Pastry chefs make mung bean cake at Luji Yongxingde in Jinghai district, Tianjin. [Photo/WeChat account: jhgbdsxww]
For more than 40 years, Lu Xuegang has preserved the authentic flavor of a time-honored pastry shop in Duliu town, Jinghai district, Tianjin.
His store, Luji Yongxingde, sits quietly along the Grand Canal, offering traditional snacks simply wrapped in oil paper. Its signature mung bean cake, recognized as a municipal intangible cultural heritage item, is made using ancient manual techniques passed down through his family since the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
The cake requires over a dozen steps — from selecting the finest mung beans to grinding, mixing, steaming, and more. Lu insists on using pure ingredients, with no preservatives, and full handcrafting. All pastries are made fresh daily and often sell out quickly.
Lu has turned down offers to open chain stores, believing quality would suffer. While sticking to tradition, he has embraced online sales and WeChat groups, expanding his reach to customers across China.