China restaurant features villains from martial arts novel who cook using kung fu techniques

A restaurant in China which lets its staff play popular characters from a famed martial arts novel to interact with customers has trended on mainland social media.

Xiangyang Courtyard in Xiangyang, Hubei province, central China, which opened in September, features martial arts performances, the Jimu News reported.

It is decorated in the style of classic gardens from ancient China.

In addition, some employees are dressed up as leading characters in the martial arts novel The Legend of the Condor Heroes.

The book, written by the late Hong Kong wuxia novelist Louis Cha Leung-yung who is better known by his pen name Jin Yong, is one of the most popular literary works in the Chinese-speaking world.

According to some viral videos, one of the restaurant’s workers plays Huang Rong, the heroine of the novel, while serving dishes to customers.

Another employee appears as the character Mei Chaofeng to knead dough because Mei is well known for her skill in killing people using her signature powerful “nine yin skeleton claw”.

A third employee appears as Ke Zhene and cooks dishes with his eyes closed as Ke is depicted as blind in the novel.

Both Mei and Ke are villains in the book, while Huang is loved by readers as a witty character with exceptional martial arts skills.

“Come to have a look. Guess who that person is. Quick, take a picture,” shouts a thrilled customer in one video.

Employees also do performances on a small stage at 7pm every day.

“We have invited a professional performing troupe to teach our staffers to play wuxia characters. We would like to strengthen our restaurant’s wuxia culture feature and improve the customer experience,” Zhu Xiujun, general manager of the restaurant, was quoted as saying.

Xiangyang has a strong connection with wuxia culture because an important battle happened in the city, according to the novel.

“I saw some recommendations about this restaurant on social media. Many people said they had a wonderful experience. So I took my family to try it,” a female customer identified as Zhu told the media.

Reactions to the eatery were mixed on mainland social media.

“It is a creative idea. I also want to experience the wuxia atmosphere there,” said one internet user.

However, another person said: “Why not spend more effort improving the quality of the food? The dishes cooked by those characters do not look hygienic. I dare not eat it.”

China’s catering industry is highly competitive, making venues try various gimmicks to attract customers.

Last year, a restaurant boss in Chongqing, southwestern China, went viral online because of her innovative impersonation of a robot waitress.

Alice Yan in Shanghai