Men on the menu(2)

The culinary industry is just one of many who are paying greater attention to women customers on account of their increased spending power in recent years. (Photo: GT/Li Hao)

Wang said the restaurant showed a growing acceptance of female sexuality in China, challenging traditional social mores which required women be more reserved when it came to the opposite sex.

"Before I came to China, I thought [that] Chinese women's social status was lower than men," Gabriel said. "Now I can see women in China can do whatever they want. They enjoy the same rights as men."

One male customer, 33-year-old Ma Zhifei, jokingly complained it wasn't fair there were only male models.

Above the din, he shouted that he would return to the restaurant in two months after working out.

"I'll rip off my shirt in front of the male model, to show him that Chinese men's bodies can be just as good as foreigners!"

South Korean heartthrobs

Another recently opened restaurant catering to female clientele by only hiring good-looking male waiters is Nine Road Pizzeria in Chaoyang district.

A franchise restaurant in South Korea, Nine Road Pizzeria opened its first branch in China last October. Of their 30 attractive male waitstaff, 10 have been brought over from South Korean branches of the store, said Liu Lin, the project director of the Chaoyang branch.

Each night at 7 pm, the waiters give a song and dance performance to a South Korean pop tune.

"We want to provide customers not only with delicious food, but also to entertain them," said Liu.

Kim Hyun Soo, one of the waiters who was brought over from South Korea, said that almost every evening, female diners would ask to take pictures with him.

"I think they transferred me to China because I'm good-looking," said Kim, laughing. Kim said that despite South Korea's reputation for cosmetic surgery, he had never gone under the knife.

"The dining atmosphere here is relaxing, with Korean pop music and handsome 'Ouba' ['older brothers'] around. It's like walking onto the set of a South Korea romantic drama," said Ella Zhang, a 27-year-old diner.

What about the food?

Most diners can expect to spend between 80 yuan ($13) and 100 yuan for a meal at either restaurant.

Liu said that Nine Road Pizzeria, which opened in October, averages around 1,000 customers each day. While diners might be attracted by the promise of being charmed by a handsome man, Liu said that they still needed to ensure their food was up to standard if they wanted customers to come back.

On that count, Zhang said the restaurant has succeeded.

"I really like the sweet potato pan pizza in here. It's so soft and mellow," said Zhang.

Qin agreed that besides the gimmick of having topless male models, it was important that the quality of the food was high.

Toward this end, the restaurant bought its beef and mutton from Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and used mineral water in their broth, rather than tap water.

"Water is essential to the flavor of hotpot," said Qin. "Unlike other places, which just use tap water in their broth, we use bottled mineral water from Laoshan in Shandong Province."

Still flustered from her encounter with Gabriel, Wang was quick to endorse the food at Caochang Huoguo.

"I really like the flavor of the hotpot," she said. "I'll definitely come back. It's a great place to relax and let go of myself."