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Restaurant Week
Have you been waiting around, anticipating a little thing called Restaurant Week? That's right - it's back and it's bigger than ever. If you don't happen to know though, you might want to sit down for this.
Restaurant Week is only the world's "number one dining event" - a renowned international event that allows food lovers everywhere to eat at top-notch restaurants for a fixed price - a fixed, affordable price. This week (which should be going into your diaries and agendas right now, accompanied by many exclamation marks and underlined at least twice) starts on September 5 and ends September 11.
The concept of Restaurant Week was introduced in New York City in 1998 and has since spread like wildfire throughout the world, having begun in Singapore and Shanghai last year. At the last event, a revenue of roughly RMB5,000,000 was generated, and it only looks to be a lot more this year.
The whole thing is organized by DiningCity. They, along with their China and Hong Kong managing director Onno Schreurs, are the ones you need to thank for this fantastic event, which is in its fourth running and is expected to result in the reservation of more than 50,000 seats city-wide.
There are two groups of restaurants in the Shanghai event: group A and B. Group A restaurants offer a 3-course lunch at RMB118 and a 3-course dinner for RMB248; that's as high as it's going to get. Group B restaurants are at RMB78 and 168, respectively. Be sure to note that these prices don't include the 10 percent service charge, although most of the venues have agreed to wave it.
Diners just have to sit and wait patiently for August 17. At 10am, online reservations open to all in Shanghai. They're confirmed immediately and everything is done in real time. Fair is fair on a first-come-first-serve basis, so be sure to keep your reflexes lightning fast and your clicking finger in good shape because some restaurants sell out within a matter of mere minutes. Don't worry though - there are around 80 restaurants participating!
Want to be one of these restaurants? Good stuff. To be in with the crowd, establishments must be registered before 10am on August 17, and this includes picking a price group. This isn't just a fantastic week for consumers but everyone involved; restaurants will expose themselves to thousands of new customers and increase their awareness.
After the dining experience itself, guests are invited to submit their opinions and reviews via e-mail. The place that receives the most positive comments from the masses earns itself the ‘Restaurant of the Week' award, which went to Palladio at the Portman Ritz-Carlton last time around.
If you need more persuading, here's a sneak peek at some of the options you have. Whampoa Club (voted best Asian restaurant), Grand Brasserie at Waldorf Astoria, Allure Fine French Cuisine at Le Royal Méridian, Table No. 1, Ming Court at the Langham Xintiandi, and Kobachi at Grand Hyatt. As well as these, there are the runners up that came behind Palladio - Sir Elly's at the Peninsula and Nougatine by Jean Georges.
If you want to know more, visit: www.restaurantweek.cn. There is a full list of participating restaurants, as well as information on privilege bookings.