Taizhou's century-old breakfast traditions find new fans at Southeast University

Taizhou breakfast dishes are displayed at Southeast University. [Photo/Taizhou Communications Industry Group]

Taizhou's traditional morning tea culture made its way to Southeast University in Nanjing, Jiangsu province on Oct 26, as century-old teahouse Haitangchun brought authentic local delicacies to campus, pairing food tasting with live demonstrations of traditional culinary techniques.

Students and faculty watched as Tian Hua, an inheritor of the Taizhou dried tofu shredding technique, demonstrated the precision required to prepare one of the city's signature breakfast dishes.

The technique, recognized as a provincial-level intangible cultural heritage item in Jiangsu, dates back more than 200 years. Using a crescent-shaped knife, Tian sliced a block of dried tofu horizontally into more than 20 layers before cutting it diagonally into fine strands so thin they were almost translucent.

Another highlight was Taizhou's traditional jumping noodles. Jiang Guangyi, an inheritor of the technique, demonstrated how a long bamboo pole is used to repeatedly press and knead dough, gradually making it thinner and more elastic before cutting it into noodles. As he worked, Jiang explained the dish's history and the key steps in its preparation, drawing a crowd of curious students.

Founded in 1925, Haitangchun Teahouse brings together five traditional culinary techniques recognized as intangible cultural heritage: dried tofu shreds, jumping noodles, sesame cakes, cured pork knuckle and Haitangchunyu tea.

Following the enthusiastic response to the campus event, Haitangchun has been invited to take part in Southeast University's anniversary celebrations next June.