recommended this restaurant to them, and they chose to eat here. The reporter at Suntory Restaurant saw that although the day was a working day, there were still many diners dining, and the business was quite good.
An opportunity to undertake the Bay Area dividend
Walking on the streets of Lihai, you can still see some special place names, such as Qiliuqiu, Qiyiqiu, Qiqiqiu, etc., which were the historical imprint of the "Great Wai Tu" in that year. However, the former beaches have already become fertile soil. Lihai, a small town at the mouth of Qiantang River, has become a provincial-level economic town. "The Greater Bay Area era has given Lihai a new opportunity to leapfrog development." The relevant person in charge of Lihai Street said.
In 2019, Shaoxing Binhai New Area, one of the four strategic platforms at the provincial level, settled in Binhai, undertaking the historical mission of connecting with Greater Bay Area and serving big industries. Lihai, located in the "hub of the Bay Area", has also stepped onto the stage center of urban development.
With the gathering of more and more new industrial enterprises, the population increases. To some extent, this has promoted the development of the local catering industry, mainly in Lihai and little seafood. "There are more customers coming to eat, and there are higher requirements for the capacity, service and dishes of the restaurant." Chen Fei, the person in charge of Lihai Jiulonghai private cuisine, one of the provincial-level "Hundred Counties and Thousand Bowls" experience stores in Zhejiang Province, told the reporter that taking his own store as an example, repeat customers accounted for a large part, and many of them came to eat once and then brought their family and friends to eat again.
A blueprint for making large and small seafood
Little seafood is a traditional characteristic industry in Lihai Street. It is an important content of the construction and development of Lihai City to create a special catering culture in little seafood and enrich the business service industry in Lihai. On September 2, 2022, Lihai Street issued the Implementation Plan for the Construction of little seafood Street in Lihai, aiming at creating a strong cultural atmosphere with the theme of little seafood in Lihai through various measures and comprehensive policies.
After preliminary investigation, the street will be rebuilt and upgraded from the following aspects: defining the support policies for staying merchants, improving the supporting construction of public transportation, and standardizing the management of mobile vendors. "The street will further enhance the popularity of little seafood in Lihai, and strive to make little seafood Street in Haidong Road a model of’ eating, living, traveling and playing in Lihai’ and a key link in the construction of scenic spots and modern and beautiful towns in Lihai Street." Zhou Ganbin, deputy secretary of the Party Working Committee of Lihai Street and director of the office, said.
At the same time, the street will also open up a green channel for government services, provide smooth channels for little seafood characteristic catering enterprises in license handling, government consultation, personnel recruitment and other aspects, provide relevant policy consulting services, and optimize the cash flow of support policies. On the basis of strict control, support funds will be cashed quickly.
At present, facing the vast ocean, Lihai is striving to expand the open space and lead the industrial transformation and upgrading and the high-quality development of the city. As a traditional industry with a long history, Lihai little seafood is striving to build its brand and become a bigger industry.