🌿 Folk Prescriptions

Chinese restaurants continuously develop healthy recipes while introducing new dishes, whereas Western fast-food chains have taken a different path by launching tonifying porridges and soups. As winter approaches, Beijing’s restaurants are increasingly focusing on “tonification,” using “nourishing” themes to attract customers.
According to reports, Hanting Tan Family Mansion Cuisine—a century-old restaurant specializing in health preservation—after unveiling classic dishes like Yellow Braised Shark Fin, Fragrant Full Jar, and Luohan Belly, has recently reintroduced long-lost traditional specialties: deer meat-themed dishes and edge-of-the-skin (turtle shell) dishes. Owner Liu Weiping said many consumers often ask what is most nourishing during meals, and deer meat is considered the best tonic, while “edge-of-the-skin” dishes embody the concept of vegetarian nourishment, providing nourishing and cooling effects difficult to achieve with ordinary dishes. Another newly opened Beijing-style courtyard cuisine restaurant, Tingliu Xuan, stated they design dishes according to the twenty-four solar terms. With the arrival of winter tonification season, they have launched new dishes like Cordyceps Shark Fin and are planning a “New Year’s Feast” from the 23rd day of the 12th lunar month to the 15th day of the first lunar month. Additionally, journalists learned that sales of tonifying dishes at most Beijing restaurants have increased recently. Dishes like Buddha Jumps Over the Wall and Cantonese Herbal Soups have become must-order items for many diners. Industry insiders revealed that tonifying hotpots and porridge shops along Guicheng Street and other famous food streets in Beijing have become some of the busiest establishments lately.
Compared to Chinese restaurants aggressively promoting “tonification” menus, Western fast-food giants KFC and McDonald’s have also followed the trend. KFC introduced tonifying porridge and soup, while McDonald’s launched healthy breakfast options. Both companies have simultaneously printed health tips on their tray liners. Beyond mainstream restaurants seeking to attract customers through tonification, even business lounges traditionally indifferent to consumer preferences have begun exploring “tonification” diets. The Heyuan Business Club near Baiyun Temple has launched dishes like “Tonifying Chicken and Kidney Pot” and “Cordyceps Stewed Snail Head.” Meanwhile, luxury hotels like China Grand Hotel have recently introduced new tonifying dishes, such as Wine-boiled Chicken with Boletus Borealis and Ginseng-Steamed Black Chicken with Huai Mountain.
However, experts from the China Culinary Association point out that late year and early year mark the peak season for dining sales. Restaurants adapt to consumer demand during this period to attract attention and secure good business. Dietitians warn consumers that although modern society offers abundant material life and people still emphasize tonification, one must abandon outdated habits of relying solely on large amounts of meat and fish for nourishment.