China is a nation of diners and that's official.

Guangzhou is the cherry on the cake of good dining, with more bucks spent in restaurants than in any other part of China.

The southern city is followed closely by Shanghai, with Beijing coming in as dessert in third.

As a whole, the country's catering industry has cooked up 337.4 billion yuan (US$40.76 billion) in the first six months of the year, a 24 percent increase over the same period last year.

If the spread continues, the Ministry of Commerce estimates the catering industry will fill its belly with 720 billion yuan (US$86.75 billion) for the whole year.

In the capital, Beijingers spent 8.7 billion yuan (US$1.05 billion) in restaurants in the first half of the year. The latest statistics from the Beijing municipal commercial bureau reckon Beijingers have spent 29.47 billion yuan (US$3.55 billion) on food in the past six months, nearly 30 percent of which has gone to the caches of restaurants.

Wang Yingchao, 33, who works in a real estate company and mother of a four-year-old girl, said she and her husband go to a restaurant two or three times a week. "Sometimes we dine out to get together with friends. Sometimes I am just too tired from work to cook for the three of us," she said.

Wang has a budget for the family. With monthly household earnings of 7,000 yuan (US$843), they usually spend 1,400 yuan (US$170) on food, among which 600 yuan (US$72) goes on food away from home.

"Eating at restaurants costs 30 to 40 yuan (US$3.6 to 4.8) for each person. So it is absolutely affordable," she said.

More reliable incomes mean people are far more likely to shell out on eating out, but it is also the huge choice of eateries in the capital that has whetted their appetites, some Beijingers said.

Different flavors from all over China have opened kitchens in Beijing, and there is cuisine from all sorts of countries Thailand, Japan, South Korea, the United States, Italy, France and Brazil to tempt the hungry.

"For young people like me who work under pressure, trying different food can be a very good way of releasing the pressure and having fun," said Gao Shu, 30, who works at a trade company.

It isn't just the locals enjoying all this gourmet cooking.

Luo Ying, who works for a foreign company in Beijing, said her foreign colleagues have tried many restaurants in Beijing.

"They know more about the restaurants than we locals do, and they can always recommend good ones," she said.

American Kerry Holahan, 23, often dines out instead of cooking at home. She works at Apco China. "I dine out a lot because it is much cheaper to eat at restaurants here in Beijing than back in the States," she said.

She says work pressures mean she has no time to cook for herself.

In the States, Holahan said she and her family would go to restaurants only three or four times a month because eating out was so expensive. Statistics revealed by the Ministry of Commerce claim Guangzhou's catering industry made 14.7 billion yuan (US$1.77 billion) in the first six months.

Shanghai was hot on its heels with 14.62 billion yuan (US$1.76 billion).

It's not just in China where people are having to loosen their belts. Statistics released by the American National Restaurant Association say the restaurant-and-food service industry is projected to reach a record US$440.1 billion in sales this year.

The typical American household spent an average of US$2,276 eating out 2002. Per-capita expenditure on food away from home averaged US$910 that year.

(China Daily August 14, 2004)