Sepcial Report: Spring Festival Special 2009

    BEIJING, Jan. 22 -- Lee Hee-myung, GM of Hanchon Korean Restaurant, has lived in China for 10 years, along with his wife and kids. Though many of his South Korean compatriots will be returning home for the Spring Festival, which is also the country's most important festival, Lee will be staying.

    This year is different because of the economic crisis and customer flows are down by 20 percent. As a result he has cut some dish prices by 20 percent. He is also expecting much fewer customers at his three restaurants in Beijing, until the spring break ends around Feb 4 or 5.

Community residents watch the culinary skill shown by a hotel's chef, who came to the July 1st Community to teach the residents refined cookery for the family reunion dinner on the Chinese lunar New Year's Eve, in Xuchang, central China's Henan Province, Jan. 20, 2009. (Xinhua/Niu Shupei) Photo Gallery>>>

    So, Lee will concentrate on welcoming his younger brother's family in Beijing for the Spring Festival. They will dine together on Spring Festival Day and eat traditional Korean New Year rice cake soup. They will set off fireworks and watch the Korean version of a Spring Festival Eve variety show on a Korean TV station. Later, they might "go to see the lantern fair", he says.

    The Spring Festival is an important time for Chinese restaurants, which expect a lot of dinner reservations for Spring Festival Eve.

    Bian Yi Fang, Beijing's oldest Peking roast duck restaurant, has 90 percent of its private rooms booked up on Jan 25, at all seven of its branches in Beijing. According to company spokesman Luo Wei, the situation would have been better if not for the recession: "In previous years, our private rooms would have been completely booked out by now."

    At the same time, Quanjude, China's biggest Peking roast duck group, has 60-90 percent of its private rooms booked for Spring Festival Eve, at its various branches.

    The Spring Festival is not such a special day for everyone, however, especially some foreigners.

    "For most of my friends it is just an ordinary day," says Manos Pazianos, owner of Aegean Art House, the Greek art gallery and restaurant. "The restaurant will open during the festival, although we have not prepared anything special."

    The 798 art district will close for the Festival, but nonetheless, Pazianos has decided to invite friends and families of employees over to celebrate at the restaurant on Spring Festival Eve.

    "Normally this kind of business will go to Chinese restaurants with private rooms and traditional foods," says Michael Tan, GM at Aqua Food Group's four new outlets at Qianmen Dongdajie's Legation Quarter. The establishment's two restaurants and two bars will close from Jan 25-27. They don't have special promotions for the festival, although Tan welcomes reservations for reunion dinners.

    Tan's family will return to Malaysia for two weeks, but he will work, apart from the three days' break.

    "Maybe I'll go skiing," he says. "All the foreign chefs will stay, too, to ensure quality of food and service, although we try our best to let as many as local staff go home for the festival."

    Newly opened Italian restaurant Tavola, and Greek restaurant Athens, will both close for the Spring Festival holiday.

    "Up to now we have not seen any foreigners booking a Spring Festival Eve dinner," says Dong Fei, GM at Sky Fortune, a newly opened Chinese restaurant on Nuren Street. "We have seen less foreign guests recently. I believe many of them will go back to their home countries for the vacation."

    Dong's restaurant has two special offers for a table of 10 people during the festival, allowing people to eat 14 courses at an average cost of less than 200 yuan ($24.66).

    James Ong, owner of Malaysian restaurant Malacca Legend, however, said his restaurant had Malaysian, Singaporean and Chinese people making reservations for a dinner that evening.

    Even so, he thinks most of his Malaysian countrymen will return home for the festival, rather than stay in Beijing. Ong says he will eat lao sheng, a traditional festive Malaysian dish of fish sashimi, crisp noodles, fruit and vegetable slices for his Spring Festival Eve dinner at his restaurant in town.

Community residents taste the dishes cooked by a hotel's chef, who came to the July 1st Community to teach the residents refined cookery for the family reunion dinner on the Chinese lunar New Year's Eve, in Xuchang, central China's Henan Province, Jan. 20, 2009. (Xinhua/Niu Shupei) Photo Gallery>>>

    "I'll probably take my family to a hot spring in Beijing during the holiday, because I've never been to one," he says.

    Dong Fei's restaurant is giving 10-30 percent discounts and cutting dish prices.

    "Our customers are spending much more rationally," he says. "Big companies are cutting budgets on dining, while official banquets have become a lot more low-key."

    Bian Jiang, secretary-general of the China Cuisine Association, said this year's financial recession has not quenched customers' enthusiasm about booking a dinner on Spring Festival Eve.

    "Most popular restaurants are fully booked for the Spring Festival Eve by now, especially old brand name restaurants, middle and high-end restaurants, and restaurants with popular cuisine," he says.

    "No matter how hard times are, it will not stop the Chinese from celebrating and dining well during the New Year period," Bian says.

    (Source: China Daily)