Oysters appear to be a hot menu item this summer in Beijing’s busy restaurant scene.
One of the city’s upmarket restaurants, CPearl, is challenging diners to “eat 100 imported oysters in one go.” Based on Xinyuan Jie in Beijing’s entertainment district, CPearl opened four outlets across China over the past five years. Prices per oyster range from CNY30 (USD 4.56, EUR 4.09) to CNY 90 (USD 13.68, EUR 12.27).
Meanwhile, the Westin hotel in Chaoyang district is offering an “oyster special” brunch featuring Canadian, French and Irish oysters for CNY 388 (USD 58.20), plus 10 percent service charge. Interestingly, the bill also includes an additional six percent VAT. As part of the country’s new tax reforms, this year catering and services firms have started charging VAT on bills.