Chinese spend 3.9 trillion yuan on food in 2017

Most young people prefer to dine out

According to the report, most of the younger generation born in the 1990s and 2000s prefer to dine out a lot, and they have contributed about 50 percent of the 3.7 trillion yuan.

Many interviewees cited by the China Central Television 2 (CCTV2) said they spent about 50-60 percent of their salary on food. Most of them never cook at home, and the average cost for each meal is around 30 yuan ($4.7).

According to the 2017 report, the cleanliness and appearance of the restaurant are what customers are most concerned with, followed by the taste of the dishes and food safety. The price comes at the fourth place.

Jiang said the new trends have posed new challenges for the catering industry, as Chinese customers have shown no tolerance towards safety problems. Many restaurants have installed monitoring cameras in their kitchens, so that customers can keep an eye on how their food is prepared.

Kitchens with big interior and exterior windows were also adopted by many restaurants.