Aiwowo

Aiwowo is a traditional dessert from Beijing, China. Aiwowo became well-known as early as the reign of the Wanli Emperor during the Ming dynasty. There was a record of Aiwowo in Chapter 7 of the 17th-century novel JinPingMei. In ZhuoZhongZhi, a 17th-century book that talks about different events happened in the emperor's family, the author states the existence of Aiwowo within the royal class.[citation needed] During the Qing dynasty, the Fragrant Concubine of the QianLong Emperor was bored with the dishes within the palace. When the Emperor heard that Concubine had a husband from XinJiang Province before she came to the palace, the Emperor commanded him to make snacks for her. He made a snack from his own hometown with Hui culture. The Concubine loved this snack so much that the Emperor commanded the chief to bring the snack every day. The snack became famous within the Forbidden City, and across the whole city of Beijing. A eunuch asked for the husband's name and he said it was “Ai Meti.” Because of the chef's family name, the emperor called this snack “Ai Wo Wo,” in which “Wo Wo” translates to bowl-shaped pastry. The word “Ai" is not only a family name but also translates as an honorific for the elderly in traditional Chinese. At that time, the Emperor often said “Yu Ai Wo Wo,” which means "give me the snack." The sentence evolved to “Ai Wo Wo,” as the snack is now called.

Source: Wikipedia