"I would have not been able to book a restaurant for New Year's
Eve dinner if I hadn't done it 10 days ago," said Wu Xuelan, a
newspaper editor in Beijing, the national capital.
She had been engaged in looking for a suitable restaurant ever
since her husband and she decided to invite her parents-in-law to
have the New Year's Eve dinner, or "Nianyefan" in Chinese, at a
local restaurant.
The Chinese Lunar New Year, or the Year of Dog this year
according to Chinese lunar calendar, falls on Jan. 29.
Wu told Xinhua she had reserved a four-person private room at a
restaurant offering Shanghai flavor dishes, with the help of a
hotline posted on a website catering for people who want to dine
out.
The restaurant can not only meet her requirement for price, 120
yuan (15 U.S. dollars) per person, but also offer her a parking
space free of charge.
"I prefer to have the annual dinner at a restaurant," said Wu,
"so we can go home afterwards to watch TV programs leisurely.
"Otherwise, my parents-in-law would have to go shopping first,
then wash, chop and cook days before the New Year with an aim to
prepare a lavish dinner," said the 28-year-old lady.
"They (parents-in-law) help me take care of my son for the whole
year so I don't want them to do all these chores again during the
holiday," she added.
Her idea is echoed by many Chinese, who would rather spend money
on "buying time and vacation", thanks to improved living
standards.
New Year's Eve dinner is the once-a-year, and the most
important, dinner for Chinese and an occasion for family reunion.
Chinese try to get home before the New Year's Eve no matter how far
he or she has to travel. Many families begin to prepare the meal
days before the event. The work is painstaking and
time-consuming.
On that special evening, the whole family, usually three or four
generations, get together to enjoy a delicious and sumptuous family
banquet, which usually includes vegetable, meat and fish which
symbolizes wealth, amid the deafening sound of firecrackers.
All people in the family eat, chat and drink, and then watch TV
programs specially prepared for the event, staying up till midnight
to greet the Lunar New Year.
Nowadays, dining out on this special and enjoyable occasion,
instead of keeping the traditional way of eating at home, has
gradually become a vogue.
Incomplete statistics show that around 1.1 million Beijingers
dined out on New Year's Eve last year, lifting the single day
business turnover to 80 million yuan (10 million U.S. dollars).
More than 500 restaurants in Beijing have been booked for the
New Year's Eve dinner by the end of December, local media reported.
Some hotels and restaurants even began receiving reservations four
months ago.
The Quanjude Restaurant, which is famous for Peking roast duck
for 140 years, confirmed Friday all of its private rooms had been
booked, The same thing happened to Xiaofeiyang, an Inner
Mongolia-headquartered chain restaurant.
But industry insiders warn consumers of the tricks that may be
used by some profiteers from the holiday. A simple dish with a good
name symbolizing fortune, happiness or prosperity, may cost you
dear, they said.
A hotel in Hangzhou, the capital of east China's Zhejiang
Province, recently provide a dinner costing 198,000 yuan for a
single table on the New Year's Eve.
The move, termed by Ma Guoqing, a professor with the
Anthropological Department of Zhongshan University in south China's
Guangdong Province, as "showing off", has sparked a nationwide
debate.
"It sounds too extravagant," Wu Xuelan said. "The aim of dining
out is to make the parents happy. If I lavish too much money on the
meal, they would feel unpleasant."
Nowadays, people value the amiable atmosphere and the chance of
family reunion more than what they eat, Ma said.
Apart from offering New Year's Eve dinner and a take-out
service, some restaurants allow chefs to cook at home of local
residents. The practice is warmly welcomed by customers.
Despite the convenience of dining out, Yan Kun, a translator of
a French-funded company in Beijing, would prefer to eat at
home.
"We can eat more leisurely and pleasantly at home and enjoy a
dense holiday atmosphere," said the 42-year-old.
"When we dined out last year, We ate fast and even had no time
to enjoy the delicious food because lots of customers were queuing
up, waiting for the table," she said.
(Xinhua News Agency January 28, 2006)
