Fushan Shaomai

Fushan Shaomai

　　Shaomai is a traditional delicacy from southern Shanxi, shaped like a pomegranate, snow-white and translucent, with generous filling and thin skin, offering a deliciously fragrant taste. As early as the third year of the Qianlong Emperor’s reign, the Wang family from Beijingli Village in Fushan County opened a Fushan Shaomai restaurant at Xianyukou, just outside Beijing’s Qianmen Gate, where they also prepared fried triangular pastries and various other famous dishes.

　　One New Year’s Eve, the Qianlong Emperor returned from an incognito visit to Tongzhou and stopped by the Fushan Shaomai restaurant to have some shaomai. After eating, he praised it highly. Upon returning to the palace, he personally wrote the three characters “都一处” (Duyichu — meaning “The One and Only Place”) and had them made into a plaque, which was then sent to the Fushan Shaomai restaurant. From then on, the restaurant gained great fame and its reputation soared.