New noodle restaurants gain 鈥榠nstant鈥 fame
Print Edition
Instant noodles, once the bedrock of China鈥檚 convenience food, have returned to the spotlight after a string of tiny noodle restaurants cropped up in the country.
After a day鈥檚 hard work, Du Zhenna and her husband walked into a small restaurant in a bustling street in Yinchuan, capital of northwestern Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.
They stopped in front of a wall with more than 100 global brands of instant noodles, from kimchi-flavored noodles from South Korea to Tom Yum Kung-flavored noodles from Thailand.
Du made a decision to try the signature dish, which is a far cry from ordinary cup noodles made by simply pouring in boiling water.
Dipped in tangy sauces and topped with thinly sliced mushrooms, vegetables and a heart-shaped fried egg, a steaming bowl of instant noodles pleases not only the mouth but also the eyes.
鈥淚t鈥檚 nice to try the flavors of different countries in one restaurant,鈥 Du said. 鈥淭he noodles are tasty and their presentation is good. It鈥檚 just like what I saw online.鈥
Instant noodle restaurants have emerged across China in the past few months as short videos featuring different mouthwatering noodles went viral on popular Chinese video-sharing app Douyin in May.
Yinchuan is now home to 15 such restaurants, according to Dianping, a Yelp-like leading Chinese online city-guide.
Xu Hongli, owner of the restaurant that Du visited, was inspired by the videos and opened a similar snack shop in August.
鈥淥ur restaurant is often packed with customers, many of whom are active Douyin users,鈥 he said. 鈥淒iners like taking selfies with the 鈥榳all of instant noodles鈥 and posting pictures and short videos online.鈥
More than 2,000 customers visited Xu鈥檚 restaurant during the weeklong National Day holiday. 鈥淭he bestsellers are spicy instant noodles from South Korea because they cater to the taste of the locals,鈥 he said.
But in another instant noodle restaurant only 10 kilometers from Xu鈥檚, few tables were occupied.
鈥淢ost of our customers never come back,鈥 said Liu Facai, the shop owner. 鈥淪ome people entered our restaurant out of curiosity, but left very soon after they found out we only sell instant noodles.鈥
In fact, instant noodles have seen a drastic decline in their popularity in China in recent years, due to the rise of food delivery services and the growing importance attached to healthy diets.
According to the World Instant Noodles Association, the sales of instant noodles in China dropped from 46.22 million packets in 2013 to 38.97 million in 2017, a decrease of 15.7 percent.
Usually high in fat and sodium and low in vitamins and minerals, instant noodles have been regarded by an increasing number of Chinese as junk food, even when they are topped with fresh vegetables and mushrooms.
鈥淎nother reason is price,鈥 Liu said. A bowl of instant noodles in his restaurant costs around 25 yuan (US$3.6), more than five times the price of a packet of Chinese-made instant noodles sold in supermarkets.
But Xu, bustling around his restaurant to serve customers, was more optimistic. 鈥淪tarting a business means taking risks. For me, things are looking good, at least for now,鈥 he said.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 娌狪CP璇侊細娌狪CP澶05050403鍙-1
- |
- 浜掕仈缃戞柊闂讳俊鎭湇鍔¤鍙瘉锛31120180004
- |
- 缃戠粶瑙嗗惉璁稿彲璇侊細0909346
- |
- 骞挎挱鐢佃鑺傜洰鍒朵綔璁稿彲璇侊細娌瓧绗354鍙
- |
- 澧炲肩數淇′笟鍔＄粡钀ヨ鍙瘉锛氭勃B2-20120012
Copyright 漏 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
