British stand-up comedian Fraser Sampson sat at the counter of Yangyang Braised Dishes, watching a chef transform ingredients such as pork intestines and lungs into luzhu, Beijing's traditional offal stew, right before his eyes.
As the rich, fragrant stew took shape, Sampson found a culinary connection much closer to home.
"This reminds me of haggis, a classic Scottish dish made from minced sheep offal and oatmeal," Sampson said after trying the pork intestines in luzhu.
But food was only the beginning of his experience at the counter. As Sampson ate, the chef and waiting staff began chatting with him. When nearby diners heard how good his Chinese was, they joined in. Soon, the conversations moved beyond food to their life stories.
For Sampson, the experience brought back memories of an earlier visit to a Japanese omakase counter — but with a striking difference.
"I think Chinese counter dining is far more down-to-earth. It connects ordinary people and their daily lives," he said, adding that his experience with Japanese counter dining had felt so refined that it left him feeling a little reserved.
That contrast is at the heart of how counter dining is being adapted in China. While embracing a format associated with Japanese counter dining, Chinese restaurants are reshaping it around the country's own cooking traditions, regional cuisines and everyday social interactions.
At De Fly, a Sichuan restaurant in Beijing, that transformation can be seen and smelled.
Soft jazz fills the room as diners crowd the counter, watching the chef tame wok flames that rise to his forearm. Meanwhile, the scent of chili bean paste and Sichuan peppercorns hangs thick in the air. Each dish goes from the wok to the plate in just over a minute, capturing the guoqi that Wang Yuelin, the restaurant's owner-operator, describes as central to the experience — the smoky, seared aroma produced by rapid, high-heat stir-frying.
China's diverse regional food traditions are also giving the format distinct local expressions.
For Yao Yichen, a food lover in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, the counter itself is only part of the attraction. "What makes it fun is getting to see how different regional Chinese cuisines are prepared right in front of you," Yao said.
Besides Sichuan-style counter meals, he has tried counter dining with the noodle-based cuisine of Shanxi province. In Guangzhou, the concept has also extended to tea, with makers brewing copper-pot milk tea along an open counter.
The trend also aligns with a broader national policy direction.
In January, the General Office of the State Council, China's Cabinet, issued a work plan to boost service consumption. The plan identifies "emotion-oriented and experience-oriented services" as a potential growth area and calls for support in developing new consumption scenarios for such services.
Counter dining reflects that emphasis. "What makes Chinese counter dining special is its inclusiveness. It meets ordinary diners' needs for emotional connection, rather than catering to a select group of diners," said Qiao Qiao, manager of Yangyang Braised Dishes.
Restaurants are exploring ways to make that experience more immersive. At De Fly, Wang wants to turn the counter into something even more familiar to Chinese diners — a home kitchen.
"In the future, I'd like to make the counter feel more like a Sichuan family kitchen, with local ingredients such as cured pork hanging overhead, just as they would in people's homes," Wang said.
