THEME restaurants with lots of atmosphere are all the rage, satisfying more than mere hunger. They range from martial arts to Kunqu Opera and even appeal to fantasies about chambermaids. Xu Wenwen reads the menu.

Waitresses in chambermaid costumes welcome guests as "master" and lead them into a Japanese comics world. Elsewhere, waitresses in gym and sports costumes serve dishes such as "running machine." In yet another eatery, servants in an "ancient" inn greet "warrior" customers as "heros."

These are a few of the many theme restaurants that have opened in Hangzhou, places that serve up large portions of ambience in unusual settings.

Themes include Kunqu Opera, martial arts, Japanese comics and anime, health care, food therapy and sports.

Quite a few have come and gone, such as Hooters, the American restaurant chain well known for waitresses and entertainers with large breasts. It lasted two years. One Internet user summed it up: "Spending hundreds of yuan for a hamburger and chips isn't worth it, and hot dancing girls make customers feel uncomfortable."

The Chinese mainland's only Teresa Teng restaurant, named after the legendary Taiwanese singer, lasted for three years.

Fortunately, a "toilet" restaurant also went under in two years. Seats were flush toilets, plates and tableware were shaped like toilets and ice cream was shaped like poop.

The number of watchers exceeded the number of customers and the potty model was unsustainable.

Following are a few theme restaurants.

Maid Cafe

For lovers of Japanese comic books, anime and chambermaids, the Maid Cafe is just the place. Young, attractive and innocent-looking waitresses wear maid costumes and speak a little Japanese and English.

"Welcome, Master," they say to each guest.

Their services include not only serving coffee and food, but also playing board games and video games with the guests, who are mostly male.

All the waitress-maids are college students.

The cafe offers hundreds of Japanese comic books and toy figures from comics and animation. Photos of the restaurant's maids adorn the walls.

Most customers are young fans of comics and animation; sometimes over-30s who want to relax after work.

Average price: 20-30yuan

Address: Booth No. 148, Huayuan No. 16 Block, Xiasha District

Wudi Restaurant

This reservations-only restaurant has a Kunqu Opera theme, opera videos are projected, and the elegant Jiangsu Province dishes are named after famous Kunqu Opera.

At the end of the year, live opera will be performed at dinner time.

The restaurant, which opened two months ago, is decorated in traditional Chinese style, with Kunqu Opera ambience.

Visitors can not only enjoy opera videos but also fine regional cuisine. Also, from 6pm to 7pm, pingtan artists perform a traditional show of storytelling to music and ballad singing, all in Suzhou dialect.

Kunqu Opera is one of the oldest forms of Chinese opera, and was listed as a world intangible heritage of humanity by UNESCO in 2001. Kunqu Opera originated in Kunshan, Jiangsu Province.

The Jiangsu dishes on the menu are mild, sweet and elegant, adapted a bit to the local palate.

Reservations are required a day in advance.

Address: 2/F, 30 Huancheng Rd W.

Tel: (0571) 8791-0577

Average Price: 80-100 yuan

Sports Restaurant

The Sports Restaurant, a brand under the restaurant chain The Grandma's, is the city's only sports theme restaurant and there are at least five outlets.

On the facade, huge LED screens show various games and matches. Inside, guests can watch the Asian Games on big screens. Waiters and waitresses are dressed in gym suits and various sports attire.

Inside are all kinds of sports equipment and exercise machines.

The canoe hanging from the ceiling is the one used by Meng Guanliang and Yang Wenjun who won racing gold in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. The basketball exhibits include Yao Ming's autograph under glass. The pommel horse at the base of the staircase was once used by gymnast Lou Yun, who won vaulting gold at the 1984 and 1988 Olympic Games. Now it's used as a magazine rack.

The dishes are mostly local food. They have regular names, except for a few such as "running machine" and "athletic fried vegetables."

Address: 16 Gushui Street

Average price: 40-60 yuan

Fengbozhuang Restaurant

Fengbozhuang Restaurant, one of China's first kung fu theme restaurant chains, operates more than 300 outlets nationwide. It has opened four outlets in Hangzhou in the past two years.

It aims to evoke the memories of kung fu legends. The owner, who has a strong sense of humor, designed a set of rules in a mini kung fu world.

The wooden building resembles an ancient inn in kung fu movies. The structure has typical upturned eaves and a banner bearing the restaurant's name flutters in the breeze. Inside are simple square tables, each with four stools. Ancient-looking weapons are hung on the walls, along with kung fu pictures.

Waiters and waitresses in black martial art uniforms shuttle back and forth. The theme songs for kung fu TV series are played, evoking the old days.

"Good evening, how many heroes?" asks the receptionist.

"Heroes, please go up the hill," he says, pointing to the stairs (meaning climb a mountain, undertake a mission).

"Which seat do you prefer? Beggars' Sect, Mt Hua Sect, or Ming Cult?" the waiter cites a list of various Chinese martial arts schools featured prominently in wuxia (martial arts) fiction.

Almost everything has been given ancient or kung fu names. Chopsticks are called nunchakus (a traditional Okinawan weapon consisting of two sticks connected at their ends with a short chain or rope); customers are heroes and heroines; waiters are called as xiao'er, the ancient form of address.

And around 80 percent of the dishes are named for martial arts movements, such as Eighteen Dragon-subduing Palms (roast pigs' feet) and Arhat Boxing (pumpkin pie).

When people leave, xiao'ers sing in chorus: "The green mountain is never old; the green water is always green. There will be time for us to meet again, sorry we cannot escort you farther" - just the way servants showed distinguished guests to the door in wuxia fiction.

Address: 291 Wenyi Rd W.; 105 Zhoushan Rd E.; Booth No. 159, Huayuan No. 16 Block, Xiasha District; No. 5 Bldg, Binwen Gaojiao District's Shopping Street

Average price: 30-40 yuan