Spring Festival dinner at home this year

Shanghai is encouraging residents to have their Spring Festival dinner at home this year due to the pandemic, and is calling for caterers to ensure safe and high-quality takeaway food.

The "reunion dinner” is one of the most important Chinese traditions and many restaurants are fully booked weeks ahead of Chinese New Year’s Eve. However, the pandemic has changed the way people will celebrate this year. 

With the city taking measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the demand to have dinner at home is increasing.

To meet the demand, the city’s Catering Industry Association has released a list of 434 restaurant outlets which will cater to residents with cooked or partly cooked meals.

Among them are time-honored brands such as Lu Bo Lang, Sunya Cantonese Restaurant, Da Fu Gui Restaurant, and Xing Hua Lou Restaurant, as well as many popular chains.

The number of restaurants offering takeaway and delivery services for the celebration is 30 percent more than last year. 

Orders for Spring Festival dinners are expected to grow by 8 percent, with sales of semi-cooked products expected to rise by 20 percent, according to Shanghai’s Commission of Commerce.

The commission said there would be more varieties of dishes, lower prices, and more choices of set meals this year, with people able to order online for picking up in person or delivery.