🌿 Folk Prescriptions

While Chinese restaurants continuously develop healthy recipes and launch new dishes, Western fast food chains have taken a different path by introducing nourishing porridges and soups. As winter approaches, Beijing’s restaurants are increasingly focusing on “nourishing” themes to attract customers.
It is reported that Hundred-Year-old Hanlin Tan Family Official Cuisine, which has long emphasized wellness as its core business, recently launched traditional signature dishes long absent from menus—“deer meat-themed dishes” and “turtleshell dishes”—after presenting classics like braised shark fin, fragrant jar, and Luohan belly. Owner Liu Weiping said many consumers often ask what is most nourishing during meals, and deer meat is considered the best tonic, while turtleshell embodies the concept of vegetarian nourishment, offering nourishing and cooling effects difficult to achieve with ordinary dishes. Another newly opened Beijing-style courtyard restaurant, Tingliuxuan, stated they design dishes according to the twenty-four solar terms; upon entering winter tonic season, they introduced new dishes like Cordyceps Shark Fin and are planning a “New Year’s menu” from December 23rd to the 15th day of the Lunar New Year. Additionally, journalists learned that sales of nourishing dishes at most Beijing catering enterprises have risen recently, with items like Buddha Jumps Over the Wall and Cantonese stewed soup becoming must-order choices. Industry insiders revealed that nourishing hot pots and porridge shops along Guojie Street, one of Beijing’s famous food streets, have become some of the busiest establishments recently.
Compared to Chinese restaurants aggressively pushing “tonic” dishes, Western fast-food giants KFC and McDonald’s have also followed trends. KFC launched nourishing porridge and soups, while McDonald’s introduced healthy breakfasts. Both companies simultaneously printed health diet tips on their tray liners. Beyond mainstream restaurants seeking customers through tonics, even business lounges traditionally indifferent to consumer preferences have begun exploring “tonic” diets. He Yuan Business Club near Baiyun Temple now offers dishes like “Nourishing Chicken Kidney Pot” and “Cordyceps Stewed Snail Head.” Meanwhile, luxury hotels like China Grand Hotel have recently introduced new nourishing dishes, such as wine-braised boletus chicken and Shanxian Ginseng Stewed Black Chicken.
However, experts from the Chinese Culinary Association warn that late year and early year mark the peak season for dining sales. Restaurants adapt to consumer demand during this period primarily to attract attention and secure strong sales. Diet experts remind consumers that although modern society offers abundant material life and people still emphasize tonics, they must change old habits of relying solely on large amounts of meat and fish for nourishment.