Laodingfeng

The name Laodingfeng is traditionally said to have been bestowed by the Qianlong emperor on a southern tour, meaning "the cauldron is ever plentiful." The Harbin house opened in 1911 on Zhengyang Third Street in Daowai, specialising in southern-style pastries and mooncakes before growing into one of the northeast's most respected pastry names.

For over a century Laodingfeng has been known for its mooncakes, crisp butter cakes and southern-style sweets; in old Harbin its boxes were the first choice for festival gift-giving, carrying the festival memories of generations.

Its pastries follow the southern tradition, insisting on authentic materials and hand-rolled dough, the mooncake pastry layered into flaky leaves around a full filling, while the crisp butter cake is made by folding oil-dough with water-dough into layers that bake up fragrant and crumbly, showing the fusion of northern and southern pastry craft.