Picture this: Lobster cooked eight ways. Sharks' fin bathed in a rich brown
sauce. Stewed bird's nest sweetened with apricots. Abalone braised until tender.
Now, the bill for a party of 10: $24,500.
Thousands of Chinese passengers wait to
board a train for a journey home in Nanjing
January 23, 2006. China's passenger flow will hit two billion trips during the
2006 Spring
Festival holiday.[Reuters]
The Lao Zhengxing restaurant in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou
has taken culinary decadence to new heights with its Chinese New Year banquet
menu ！ a mix of exorbitantly priced ingredients and flashy cooking topped off
with a dash of self-promotion.
Just a few years ago, Chinese spent the Lunar New Year ！ their most
celebrated holiday ！ preparing feasts at home. But now, increasingly wealthy and
busy, they are splurging on restaurant banquets. Eateries like Lao Zhengxing
with special New Year menus are benefiting.
"It is the time for families to gather," said Bian Jiang, Secretary General
of the China Cuisine Association. "People expect and enjoy higher standards of
food, teas, wines and services during the New Year."
The rush to book a table starts as early as December, and meals range from
hundreds to tens of thousands of dollars ！ a fortune in a country where incomes
average about US$300 a year in the countryside and US$1,000 in cities.
"People are getting lazier and they have less time to cook," said Liu Jiang,
a 43-year-old homemaker from Beijing
who has reserved a table for 12 at a roast duck restaurant Saturday, the eve of
the Lunar New Year.
