Theme eateries growing

Eighteen-year-old Zheng Shuang has excellent vision. But she could not see her dining partner or even the food on her plate during a recent meal at the Whale Inside.

The restaurant (also known as the Dark Restaurant) turns off its lights, trying to provide customers a novel and challenging dining environment.

"It was really a funny experience for me. I had to grope for my chopsticks in the dark and use my tastebuds to guess what each dish was," Zheng said.

"I felt a bit helpless when I was led through several thick curtains and went into an absolutely pitch black place. But when I got used to the darkness it was actually great fun," she said.

Patrons such as Zheng are exactly the kind of people Beijing's mushrooming number of theme restaurants count on. "Drawn by novelty, customers come and try eating without seeing. If they have fun, they will bring their friends here next time," said Zhang Pengjun, a Whale Inside server.

The idea of dining in the darkness was brought to Beijing by Chen Long, the owner of the restaurant, after he went to such an eatery when traveling in Europe.

The restaurant became a huge draw after opening in 2006 and has expanded to other cities, such as Shanghai, Tianjin, Xiamen and Wuhan.

Other gimmicky restaurants in the country use themes such as computer games, films, prison and even toilets.

A ring-shaped restaurant with an Olympic theme will be soon be built in the National Stadium in Beijing.

But several Beijing concept restaurants have shot to instant success only to fold within a few years, when customers' curiosity wore off.

Chanku, a once-thriving prison-theme restaurant, which first opened in Beijing in 2001 and launched its flagship branch the next year in East Gate Plaza, closed in 2004.

Rainforest Caf also suspended its operations in Beijing in 2002, only a year after it set up in the city.

Some industry insiders say such restaurants rely too heavily on hype and glitz .

"Theme doesn't maintain fresh interest," said Wu Xiaoling, senior chef with Dalian Cuisine School.

"The only way to build customer loyalty is through consistent good food and service and theme restaurants are no exception."

Theme restaurant, like other eateries, are also grappling with fewer customers as the slowing economy tightens consumer spending.

Whale Inside turned a handsome profit the first tow years with an average monthly sales revenue of 200,000-250,000 yuan. But since the end of 2008, the restaurant has felt the pinch of the economic downturn and its monthly revenue declined to 160,000 in December and January.

(China Daily 03/30/2009 page8)