One 'president combo,' please!

Li Xia decided that her last meal of 2013 would be a plate of humble steamed buns at a local eatery. And she wasn't the only one.

Qingfeng Steamed Buns Restaurant has become the hottest restaurant in Beijing after President Xi Jinping's spontaneous visit to a Xicheng district branch of the fast-food chain on December 28, 2013.

"The shop was very crowded," said Li, who works in retail in Shandong province and is here on a business trip. "People were busy taking photos with their meal, the staff, the menu board and even the plates stamped with 'Qingfeng' on them. Many asked for the 'president combo,'" said Li, referring to the dishes Xi had ordered: dozen steamed buns with a filling of pork and scallion, plus side dishes of vegetables and stewed pork liver and intestine.

In an interview with people.com.cn, staffers at the Qingfeng shop in question said that the store has been crowded with customers, tourists and media since Xi's visit, and that, aside from a few regulars, everybody is ordering these three dishes.

After queuing for about 20 minutes, Li and her friend ordered a dozen steamed buns, two bowls of stewed pork liver and porridge. "President Xi has a good appetite! The 'president combo' is more food than I would usually eat for lunch," she laughed. "I think it's great that President Xi is showing such a 'down-to-earth' side. I will follow him to other restaurants in the future if I have the opportunity," she said. Li is one of two million followers of the Sina Weibo account "Learning from Xi Fan Club."

Later, in response to a photo Li uploaded to her Friend Circle on WeChat, one of her friends commented: "So envious. Next time I'm in Beijing, I will go there and eat too."

Xia Xueluan, a sociologist at Peking University, told Metropolitan that the phenomenon could be attributed to the fact that the Chinese people have a strong sense of celebrity worship. "In history, there were many examples of shops that received inscriptions by leaders and became famous," he said.

Qingfeng's popularity will linger, if Yaoji Chaogan is anything to judge by. The small restaurant near the Drum Tower became famous on August 18, 2011, when US Vice President Joe Biden showed up and ordered zhajiangmian noodles and steamed buns.

"Although we never officially launched a 'Biden combo,' we get a few customers every day who ask for the exact things that Biden ate," said Yao Yan, the current owner of Yaoji Chaogan. "Even during the recent National Day, many out-of-town tourists came especially for the 'Biden combo.'" The bump in popularity has resulted in 30 percent annual sales growth for the restaurant.

In fact, Yaoji Chaogan has even experienced a knock-on effect from the Qingfeng incident. Thanks to the newfound popularity of Qingfeng's "president combo," sales of stewed pork liver and steamed buns at Yaoji Chaogan have also boomed in the last few days, according to Yao. "Many customers tell us, 'We'll try what the president had,'" Yao said, adding that their daily production of steamed buns has increased by 25 kilograms.

"People pay attention to where celebrities eat. And we are very motivated by the fact that the president likes the traditional Beijing snacks," said Yao, noting that stewed pork liver is a unique local specialty.

"We feel very lucky that Biden chose us. And Qingfeng is very lucky too," said Yao.