KAOHSIUNG: One of Beijing's most famous restaurants for roast duck, Quanjude, will go ahead with plans to begin trial sales of its famed cuisine in southern Taiwan's Kaohsiung city beginning July 10. The confirmation comes from the company's Taiwanese collaborator as she denied reports that the company might have changed its plan to open its first branch on the island. Chang Su-luan, chairwoman of the Kaohsiung City Riverside Restaurant Group, said Quanjude (Group) Co Ltd may postpone the inauguration of its branch in Kaohsiung because the government of Taiwan has yet to scrap its ban on mainland investment in Taiwan.

The administration, however, recently announced it will allow mainland investments in Taiwan late this month or early next month. Investment will be allowed in around 100 sectors, including the service industry.

Chang added that the company's planned sales of the ducks in the city will be launched as scheduled.

The trial sales will be held in the Kaohsiung Port's No 3 wharf, and a dozen chefs from Beijing-based Quanjude will be stationed on the spot to entice Taiwanese customers to try their world famous dish.

Ducks that will be on the menu during the launch will be high quality birds grown in neighboring Pingtung county, Chang said. Ovens to do the cooking will be shipped from Beijing, she added.

To maintain the original taste of the Quanjude roast duck, the Pingtung poultry farm which will provide the ducks used a different feed from the one it normally uses, to help build protein in the ducks and shorten the maturation period from 72 days to 58.

Late last year, Quanjude signed an agreement with its Kaohsiung partner to sell its globally famous special dish to Taiwanese people in Taiwan's second largest city.

It set the date of trial sales at that time in the hope of taking advantage of the 2009 World Games, which will be held in the city from July 16-26.

Quanjude enjoys global fame due to the special techniques it uses to prepare the roast ducks and because of the quality of the dish.

Founded in 1864 during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Quanjude is one of the most renowned restaurants in China. The company became a corporate group in 1993 and went public in 2007 on the Shenzhen bourse to support its goal of growing into an international brand.

It now operates 16 restaurants in Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing and Changchun and sells more than 2 million ducks a year to some 5 million patrons. It also has 65 franchised outlets, 55 of which are based on the mainland.

CNA

(HK Edition 06/11/2009 page2)