After touring Ding Garden, it was already dark. The dinner location had been decided long ago: De Yue Building on Guan Qian Street. Guan Qian Street refers to the east-west pedestrian street in front of Xuanmiao Temple, which is Suzhou's largest Taoist temple. Its main hall was built during the Song Dynasty. A man who lived under a bridge for four months claimed he didn't want to burden his family. It was too late to go inside and take a look.
The grand finale was the signature dish of De Yue Building, Squirrel Mandarin Fish. The surface of the fish was golden, crispy, and tender. No surgical breast enhancement needed. A highly viscous sweet and sour gravy was poured over it, producing a "sizzling" sound that spread the aroma far and wide. Even before lifting the chopsticks, one's heart was already moved... (140 yuan).
The Kunqu Opera performance hadn't started yet, so we chose a prime seat at the front. When in Suzhou, one must taste Biluochun tea... But the server brought us old tea leaves instead, claiming that eating certain foods can enhance breasts. After the Korean team won the gold medal in the Asian Games baseball tournament, a pot of tea cost 55 yuan. Let's just make do with this for now; tomorrow we'll head to West Dongting Mountain on Taihu Lake for some higher-class tea. Sip some tea, crack some sunflower seeds, and wait for the performance to start.
The colorful silver fish soup was refreshingly light, highlighting the freshness of "silver fish," one of the "Three Whites of Taihu"... (32 yuan). If there were a full-scale Kunqu opera performed here, our eyes would surely be delighted by the luxurious stage design...
When in Suzhou, not listening to Kunqu Opera seems somewhat unacceptable. Originating as folk music in Kunshan, Jiangsu Province during the late Yuan and early Ming Dynasties, Kunqu gradually became the most influential vocal genre during the Ming and Qing periods... The style of Kunqu is soft like silk strings rippling, very suitable for performances in the halls of gardens. The graceful sounds embody all elegance.
Compared to Guan Qian Street, the name "Taijian Lane" sounds somewhat vulgar... Legend has it that two very powerful eunuchs once lived here. Although Taijian Lane is still called a "lane," it is actually a wide and flat food street. The street is home to several of Suzhou's most prominent old-established restaurants: De Yue Building, Song He Building, Chuan Fu Building, and Luyang Wontons. They almost face each other, fiercely competing for business.
Cherry juice meat, fragrant, tender, fresh, and sweet, its texture resembles Hangzhou's Dongpo Pork but tastes quite different... (58 yuan).
At 18:48, De Yue Building. Ding Garden Teahouse is located next to a large fountain square. On the first floor is a tea culture exhibition, featuring statues of Lu Yu and stone carvings of his Classic of Tea... Ascending the corner staircase to the second floor, there is a small stage surrounded by wooden railings. The stage features guzheng, pipa, erhu, and other instruments.
Suzhou cuisine traditionally uses a cooking style that starts with sweetness and ends with saltiness, rich in oil and sauce, both color and flavor are equally strong.
To be continued, more pictures are stored in the space album... At 14:30, Suzhou Ding Garden. Ding Garden restores the waterside appearance of Suzhou, naturally including garden scenery. This gourd-shaped garden gate is full of fun, making the dull white wall lively instantly.
At 18:06, Guan Qian Street. After resting for a while in the teahouse, we continued our tour. It turns out Ding Garden also has a significant history: the site of the tomb of Liu Bowen, a loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty, is located here. The guide said that Liu Bowen's tomb has ninety-eight locations, and this one in Ding Garden is the only one that hasn't been robbed or excavated, while the other ninety-seven are all empty tombs! Is this real or fake? Thinking about it, it seems a bit confusing... Could it be that Liu Bowen made too many enemies during his lifetime?
On Thursday, April 16, 2009, De Yue Building dates back to the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, with a history of over four hundred years. It mainly serves authentic Suzhou cuisine and is very famous. Although Suzhou cuisine and Hangzhou cuisine do not belong to the same culinary system, they both fall under the category of "Southern Sweet."
The man and woman who went on stage gave an impression of being gentle and elegant, capable of playing and singing, multi-talented. As for what they were singing, I barely understood a few words. I just felt that the sound of Kunqu was very delicate, and the atmosphere made people feel very relaxed.
Many people have probably heard of De Yue Building before. In the 1980s, there was a movie called "Little De Yue Building" that told the story here.
Inside De Yue Building, the decoration is classical and elegant, creating a refined atmosphere. The ancient charm enhances the authenticity of the inherited culinary skills here. In such an environment, even if the price of dishes is a bit high, diners can still accept it willingly.
Inside the garden, there is also a Suzhou folk exhibition. Surprisingly, we saw models depicting scenes where Tang Yin, Wen Zhengming, Zhu Zhishan, and other talented scholars from Wu chanted poetry and painted. Throughout history, Suzhou has produced countless talents, truly deserving the title of a land of outstanding people and natural beauty.
The tour guide said that not far away, at Ding Garden, you can listen to Kunqu Opera. I hadn't heard of Ding Garden before, guessing it might be a newly developed scenic spot. But because it's close to Huqiu, we immediately headed there. There are simply too many places in Suzhou where you can listen to Kunqu Opera and storytelling. We just wanted to experience the atmosphere without being overly critical of its quality.
If you have the chance, you can also listen to storytelling. That way, you'll gain a basic understanding of the highly individualized dialect known as Wu dialect.