Restaurant Awards – the Rage and the Praise

The net is abuzz with chat about The Beijinger’s Annual Restaurant Award results which were officially published yesterday morning – here’s a roundup of online reactions.

Predictably, Beijing Boyce was down the front blogging live from the awards ceremony, to produce this post.

Beijing Daze produced an interesting piece comparing some of our categories to the most highly regarded restaurants on Dianping, China’s most popular restaurant directory/reviewing site.

Here’s a comparison of the Sichuan choices:

Beijinger Readers:
South Beauty (winner)
Chuan Ban, Spice Spirit (outstanding)

Dianping Readers:
1- 陶然居 – Tao Ran Ju
2- 川办餐厅 – Chuan Ban
3- 江边城外巫山烤全鱼(交大店) – Wushan Roasted The Entire Fish
4- 麻辣诱惑(君太店) – Spice Spirit (Xidan Branch)

Beijing Daze commented: “I picked the top 4 instead of the top 3 most popular because Spice Spirit had over 11,000 votes!!! Not much to say here in defense of the foreign taste buds when it comes to South Beauty… Interesting choices from the local crown with 2 restaurants I’ve never heard of.”

The Xinjiang choices:

Beijinger readers:
Red Rose (winner)
Crescent Moon, My Neighborhood Chuan’r Place (outstanding)

Dianping readers:
1- 新疆饭庄 – Xinjiang Fanzhuang (Urumqi Representative Office)
2- 燕兰楼(景山店) - Yan Lan Lou
3- 新疆办事处西域饭庄 – Xi Yu Restaurant (Xinjiang provincial restaurant)

Beijing Daze commented: “No big surprise here from Dianping – both restaurants offer amazing fare. I expected the Kashgar representative office to be there as well. I’m a bit surprised at Yan Lan Lou, which I’ve never heard of and is not on any foreign listing site. I’m so going there soon.”

And the Beijing Duck choices:

Beijinger Readers:
Da Dong (winner)
Quan Ju De , Duck de Chine (outstanding)

Dianping Readers:
1-花家怡园 - Hua Jia Yi Yuan (Beixinqiao branch)
2-大董烤鸭店(团结湖店) – Da Dong ( Tuanjiehu branch)
3-大董烤鸭店(金宝汇店) – Da Dong ( DongDan Branch)

Beijing Daze commented “I must admit I was surprised here: I expected a more obscure selection for the duck but it wasn’t so! I remember having a conversation recently about the locals being all about big names/brands and I guess it shows in terms of how many chains make it to the top of the ladder.”

Interestingly, it seems Dianping readers agree that Maison Boulud is Beijing’s best restaurant (it won Restaurant of the Year, non-Chinese, in our vote).

Some of the differences between Beijinger and Dianping reader choices no doubt come down to varying cultural takes on what makes a great dining experience. Much of it, however, probably comes down to geography – it’s obviously no accident that most of the Beijinger winners are grouped around the Sanlitun and CBD areas where most foreigners live and play. In appealing to a local market, Dianping presumably attracts a more geographically diverse readership.

Modern Lei Feng posted a critical examination of the reward results, amusing for its occasionally outraged tone. The response to Annie’s winning Best Italian, for example, was priceless:

“Now the Beijinger (or its readers) insults Italian food, I love Annie’s, it’s extremely convenient, it’s great when nobody feels like cooking, but it’s basically the McDonalds of Italian food. In a city with a number of high end Italian options that are often excellent (including one with a 2 star Michelin chef), that Annie’s wins is an abomination.”

The comment raises an interesting question about what constitutes the “best” restaurant in any category. The appeal of a particular establishment is a complex mix of factors, and while there may well be Italian restaurants offering higher class fare than Annie’s, the Best Italian winner appeals because it’s hit upon the right combination of reasonable quality, fair prices, decent table service, a good delivery service and widespread coverage.

In end, of course, views on what makes the “best” of anything are always going to be highly subjective – which is why we all spend so much time writing about this stuff.

Finally, here’s some pics from Tuesday’s ceremony and another gallery posted by Rage Media. You can read the Global Times coverage of the event here.