Chinese eateries on Wall Street menu

SHANGHAI: The growing popularity of Taiwan-style eateries in major mainland cities has caught the fancy of US investment bankers.

Used to the fare served up in New York delis, these bankers are not exactly eager to wash down "double boiled frog legs" with a glass of "pearl" milk tea. Instead, they are coming with checkbooks in hand to buy into the restaurants that serve these dishes.

Yesterday, Wall Street heavyweight Goldman Sachs together with Chinese private equity firm Whitesun Equity Partners pumped in $30 million for a 20 percent stake in Hangzhou-based C.straits Caf, which operates a chain of restaurants mainly in Hangzhou and Fuzhou. Other well-known restaurant chain operators that have been targeted by foreign investors include Diocoffee, Chamate and Christine Bread House.