Next Wednesday, on the eve of the lunar New Year, Chinese restaurants will be packed with revelers in search of tasty treats. Their Western restaurant counterparts, however, will be lucky to enjoy any business at all.

Indeed, Western eating establishments, with the exception of major fast food chains, plan to cut staff or even shut their doors completely during the seven-day holiday.

Several such restaurants interviewed by this newspaper said they plan no advertising campaigns to lure customers.

"There won't be much business in the next few weeks," said a waitress at M on the Bund, a Western restaurant whose customers are mostly foreigners. The restaurant will close for the first five days on the lunar calendar.

M on the Bund is not alone. Other top-notch Western restaurants, especially those featuring Continental food, said they will either close during the holiday or cut back on business hours.

T8, allegedly the best restaurant in Xintiandi, the trendy tourist area in Shanghai, said it will close from January 22 to 24.

La Masion, a French cabaret in Xintiandi, will keep its usual business hours during the day, but will reduce the number of its nightly live entertainment shows from three to one.

Some restaurants are more hopeful. T.G.I.F., better known as Fridays, and Indian Kitchen, known for its high quality Indian cuisine, are taking steps to lure Chinese diners.

"We will add spring rolls to our menu as the golden greasy crust is appealing to the Chinese palate," said the manager of T.G.I.F.

Indian Kitchen said it too is preparing new dishes for the Spring Festival.

"Ba Bao Fan," a traditional Chinese style pastry made of sticky rice stuffed with red bean paste and seasoned with eight nuts and fruits, will be served in Indian Kitchen with an exotic Indian twist.

"As 'Ba Bao Fan' is an indispensable dish at the New Year's Eve feast, we hope to set up our image as more amiable and closer to the locals," said Xia Yunfeng, the restaurant's PR manager.

Such attempts to attract customers during China's most important holiday are surely admirable, but are unlikely to yield big profit.

"We earn little even when we provide special offers," said Xia.

"We expect to have some foreigners during the holiday," said the PR manager at Sasha's, a Continental style restaurant and bar. But in the same breath, she admitted there is usually less turnover at this time of year.

So what are locals planning for the big evening?

"The New Year's Eve dinner is a major event for the family. My parents would not change the convention," said Xi Lihua, a local woman, who plans to dine at a Chinese restaurant to celebrate.

The scene at many Chinese restaurants these days is one of chaos as preparations are made to serve the masses.

Cash registers are ringing up a storm around the city as people of every conceivable background indulge to the maximum.

(Shanghai Daily January 17, 2004)