Was the vice president's lunch more than just cheap noodles?
By Dong Zhen |
August 22, 2011, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
WHEN US Vice President Joe Biden paid just 79 yuan (US$12.36) for his team's lunch at a Beijing restaurant last week, the bill raised questions about his motives both from ordinary members of the public and Chinese economists.
Some said the choice of a small snack eatery, the Yao Ji Fried Liver Restaurant, was part of an elaborate publicity stunt since 79 yuan barely covered the cost of lunch for five, even for ordinary Beijing natives. Some economic experts said the United States was trying to convey the information that China should appreciate its currency because, in dollar terms, the meal was too cheap.
The Biden team ordered five bowls of noodles with soybean paste, 10 pork buns, cucumber and two other side dishes and cola for a total cost of 79 yuan. Biden paid the bill with a 100 yuan note and told the staff to keep the change, in line with America's custom of tipping wait staff.
While the news excited Chinese online communities and even caused a surge of popularity for the small restaurant and the food that Biden chose, some economists said they sensed "hints of economic talks" behind the noodles and buns.
A new phrase "Biden Eats Noodles" was even coined and spread quickly online. The original bloggers said it meant "purchasing goods that greatly outvalue their tagged price."
They even composed a sentence to explain it: "Don't think about marrying me without owning a house. That's just a Biden Eats Noodles dream."
During his visit to China, Biden seems to be focusing on reassuring China about its holding of US treasury securities and a number of economists have been writing in their blogs or telling Chinese media in interviews about the link they see between the simple lunch and the main purpose of the visit.
One comment on voc.com.cn, the Voice of China news website, read: "With tips included, it's only US$15.75 for a pleasant five-person meal. Through media publicity, now US residents know that it's so cheap for five people to enjoy a lunch in the Chinese capital. Aren't the US politicians trying to prove by the highly publicized lunch that the yuan thus has much room for appreciation?"
Meanwhile, ordinary members of the public seemed less interested in motives than in the restaurant and Biden's food.
The restaurant has become a hot item in Internet search engines and widely discussed on Chinese food review websites. Following Biden's visit, photos of huge crowds waiting to gain entrance to the snack eatery have been uploaded online.
The restaurant dispelled a rumor that it had a "vice president's combo" on their menu but said they were unusually busy cooking the food Biden had chosen.
Biden and his team chose to eat with ordinary diners rather than in a separate "VIP area." But questions were raised about the "ordinariness" of the visit.
Tang Shizeng, a photojournalist, uploaded a series of photos on his blog showing Chinese soldiers and police guarding the area around the restaurant, barring entrance to members of the public wishing to go there for lunch.
He said a number of people complained that the "cheap lunch" was just a "show" and, in terms of the number of people needed to guard the area and the disturbance caused to ordinary people, it was far from "cheap."
Some said the choice of a small snack eatery, the Yao Ji Fried Liver Restaurant, was part of an elaborate publicity stunt since 79 yuan barely covered the cost of lunch for five, even for ordinary Beijing natives. Some economic experts said the United States was trying to convey the information that China should appreciate its currency because, in dollar terms, the meal was too cheap.
The Biden team ordered five bowls of noodles with soybean paste, 10 pork buns, cucumber and two other side dishes and cola for a total cost of 79 yuan. Biden paid the bill with a 100 yuan note and told the staff to keep the change, in line with America's custom of tipping wait staff.
While the news excited Chinese online communities and even caused a surge of popularity for the small restaurant and the food that Biden chose, some economists said they sensed "hints of economic talks" behind the noodles and buns.
A new phrase "Biden Eats Noodles" was even coined and spread quickly online. The original bloggers said it meant "purchasing goods that greatly outvalue their tagged price."
They even composed a sentence to explain it: "Don't think about marrying me without owning a house. That's just a Biden Eats Noodles dream."
During his visit to China, Biden seems to be focusing on reassuring China about its holding of US treasury securities and a number of economists have been writing in their blogs or telling Chinese media in interviews about the link they see between the simple lunch and the main purpose of the visit.
One comment on voc.com.cn, the Voice of China news website, read: "With tips included, it's only US$15.75 for a pleasant five-person meal. Through media publicity, now US residents know that it's so cheap for five people to enjoy a lunch in the Chinese capital. Aren't the US politicians trying to prove by the highly publicized lunch that the yuan thus has much room for appreciation?"
Meanwhile, ordinary members of the public seemed less interested in motives than in the restaurant and Biden's food.
The restaurant has become a hot item in Internet search engines and widely discussed on Chinese food review websites. Following Biden's visit, photos of huge crowds waiting to gain entrance to the snack eatery have been uploaded online.
The restaurant dispelled a rumor that it had a "vice president's combo" on their menu but said they were unusually busy cooking the food Biden had chosen.
Biden and his team chose to eat with ordinary diners rather than in a separate "VIP area." But questions were raised about the "ordinariness" of the visit.
Tang Shizeng, a photojournalist, uploaded a series of photos on his blog showing Chinese soldiers and police guarding the area around the restaurant, barring entrance to members of the public wishing to go there for lunch.
He said a number of people complained that the "cheap lunch" was just a "show" and, in terms of the number of people needed to guard the area and the disturbance caused to ordinary people, it was far from "cheap."
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