Old Alley Zhajiangmian

The old noodle shop at the entrance to the alley has been open for forty years. The owner learned how to fry the sauce from his grandfather: dice the pork belly, mix yellow soybean paste and sweet bean sauce in the right proportions, then simmer them over low heat until their fragrance drifts halfway down the alley. His grandfather used to say that there was no secret to zhajiangmian: you just mustn't rush the sauce while it simmers. One winter, the owner fell on hard times and ended up on the streets. A disabled elderly man handed him a steaming bowl of noodles with fried bean sauce, saving his life. From then on, the owner made a rule: "Free for people with disabilities." Now he tends the same iron pot, just as his grandfather once did, turning a bowl of noodles into the longing of an entire city. Within the most everyday aroma of the sauce lies the warmest human kindness.