New restaurant offers spicy choice

Beijing foodies who enjoy Sichuan hotpot now have something to cheer about - the highly popular restaurant Dian Tai Xiang from Chengdu has finally made its way to the Chinese capital.

While the new restaurant has only been open for slightly over a month, business has been brisk, much to the chagrin of its fans - customers have had to queue for as long as seven hours for a table.

Dian Tai Xiang's chef-owner Tang Yi says that it took him seven years to persuade Liu Peng, a hotpot master in Chongqing, to take him on as an apprentice.