Song Ji Restaurant's hotpot preserves original flavor of the ingredients.[Photo provided to China Daily]

The owner Liang Guihuan says that in the old days she and her father used to hawk Lunjiao rice cakes before dawn.

Then, the locals didn't have much money, so they would exchange their sweet potatoes for the cakes because they liked the snack very much.

Like many old restaurants in Shunde, the family's recipe for Lunjiao rice cakes has been handed down. And Liang Guihuan is the fourth generation to carry on the business.

The history of the sweet rice cakes can be traced back to 1855 to the Lunjiao quarter of Shunde, where pastry vendor Liang Licheng accidentally invented the cakes when he forgot to stoke the fire during the steaming process.

According to Liang Guihuan, the first step in the making of the cakes is to grind a mixture of rice and water thrice using a millstone.

Then, the rice pulp is allowed to ferment.

Now, large plastic vats are used for fermentation due to hygiene reasons.

Also, the thick plastic vats preserve the heat better and quicken the fermentation process from 12 to 10 hours.

Then, there's the unique hotpot from the Song Ji Restaurant.

The hotpot is famous for its soup base - just water with a few green onion and ginger.