美国总统光临小吃店 “拜登套餐”火爆京城

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。

拜登此行被称为“炸酱面外交”

"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."

美国副总统乔·拜登近日访京期间在一家餐馆品尝过的“拜登套餐”如今火爆京城，菜品包括炸酱面和一些其他小吃。拜登此行也被称为“炸酱面外交”。

拜登一行上周四中午在“姚记炒肝”就餐，点了5碗炸酱面、10个包子、拌黄瓜、凉拌山药、凉拌土豆丝、和可乐，共花费79元人民币(12.4美元)。

这家小餐馆的工作人员说，拜登走后，来店里点炸酱面的食客已经增加了4倍。尽管菜单上还未列出，但很多人点名要吃“拜登套餐”。店主姚燕计划很快加上。

姚燕接受记者采访时说：“美国副总统拜登就像普通客人一样到我店里吃午饭，我们也像接待普通远道来宾一样接待了他”。

“我们没给他任何折扣或者优惠。”

最近的一天，这家小饭馆里座无虚席，顾客们坐在无背座椅上，饭菜都盛在普通的白色碗碟里。屋子里还排着长长的队，眼馋的顾客们注视着炸春卷等其他菜品。

一些顾客表示很惊讶，拜登居然会挑这么便宜的一个小饭馆吃饭，中国媒体称之为“炸酱面外交”。

尽管无从证实，但有些中国博主将他这次小饭馆之行解读为支持人民币继续升值的信号。美国政府一直向中国施压，要求人民币对美元尽快升值，以平衡巨大的贸易逆差。

普通顾客才不管这些，他们蜂拥而入，饭馆不得不多招人手。

一位30岁的吴姓游客说：“我来自内蒙古，出租车司机告诉我这家饭馆很出名，因为美国副总统几天前来吃过午饭。”

“我们就是专门来吃‘拜登套餐’的。”