From Influencers to Hutongs, Beijing's Restaurant Scene is Undergoing a Sea Change

Kyle Mullin | Jan 1, 2019 9:00 am | Add a comment | 2471 reads

At first glance, this year could be viewed in many ways as unexceptional, yet the first thing that struck us from conducting these interviews for The Year From Every Angle is that by and large 2018 was a year of progress.

The positivity and hope displayed among these seemingly disparate endeavors, including art, activism, mental health, and even the leisure pursuits have arisen from communities quietly coalescing around a number of shared and strengthening goals and beliefs. Though some of those objectives fell afoul of the authorities, advancements over the last 12 months have laid a solid groundwork for what looks to be a fine year ahead.

Before we gaze forward, however, it’s time to read back on Beijing’s 2018 from (nearly) every angle.

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Name: Dong Fangyu

Title: Food and Wine Writer, China Daily
2018 in 5 words: Retro, Vibrant, Diversified, Family-Friendly

The chef at Qu Lang Yuan certainly makes an impression, setting down the platter of beef and searing it with a culinary torch, in keeping with flashy modern restaurant trends which delight the eyes as much as the taste buds. As she looks on, China Daily food and wine writer Dong “Jessica” Fangyu is not only taking in the tableside spectacle, but also the contrasting backdrop, namely the Qing dynasty brick walls and wooden rafters above and behind the torch-wielding chef, one of the hutong restaurant’s hallmarks. Such combinations of traditional Chinese culture with modern culinary flair have been a major trend that Dong has covered in her articles over the past year.

According to Dong, that sense of history is “especially great for the ‘post-’80s generation who didn’t grow up in a traditional environment.” However, she by no means thinks Beijing’s dining scene is stuck in the past. Dong has also taken note of modern crazes, such as a boom of Cantonese-style hot pot restaurants like Biao Ge, Zhen Zi Wei, and Having Luck, which favor fish or poultry-based broths over the more conventional spicy beef. “People are dining at these restaurants with their kids and elders more and more, indicating that healthier eating with organic concepts is getting more popular,” she says.

And then there’s the biggest trend of all: wanghong, or key opinion leader (KOL) “influencers.” Dong says: “Wanghong restaurants are on a whole other level this year, paying people to queue up around the block and loading up their restaurants with business gimmicks.” But that doesn’t make her despair. Instead, she takes joy in restaurants that draw attention to the good old-fashioned ways in this digital era.

Or, as Dong puts it: “Some of those restaurants are so good that they automatically attract influencers, rather than the other way around.”