Beijing plans to develop a list of some 300 "tasty restaurants" featuring various types of cuisine that will be recommended to foreign guests attending the Beijing Olympic Games, a municipal official has said.
Beijing has selected the first 148 restaurants to make the list including the Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant and the Moscow Restaurant, as part of a drive to meet different palates of foreign athletes and guests during the 2008 Olympic Games, said Wang Weiping, vice head of the city's Commerce Bureau.
"These restaurants, mostly selected via online voting, are famous for providing distinctive Chinese cuisines, Muslim and foreign foods," Wang said, adding that Beijing will introduce another 150 "tasty restaurants" this year.
"Beijing will embrace friends from all over the world and we will make them feel at home and enjoy Chinese cooking," he said.
The restaurants were nominated by netizens who recommended their favorite eating establishments. From Jan. 17 to 27, more than one million netizens voted in a poll by sohu.com's "eating and drinking" channel which attracts millions of visitors, Wang said.
"The bureau and food associations have reviewed the recommended restaurants and looked into their facilities, sanitation, environment, services and management.
"Restaurants that fail to meet standards in future checks will be urged to carry out improvements or deleted from the list," he said.
(Xinhua News Agency February 10, 2007)