Shenzhen has a large number of Chaoshan immigrants, and the Chaoshan restaurants scattered all over the streets and alleys are proof of this. Where there are Chaoshan people, there must be Chaoshan "cold", the so-called "cold", refers to the Chaoshan food stalls that operate popular cold dishes and cooked food, which is a civilian branch of Chaozhou cuisine. However, even if the audience is as large as cold, it still can't escape the curse of "miscellaneous but not refined" food in Shenzhen. If you want to eat the closest taste to Chaoshan in Shenzhen, you have to look for it in an old store with heritage and attitude.
Haolinju is such a time-honored Chaocai restaurant, located on the famous Bagua Road Food Street in Shenzhen. Zhang Chuxiong, the owner of Haolinju, was born as a chef and quit his job as a chef at a star-rated hotel in Shantou in 1994 and came to Shenzhen to found this trendy food stall. Originally a small one-panel shop, Haolinju has expanded several times to encompass many shops next door, and has gradually become a small-scale trendy restaurant, and its popularity and popularity have also increased. Today's Haolinju business is even more booming, from the lunch market until three or four o'clock in the morning, the small storefront is often full.
The taro pot is a must-have sign of Haolinju, and there are many repeat customers, and there are even Chaocai restaurants that come here to learn from this dish. Sweet seeds, taro, etc. are all selected from Chaoshan local specialties, regularly purchased from farmers, each pot is made from the original pot after the diner ordered, quite laborious. The taste of the potato is dense and tough, solid but not hard, the taro powder is soft and warm, the soup is milky white, the taste is fresh and lush, the combination is wonderful, eat a bowl of refreshing and warm stomach. In addition to the pot, Haolinju's pot double pills, spring vegetable pork ribs pot, and lily pot are also worth trying, these pots are known for their light and mild taste, fresh and sweet flavor, especially suitable for winter tasting.
Oyster roasting is a classic dish in Chaozhou cuisine, and the oyster roasting level in Haolinju is quite good. The method of oyster roasting is not complicated, sweet potato flour is the base, green onion beads and egg flowers and other auxiliary flavors, spread the oysters, fry until crispy and serve. Although the production techniques are similar, it is not easy to make the oyster brand as perfect as possible. The oysters selected by Haolinju are pleated oysters from Chaoshan, which are pryed open and shipped in boxes to ensure the freshness of the oysters. This kind of oyster is also known as "pearl oyster" in Chaoshan, and compared with the thinner oysters in Shenzhen, Chaoshan pearl oysters are large and creamy, full and round, and the meat is extremely fresh and sweet. Haolinju also specially transported Chaoshan "Dading" from Shantou, just to interpret the oyster brand more perfectly; Good oysters must be crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, more oysters and less powder, Haolinju does not hesitate to cut the oysters, the oysters are full, and the oysters forged by the hot oil are thick, golden and quite eye-catching. Oysters are served with fish sauce and chili sauce, and Haolinju's fish sauce and chili sauce are also regularly shipped from Chaoshan.
The golden roasted cuttlefish is also the proud work of Haolinju, more than ten catties of large cuttlefish are purchased in the early morning every day, changed to a knife to marinate, exploded and fried fragrantly, thickly cut into slices, the taste is firm and elastic, and it is suitable to dip it in mustard soy sauce. Stir-fried kale with preserved plaice is also a stir-fried vegetable with Chaoshan characteristics. Different from the practice of watering and stir-frying the whole plant in most restaurants today, Haolinju selects the kale and cuts it into sections, and stir-fry it directly in the oil pot, which has a stronger aroma than soft stir-frying in boiling water; The so-called "preserved flounder" is a common dried flounder in Chaoshan, which is stir-fried in a hot pot to brighten the aroma and flavor of the whole dish. Tide-style brine, stir-fried flower nails, Puning tofu, all kinds of fish rice, etc., are also relatively stable dishes, which are not easy to step on thunder. The tidal style Shiyu Ding uses small shallow sea fish from Shantou Hong Kong, such as parrot, sand tip, bamboo boy, small pomfret, dog, etc., the meat quality has its own characteristics, and the iron pot is fried over slow heat, crispy and delicious. However, there is still a big gap between the freshness of the chilled fish itself and the local Chaoshan, and the sweet taste of the fish has lost a lot.
As a long-established restaurant that has been open for more than 20 years, the quality of most of Haolinju's dishes is relatively stable, and the signature dishes are even more reputable. The environment in the restaurant is not as dirty and greasy as other food stalls, although the decoration is a little outdated, it still looks clean and tidy, bright and transparent, and various dishes such as seafood, lo-mei, and cooked food are displayed in stalls. The old façade of the 90s has a low shelf, and there is a slight sense of depression after taking a seat. The boiling water disinfection cabinet at the entrance, which has been used since the SARS era, has also become an alternative signboard of this store, saving diners the custom of scalding dishes before meals. The in-store service is decent, responsive, well-staffed, and the experience is quite comfortable. The food court is inconvenient for vehicles to enter and exit, and parking spaces are often difficult to find during meal hours, so diners who drive to the restaurant are advised to park in the surrounding parking lots.
