China's new year on a plate

SAFE FOOD: While the term organic has been grossly oversold (veggies grown however carefully in poisoned soil are not "organic"), healthier food is coming to our plates all the time. Sometimes it's through careful local sourcing－every chef seems to have "a guy" growing "the natural way" up in the hills somewhere. Often, despite the government's spotlight on food safety, imported food is the preferred answer. Shenzhen Daily reported last month that imported wine, milk and fruit are increasingly popular among that city's citizens as concerns about food safety affect what we buy.

CATERING: Some of the fanciest restaurants and hotels in China's big cities now see this as a primo way to expand their businesses. The gamut is huge: Want a chef personality to come to your villa and whip up a dinner party for 20 clients? Done. Want three healthy meals delivered to your door daily while you grunt your way through a six-week fitness bootcamp? Done.

"NEW STORE COMING SOON": This could become Beijing's nickname, as restaurant facades seem to rise and fall in a matter of months. Landlord-tenant disputes drive myriad restaurants into relocation. The capital is losing others for different reasons. New rules governing use of PLA properties, for example, apparently caused the shutdowns of two much-loved Western eateries: The Den and Tim's Texas Bar-B-Q.

Contact the writer at michaelpeters@chinadaily.com.cn