Today's hot pot diners regard it normal to boil the dish in one's own pot, so few people may be able to imagine how long and hard Man Chunlin worked to invent and promote this new eating custom 15 years ago.

Man, of the Manchu nationality, opened his first eatery in 1982, which was Beijing's third privately owned restaurant. After nearly a decade's struggle, he started the hot pot restaurant Manfulou in 1991. From the first day Manfulou was in operation, Man served a solo pot. Diners could hardly accept this innovation then, since most people believed that their cost would increase. Man had to explain his idea about public health again and again.

At the same time, Man protected the credibility of his operation by paying 10 times in compensation more than what was originally charged for a dish if a customer felt they had been charged for more than they'd eaten. Waiters and waitresses always reminded their diners to order less to avoid waste and never recommended expensive dishes such as abalone and lobster. Diners could get discounts, or even free meals, if they thought that the meat served them was not fresh or that they had waited too long for their dishes to be served.

Manfulou moved to its new address in September 2005. During its first week at the new location, Man served members of the 500 households that were his new neighbours for free. He explained that the restaurant's decoration, before it opened, must have been troublesome for his neighbours and he wanted to apologize for the inconvenience.

Man insists that his diners are friends instead of clients, and you cannot cheat your friends, can you? Man is an old-style Beijing businessman and regards credibility as invaluable. He feels the same about his the restaurant and its operation.

At its new address, Manfulou has two floors and a spacious balcony. Private rooms occupy the first floor and the second floor serves single or small groups of diners with access to the balcony. Manfulou is located near the Beihai and Jingshan parks, so diners can dine on its balcony while viewing the area's ancient parks.

The decorative theme of Manfulou is fu (auspicious). You can see this Chinese character everywhere inside the restaurant. Gold and red are the dominant colours here, since they are the most auspicious in the Chinese culture. The layout is Qing style.

Man's pursuit of credibility is evident in his choices of meat to serve at Manfulou, only the best mutton and beef in Beijing will do. Fresh mutton is the only dish waiters and waitresses ever recommend. Manfulou's mutton comes from Inner Mongolia and only 400 grams of meat from each sheep will satisfy Manfulou's need. Moyu wan (cuttlefish balls) is the most popular dish after mutton. It is generally made of cuttlefish and starch, but Man replaced starch with the herb mati, thus producing Manfulou's unique dish.

Another attraction of Manfulou is the plethora of celebrities who dine there because they cannot resist the restaurant's tempting food and dining ambience.

Address: 38 Di'anmen Dajie, Xicheng District

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Tel: +86 10 6404 2188, 6405 3088