A Bao Eatery at Harvard Square

By Jiang Guangyu

Tong Qihua, a native of Wenling, Zhejiang province, has opened in over 10 years more than 160 bao(Chinese style steamed stuffed buns) stores in Hangzhou with annual sales of nearly 200 million yuan. His bao won the honorary title of “The Most Popular Fresh Bao in Hangzhou,” which was bestowed upon his humble establishment by likes of the Hangzhou Catering and Cooking Association.

After two years’ preparation,Tong Qihua opened his first bao eatery in the United States on July 7, 2016—Tom’s BaoBao.

The eatery sits in a prime location at Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts,located smack dab in middle of the main campus services area of Harvard where there is a large number of cafés, restaurants and bookstores. It is teeming with life and the rent is, as you would expect, an arm and a leg.

童啟華是浙江溫嶺人，他用10多年時間，在杭州開了160余家包子店，年銷售額近2億元人民幣；他做的包子，榮獲杭州餐飲烹飪協(xié)會評定的“最受杭州市民喜愛的鮮汁肉包”榮譽稱號。

2016年7月7日，經(jīng)過兩年的準(zhǔn)備，童啟華在美國的第一家包子店Tom's BaoBao（湯姆的包包）開張了。

包子店的位置在黃金地段，馬薩諸塞州波士頓市劍橋鎮(zhèn)的哈佛廣場。這是哈佛大學(xué)的生活服務(wù)核心區(qū)，匯集多家咖啡館、餐館、書店，人氣很旺，當(dāng)然租金也不菲。

包子店的17個廚師，全是美國人。他們是從600多名應(yīng)聘者中選出來的，上崗前通過3個月的培訓(xùn)和考核。一名廚師的培訓(xùn)費，最多達(dá)10萬美元。他們按照標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，1分鐘之內(nèi)能把22個面團搟成面皮；1分鐘之內(nèi)能把22個面皮包成褶皺一樣的包子；每個生包子的重量是100克，其中面皮60克，餡料40克，誤差范圍不能超過2克。他們與周圍的漢堡店、比薩店的員工相比，待遇至少高出15%，有的員工年薪高達(dá)10萬美元。童啟華說：“尊重這個行業(yè)，就要尊重我們的員工，進(jìn)而讓我們的員工尊重我們的顧客。”

包子有經(jīng)典豬肉包、咖喱牛肉包、醬燒雞丁包、香菇青菜包、鮮橙紅薯包，還有具有當(dāng)?shù)靥厣凝埼r包。最便宜的鮮橙紅薯包，每個稅前3美元。龍蝦包較貴，每個稅前至少6美元。

點單臺上，還放了3份說明，顧客可以按需取閱。一份是關(guān)于包子的工藝，一份是菜單，一份是吃包子的四種感覺：視覺、觸覺、味覺、嗅覺。包子店簡約的裝修風(fēng)格，可以讓顧客隔著玻璃窗觀看包子是怎么做出來的。

也許很多人會擔(dān)心：美國人會吃包子嗎？童啟華回答：“當(dāng)然會。美味沒有國界，關(guān)鍵是要做出最地道的美味。”如果漢堡是標(biāo)志性的美國食物，那么，包子就是經(jīng)典的中國傳統(tǒng)食物，更是一種跨國文化的交流和溝通。這正是他敢于公開叫板美國漢堡，把包子店開在哈佛廣場漢堡店隔壁的原因。

果然不出童啟華所料，哈佛大學(xué)的學(xué)生很開放包容，樂于接受美味飄香的新食物。有個女生一口氣吃了4個包子，還覺得有點不過癮。包子逐漸成為眾多學(xué)霸、教授口中的美味，也成為會議聚餐的“定制”點心。許多慕名去包子店品嘗美食的美籍華人動情地說：“包子是中國人的集體鄉(xiāng)愁。”

童啟華充滿信心地謀劃，在未來的3年至5年，還要在美國開設(shè)20來家包子店。他說：“美國需要一個令他們瘋狂的中國傳統(tǒng)美食，就像星巴克代表咖啡，麥當(dāng)勞代表漢堡一樣，我的Tom's BaoBao將來一定能代表中國包子。我對自己的定位是：做最好的包子。”◆

（摘自《遼寧青年》2017年第3期）

The 17 chefs in the store are all Americans selected from a long list of more than 600 candidates,all trained and scrutinized for three months before they took up their post. Chef’s training costs up to 100 thousand dollars.Their quota is to roll out 22 dough wrappers per minute; which produces a batch of 22 bao every 60 seconds. Each bao weighs 100 grams in total with the dough wrappers weighing 60 grams and the stuffing 40 grams, the margin of error is no more than 2 grams.The chefs are paid at least 15%more than their counterparts at the neighboring hamburger and pizza restaurants, and some even earn up to 100,000 dollars a year.“To respect this industry, we should respect our employees and let them respect our customers,”remarked Tong Qihua.

There are classic varieties such as pork bao, curry beef bao,diced chicken bao with sauce,mushroom and vegetable bao,along with more exotic styles like fresh orange sweet potato bao,and even lobster bao which caters to local tastes. The cheapest fresh orange sweet potato bao costs 3 dollars before tax. Lobster bao is more costly, about 6 dollars before tax.

On the ordering counter, three posters hang prominently for the customers to read. The first is about the making of bao; the second is a menu, and the third is the four Taos of the bao, which are: look, touch, taste and smell.The simple but pleasant decor of the eatery allows the customers to get an intimate peek into how bao is made through the glass window.

Maybe you readers out there have a burning question in your mind, would Americans actually like bao? Tong Qihua replied with an air of confidence, “There are no national borders for gourmet treats. The key is to make them absolutely authentic.” If the hamburger is a poster child for American food, then, the Bao is the symbol of classical Chinese cuisine, and beyond that a channel of cross-cultural exchange. Tom’s confidence in the marketability of the bao is precisely why he dared to boldly challenge the great American staple—the hamburger—and put his eatery right next to a hamburger restaurant in Harvard Square.

Just as Tong Qihua expected,Harvard University students are open-minded and nonjudgmental, and more than willing to accept a new food as long as it’s flavorful and satisfying. There was a girl who ate four bao in one sitting and yet hadn’t had her fill. Bao has gradually become the delicacy of many of the school’s top students and professors, and a “readymade” snack for meetings.Many Chinese-Americans compelled to take a nibble or two of Tom’s gourmet bao have given an emotional account of their experience summarized as,“Tom’s Bao are like the collective nostalgia of the Chinese people.”

Tong Qihua is confident in his expansion plans going forward.In the next three to five years, he plans to open 20 more bao eateries in the United States. He pointed out, “The United States needs Chinese traditional cuisine; they’re starving for it. Like the long lines at Starbucks or McDonald’s, my Tom’s BaoBao will be the brandname of Chinese bao. I have set the bar high for myself, because I will not stop until I make the world’s best bao.”◆