Year-ender: food review 2013 - A survivor's game

Daniel Boulud introduces new dishes at the now closed Maison Boulud. Ye Jun / China Daily

"In terms of the number of customer visits, the past three months were basically the same as last year's," she says. "But the average spending has dropped by half." The average bill at the restaurant now is 200 yuan per head.

Zhang says the restaurant has been working on management, and redefining its menu to cater to a new group of customers. The restaurant group has opened middle- and low-end hot pot restaurants, snack shops and convenience carriages near subway stations to sell take-away foods.

"We have lowered the price range at our high-end restaurants, and shifted products from high to middle and lower levels", which will benefit everyday diners, she says.

Xiang E Qing is another high-end chain restaurant group that was hit hard by policy changes in the past year. It has introduced medium-priced fast food stores, shifted to group catering and started to give a 50-70 percent discount for group diners.

Shun Feng, a Cantonese seafood restaurant, has started to offer set menus at promotional prices and an afternoon tea. The attraction: An affordable meal in a high-end environment with good service.

But some restaurants have seen a rise in business, and they have even taken the opportunity to expand.

Meizhou Dongpo, a Sichuan chain restaurant aiming to offer "what common people like to eat", recorded an 8 percent increase in business over the previous year from January to May, according to Guo Xiaodong, deputy general manager.

Meizhou Dongpo now has more than 80 branches offering a regular menu and its specialty hot pot and snacks. The restaurant has been busy opening new outlets in relatively out-of-the-way areas, such as Beijing's Yizhuang and Huairou. Its prosperity forms a huge contrast with the austerity many high-end restaurants are facing.

Da Dong Peking Roast Duck restaurant recently opened a new branch near the Worker's Stadium and plans another one soon in Haidian district.

A veteran gourmet in Beijing, who prefers to be quoted as "Mr Liu", explains that Da Dong mainly targets business customers, a group that is less affected by China's policy change for government spending.

Liu says restaurants targeting "common people" will continue to make money. Hai Wan Ju, for example, specializes in Beijing's typical noodles with fried brown sauce, or zhajiangmian, and home-style dishes.

A bowl of its famous zhajiangmian cost 8 yuan 10 years ago; now it costs 25 yuan. But the long queue waiting to be served at the restaurant has not subsided.

"Restaurants were greatly affected by government policies. But now it is time that market rules and rational consumption fall into place," says Liu.

Maison Boulud's former general manager Alvarez thinks the atmosphere for high-end restaurants has been "stable" over the past two years, and people "still have interest" in those eateries.

Jing Ya's Zhang Guijin says the crisis of the past year has offered a chance to change and improve. She hopes to take off the restaurant's "hat" of a high-end eatery and change people's concept of Jing Ya to a business catering to ordinary people.

Enterprises fail, but the overall hospitality industry does not, she says. "The restaurant business is still hopeful and rising. I believe Jing Ya will emerge from the crisis."