Lou Maoji

Lou Maoji opened in 1743 during the Qianlong reign and has long traded in Jiangnan-style pickles, fermented bean curd, dried tofu, soy sauce and vinegar, making it one of Ningbo's oldest sauce houses.

When the Ministry of Commerce named its first batch of China Time-honored Brands in 2006, Lou Maoji and Shengyang Tai were the only two from Ningbo to make the list, a measure of its standing in the city's commercial history.

Using traditional brewing and curing methods, its dried bean curd and pickles are savory and deeply flavored, with a secret-recipe fermented bean curd that remains a fixture of Ningbo home cooking.

Lou Maoji is a first-batch China Time-honored Brand and a leading keeper of Ningbo's sauce-making tradition.