What exactly are provincial Government restaurants?
These restaurants are housed in provincial offi ces, which were originally set up as guildhalls to host hometown denizens and officials who came to the capital for business, or to take the imperial examination. Though the offices suffered a brief decline when the imperial civil service examination was abolished in 1904, they later evolved into zhujing banshichu, which had the express purpose of hosting provincial officials. The interiors of these Government-run restaurants have gradually improved over the past few years but still aren’t great. It’s as if there is a socialist standard template that mandates chandeliers, yellow table cloths and chairs with red covers. The floors are either marble tiles or covered with carpet, and sometimes embellished with artificial grapes and trees. But design is secondary here; it’s the authentic food that matters most. The advantage of dining at the provincial-run restaurants is that, aside from authentic cooking techniques, a wide variety of fresh a
