Black bean sauce noodles and other delicacies served at one Beijing eatery are being snapped up by customers eager to order the dishes eaten by Vice President Joe Biden on a recent visit, a meal dubbed "noodle diplomacy."
Biden and his entourage ordered five bowls of black bean sauce noodles, 10 steamed buns, smashed cucumber salad, mountain yam salad, shredded potatoes and Coca Cola at Yao's Chao Gan restaurant for lunch last Thursday, racking up a tab of 79 yuan ($12.40).
Staff at the small restaurant said the number of customers ordering the noodles has risen by four times since then, with many coming in to order what they call the "Biden Set" even if it is not on the menu -- though owner Yao Yan plans to include it soon.
"US Vice President Joe Biden came to my restaurant for lunch just like an ordinary customer, and we treated him like an everyday guest who came from far away," she told the reporters.
"We didn't give him any discounts or special offers."
On a recent day all seats were full in the simple restaurant, where diners sit on backless chairs and eat from plain white dishes. A line snaked through the room, with hungry customers eyeing other treats such as fried spring rolls.
A few customers expressed surprise that Biden had chosen such an inexpensive eatery for his meal, which Chinese media called "noodle diplomacy."
Some Chinese bloggers interpreted his visit to the restaurant as an indication of support for the yuan to keep on rising, although there was nothing to suggest this. Washington has pressed for the yuan to appreciate faster against the U.S. dollar to combat a hugely lopsided trade balance.
Shrugging this off, ordinary customers are now flocking in, forcing the restaurant to hire more staff.
"I travelled from Inner Mongolia to Beijing, and the taxi driver told me this restaurant was famous because the U.S. vice president came for lunch a few days ago," said a 30-year-old tourist who gave only his last name, Wu.
"We are here particularly to try what he ate."
(Read by Renee Haines. Renee Haines is a journalist at the China Daily Website.)
(Agencies)
美國副總統喬·拜登近日訪京期間在一家餐館品嘗過的「拜登套餐」如今火爆京城，菜品包括炸醬麵和一些其他小吃。拜登此行也被稱為「炸醬麵外交」。
拜登一行上周四中午在「姚記炒肝」就餐，點了5碗炸醬麵、10個包子、拌黃瓜、涼拌山藥、涼拌土豆絲、和可樂，共花費79元人民幣（12.4美元）。
這家小餐館的工作人員說，拜登走後，來店裡點炸醬麵的食客已經增加了4倍。儘管菜單上還未列出，但很多人點名要吃「拜登套餐」。店主姚燕計劃很快加上。
姚燕接受記者採訪時說：「美國副總統拜登就像普通客人一樣到我店裡吃午飯，我們也像接待普通遠道來賓一樣接待了他」。
「我們沒給他任何折扣或者優惠。」
最近的一天，這家小飯館裡座無虛席，顧客們坐在無背座椅上，飯菜都盛在普通的白色碗碟裡。屋子裡還排著長長的隊，眼饞的顧客們注視著炸春卷等其他菜品。
一些顧客表示很驚訝，拜登居然會挑這麼便宜的一個小飯館吃飯，中國媒體稱之為「炸醬麵外交」。
儘管無從證實，但有些中國博主將他這次小飯館之行解讀為支持人民幣繼續升值的信號。美國政府一直向中國施壓，要求人民幣對美元儘快升值，以平衡巨大的貿易逆差。
普通顧客才不管這些，他們蜂擁而入，飯館不得不多招人手。
一位30歲的吳姓遊客說：「我來自內蒙古，計程車司機告訴我這家飯館很出名，因為美國副總統幾天前來吃過午飯。」
「我們就是專門來吃『拜登套餐』的。」
相關閱讀
美副總統拜登訪華 「最幸運孫女」搶鏡
拜登品嘗北京「炸醬麵」
美夫婦混入白宮蹭國宴
隆重歡迎儀式 red-carpet greetings
芬蘭外交部「桑拿外交」獲肯定
巧實力 smart power
「民間交流」英文怎麼說
中美外交關係專題詞彙
（中國日報網英語點津 實習生沈清 編輯：Julie）