Yunnan-Guizhou-Sichuan bistros facing challenges

With Yunnan-Guizhou-Sichuan bistros gaining increasing popularity, the question is whether these restaurants can achieve long-term development and success.

In recent years, there have been a growing number of such restaurants — named after three provinces — and their inner and outer decor is decidedly rustic and forestlike. Signs are earthen-colored or dark green, and interior designs are often a combination of natural wood and ethnic characteristics.

Even if the eatery is smack dab in the midst of a sprawling shopping mall, camping chairs are often placed at the entrance, paired with haystacks and green plants, allowing diners to feel they're deep in the mountains even if they're still in a major city's central business district.

Dishes are also special. Seasonings are not added behind kitchen doors, but done directly, often with a whole piece of wood ginger freshly chopped for customers right at the table. Most people have never heard of fish mint (houttuynia cordata). But at these eateries, it is a common condiment, served with milk tea.

In Beijing, there are dozens of Yunnan-Guizhou-Sichuan bistros, with per-meal unit prices ranging from 100 yuan ($13.9) to several hundred or even thousands.

At these prices, why is Yunnan-Guizhou-Sichuan cuisine such a hit?

Bistro originally referred to a common French homestyle restaurant on the streets of Paris, with affordable prices and authentic flavors.

However, when the dining concept was introduced to China and other markets, it went beyond its original definition and is used to describe a laid-back and relaxing restaurant atmosphere.

Accordingly, bistros are decorated elegantly, with dim, warm lighting, offering small portions and pricey wine.

With this evolution, bistros can be paired with various cuisines. With Yunnan-Guizhou-Sichuan cuisine gaining popularity in recent years, foodie entrepreneurs then developed the Yunnan-Guizhou-Sichuan bistro concept on a national scale.

Although the three geographic regions mentioned in the name tend to be lumped together in conversations, in fact, Yunnan cuisine, Sichuan cuisine and Guizhou cuisine not only differ greatly from each other, but also have completely different timing for when they became popular.

Sichuan culinary delights represent a major regional cuisine and also one of the earliest to spread nationwide. Since the 1980s, amid rapid urbanization and population mobility, the populous province of Sichuan has exported a massive amount of labor to the eastern coastal areas, along with Sichuan's cuisine. Yunnan cuisine gained popularity at a relatively later stage, and Guizhou cuisine only became well-known in 2023.

However, there may be some challenges ahead for the popular eatery concept.

Wang Peng, an associate research fellow at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, said: "There are significant differences in the cuisine styles of Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan, and it is difficult to create a unified style and stable quality of dishes when integrating them. There is a lack of core characteristics, which makes it difficult for consumers to form a deep and lasting impression, and it is difficult to attract repeat customers with the charm of the dishes."

Wang said that for restaurants, the most important draw is the taste of the dishes themselves, service quality, customer experience and marketing. Only when they pay attention to these aspects, rather than overplaying the concept of "Yunnan-Guizhou-Sichuan", can such restaurants achieve long-term development.