Tao Tao Ju (Tou Tou Koi) Restaurant enjoyed a good reputation in the Republic of China era. 民国时期，陶陶居已经名满广州。

Nowadays, it is usual to see crowds of customers waiting outside some restaurants of Guangzhou in early mornings for 'Zaocha (dim sum or Cantonese morning tea)' . But in such a city full of particular foodies, what qualities are necessary for restaurants to remain popular with time passing by?

每天清晨，广州的各大茶楼还没开张，门外就已挤满了等待进场的食客——只有搭配着刚出炉的包点，嘬上一口茶，广州人的一天才算真正开始。在广州，一家茶楼要想常年屹立绝非易事。不过，有那么几家老字号，凭借各自的独家“配方”，百多年来一直安抚着广州人刁钻的胃口，也留下了不少传颂至今的故事。

Today, let's explore the stories of some time-honored traditional restaurants in Guangzhou, beginning with Tao Tao Ju Restaurant. 

今天让我们一起走近广州茶楼的老字号之一——陶陶居。

陶陶居  Tao Tao Ju Restaurant (Tou Tou Koi)

Founded by businessman Huang Chengbo in 1880 during Emperor Guangxu's reign in the Qing Dynasty, Tao Tao Ju (Tou Tou Koi) Restaurant started its business around today's Dishifu Lu in Liwan district. It is said that the restaurant was named Pu Tao Ju Restaurant at first after Huang's wife Pu Tao (meaning grape in Chinese). 

陶陶居开业于1880年（清光绪六年），选址在今天的广州西关第十甫路。一个叫黄澄波的人，见此地没有茶楼酒肆，便盖了一间近百平方米的老式大屋，开了个茶室。据说黄的妻子名葡萄，便以此为字号，叫“葡萄居”。

But the business had closed down for quite a period of time after Huang passed away and hadn't resumed until 1927 when Tan Jienan, a tycoon in the catering industry, took over the restaurant. Due to a lack of fund, Tan had to resort to an old-style Chinese private bank, whose owner changed the name of the restaurant to Tao Tao Ju.

后来黄老板去世，曾一度停业。1927年，茶楼大王谭杰南接手“葡萄居”，后因规模过大超支，又向关恒昌银号求助。新股东嫌“葡萄居”这名不雅，从一间茶室买来了“陶陶居”的匾额，从此改名“陶陶居”，取其“乐也陶陶”之意。

Tao Tao Ju (Tou Tou Koi) Restaurant in the Republic of China era 民国时期的陶陶居 

During the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China era, Tao Tao Ju Restaurant started to serve first-class tea brewed with mountain spring water in teapots from Yixing city of Jiangsu province on stoves made in Chaozhou city of Guangdong, which both stood for exquisite craftsmanship.

清末民初，陶陶居便开始选用上等茶叶和山泉水泡茶，并以宜兴茶煲、潮州炭炉作烹茶用具，派专人侍于厅堂雅座。这一招，使陶陶居名声大噪。

Rice in Soup with Lobster is one of the classic dishes of Tao Tao Ju (Tou Tou Koi) Restaurant.  陶陶居经典菜式龙虾泡饭

The restaurant also adopted western food-matching style, serving meals comprised of crab meat, shark fin soup, vegetables, fried rice or noodles, with fruits and snacks at a reasonable price, which were popular with customers.