Juxiangyuan

Juxiangyuan was formally founded in 1918 in the early years of the Republic, though its almond biscuit traces back to late-Qing Shiqi in the old county of Xiangshan. The recipe is said to have been created by the Xiao household's servant Pan Yanxiang under the guidance of concubine Lin Dagu, pressing mung-bean flour and sugar in a wooden mould into the shape of an almond, from which it takes its name. After the 1911 Revolution the Xiao family began making and selling it in quantity, and the century-old brand grew from there.

Juxiangyuan's almond biscuit is counted among Guangdong's "four great biscuits"; it won the Golden Rooster Award at the 1935 Honolulu International Food Expo and travelled overseas with generations of Cantonese emigrants as a token of home. Still led by its almond biscuit, the house has grown a line of mooncakes and chick biscuits, and is a recognised China Time-Honoured Brand.

Its almond biscuit uses mung-bean flour as the base, passing through roasting, blending, mould-pressing and baking, with careful attention to fine texture and even heat so the biscuit is dry, fragrant and melt-in-the-mouth, the clear almond motif its hallmark. The old wooden-mould and slow-bake method has been handed down for generations, a living specimen of Zhongshan food craft.

Juxiangyuan is a China Time-Honoured Brand recognised by the Ministry of Commerce (first re-certified batch).