Shanxi noodle restaurant serves up charitable fair

Zhang Shengming (center), the founder of Yi Yuan Mian Guan noodle restaurant, talks with diners over a meal on Sept 12 in Taiyuan, Shanxi province. ZHU XINGXIN/CHINA DAILY

For many in North China, a bowl of noodles constitutes a hearty meal, especially in Shanxi, a province known for its noodle dishes.

For Taiyuan local Zhang Shengming, a bowl of noodles has become a way for him to give back to his local community, especially the elderly residents, and in doing so he's brought out the charitable spirit in others.

Inspired by the charitable deeds he saw carried on a mass scale during the COVID-19 pandemic, the 52-year-old employee at Shanxi's sports bureau decided to set up a community restaurant charging just a single yuan (14 cents) for a bowl of noodles.

The dish, with braised meat and vegetables, has become a hit with the local residents, and if they're not full after the first bowl the second comes free of charge.

A bowl of noodles in the Shanxi capital typically costs at least seven to eight yuan.

"At first, people said it was a foolish thing to provide such a cheap meal," Zhang said.

However, making a profit is not the point.

When Zhang and several partners set up Yi Yuan Mian Guan in March 2022, the idea was to give back to the country and to society.

"At the very beginning, I just wanted to give it a try for three months. I never thought it would inspire so many others and last this long," he said.

According to Zhang, the restaurant serves some 200 bowls of noodles on average each day, and a year's total expenses amount to around 500,000 yuan.

About the cost, Zhang said he and his partners funded the restaurant themselves at first, but later more partners joined up and contributed financially too.

"We've had over 170 contributors who've donated toward the cause. All of them are very compassionate people," he said, adding that a noodle restaurant that operates at a loss can keep running because kindness is a very special thing.

According to Zhang, most of the customers who come to eat noodles are elderly people. Through word of mouth, more and more people started to visit for lunch, with some coming just out of curiosity.

"I initially thought that getting a bowl of noodles for one yuan was just a trick, so I decided to come and see for myself. Upon arriving and seeing it with my own eyes, I was truly touched," said Zhang Jianping, a 67-year-old retired soldier from the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. "Such a deed should be made known to more people."

The staff here are also very special. Initially, they were all customers, but later they voluntarily came here to help out. "They don't take a penny, yet they all work happily and cheerfully," founder Zhang said.

Among them is 63-year-old Wang Liya, who is both a customer and a helper in the kitchen.

She comes to the restaurant every day at about 10 am to help prepare the ingredients by washing and chopping them, before taking a break and having her own bowl of noodles. "Working here, I am happy every day and feel very satisfied," Wang said.

Behind the recipe, the restaurant's chef Bai Yanfeng said, "The ingredients for the braised sauce are very simple and include potatoes, eggplants, green beans, Chinese cabbage and tomatoes."

Bai said the braised sauce is served with a large bowl of hand-cut noodles, which have a simple and homely flavor.

"This is not just a noodle shop, but more like a spiritual home, a place of emotional belonging for the elderly and volunteers. I feel happy running the restaurant here," founder Zhang said.

For the future prospects of the noodle restaurant, he hopes that more young people can get involved and he is very willing to provide volunteering and internship opportunities for them.

Su Guirong contributed to this story.