There are many in China. Many. That’s about 1.425 million people. Here’s why it’s not so surprising that the largest restaurant on the planet is located in that eastern country: 900 tables to serve 5,800 diners at the same time.
The monstrous food place is punctually located in Chongqing city and it occupies an entire hill.
The restaurant, called Pipa Yuan, offers one of the most popular dishes in China: the hot pot or pot on the stove. It is a bowl that is placed on the fire, which serves to keep the broth warm, and its intensity can be adjusted as desired.
Chongqing is famous for its “hot pots”. There are literally tens of thousands of specialty hot and spicy pot restaurants to choose from, but Pipa Yuan is the most impressive.
Located in Nan’an District on the outskirts of Chongqing, it covers an area of 3,300 m2and most diners request directions to locate their reserved table among the hundreds of available tables.
Pipe Yuan was long praised as the largest hot pot restaurant in the world, but last year Guinness Records made the title official.
Due to the large size of Pipa Yuan (which translates into Spanish as “loquat garden”) and the fact that it is located on a steep hill, diners it can take up to 30 minutes from the parking lot at the foot of the hill to one of the 900 tables currently available in the restaurant.
However, that doesn’t seem to affect the popularity of this place. In fact, despite the enormous capacity of the restaurant, finding a table without a reservation, especially in spring and summer, it’s almost impossible.
People from all over China flock to experience the world’s largest restaurant for themselves and it is said that on a busy day, Pipa Yuan it serves more people than the inhabitants of a small county.
As you can imagine, cooking several tons of stew every day and serving it to thousands of customers requires a large staff. According to reports, Pipaa Yuan it employs hundreds of waitersdozens of cooks and dozens of kitchen workers, as well as more than 25 cashiers.
Interestingly, Pipa Yuan is just as busy at night as it is during the day, as many tourists flock to it at night, due to all the colorful lamps that bring the whole hill to life.
As for the hot pot, according to reviews on the Internet, it is surprisingly good for such a big restaurant.
Serving times can be a little long, especially at the busiest times of the day, but the fresh ingredients, delicate spices and hilltop view apparently they make up for it.
Source: Clarin
Mary Ortiz is a seasoned journalist with a passion for world events. As a writer for News Rebeat, she brings a fresh perspective to the latest global happenings and provides in-depth coverage that offers a deeper understanding of the world around us.