"It has been about a month since I went out for dinner... waiting until the number of new SARS cases continued to ebb in Beijing," he said.

Wang's latest feasts with family and friends in the eateries of Beijing have included a delicious South Korean barbecue and meaty Xinjiang dishes from Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Restaurants re-opening and crowds pouring in are the most obvious sign that life in the nation's hardest-hit city is returning to normal, he added.

Like Wang, the chance to dine out tops the list of first moves for many Beijingers' as fears concerning the risk of SARS have begun to ease of late.

Parking space outside Qiaojiangnan, a large traditionally decorated eatery famed for its Sichuan cuisine close to the northern fourth ring road, is packed all day now, said a parking attendant.

The choice of places to eat remains influenced by the shadow of SARS and Wang, like many others, said he would opt for larger and more expensive restaurants rather than smaller and cheaper ones whose hygiene standards may be inferior.

With its long history, Chinese food has long been famed for its scope, look, smell and taste. Now, after enduring the massive impact of SARS, people have added "clean and healthy" to their list of requirements, said Bian Jiang, vice-president of the China Cuisine Association.

The past six weeks have been busy and uneasy ones for the wives and husbands in charge of cooking at home.

For Liu Yanhong, 34, a high school teacher, dining out with her husband is now one of the most enjoyable things following weeks of enforced home-cooking. "I have tried all the recipes I know and I feel that I am at my wit's end," she said.

Like thousands of others Liu's life was transformed virtually overnight. With her classes suspended from late April she had to communicate with her students by e-mail and telephone. And with her lessons not scheduled to resume normally until July that aspect of her life will remain unchanged for the time being.

"The special period has given me the chance to practice my culinary skills. My husband says they have improved a lot within a short time -- one of the biggest 'achievements' in the past month," she quipped.

Liu said the recipes she has been creating each day are balanced and varied. She also browsed many websites in search of recipes recommended by experts and aimed at improving the body's immune system, one of the most effective measures to prevent SARS.

In traditional Chinese medicine, proper food is the first defence line and an important factor for good health, said Zhao Lin, a nutritionist at the Department of Nutrition with the General Hospital of the People's Liberation Army.

On Zhao's list of foods which help reduce body heat and clear the body of toxins are winter melon, gourds, mung beans, watermelons, pears, lilies and yuxingcao (cordate houttuynia).

It has been scientifically proven that eating fresh radishes can increase the body's resistance to viruses, while also good for preventing certain types of cancer, said Zhao.

Quanjude, the Beijing-based restaurant chain famous for its delicious Peking roast duck, has added several new dishes to meet the special demands of patrons for "healthy" food after it re-opened on May 20, according to Ma Wenbin, director of its public relations department.

The soup made with pear and yin'er (tremella), is excellent for reducing body temperature and tastes good too.

Ma said the restaurant was thrilled to see the number of patrons steadily increase in the past two weeks.

"Now, there are about 400-500 people including several foreign friends dining at our Hepingmen branch in southern Xuanwu District everyday," he added.

The restaurant quickly won the trust of patrons partly due to its strict hygiene standards and new service practices, said Ma.

To safeguard the health of staff and customers alike, a machine for testing the body temperature of all who enter has been installed at the entrance. Antiseptic wipes are handed out at the table and anti-bacterial soap has been installed in the restrooms.

Waiters wear surgical masks and gloves when serving food and for those customers who prefer not to share their dishes, food can be served to diners individually, a rare scene at a Chinese dinner table, but the norm in the West.

"Some traditional eating habits should undergo changes, both in people's mind and in actions," said Bian Jiang.

He also called on the catering industry to seize the opportunity to further improve its standards, particularly as the public are now much more hygiene conscious, due or, perhaps thanks to SARS.

Bian said the outbreak of SARS might persuade some people in South China's Guangdong Province to change their culinary habits.

The eating habits of the people of Guangdong have become something akin to urban myth, except there is nothing mythical about them. They have earned a reputation or notoriety for eating anything that moves, including snakes and masked palm civets, the animal said to be possibly linked to the SARS virus.

Before the outbreak of SARS, restaurants in Guangdong attracted customers with menus that included exotic and sometimes endangered species -- popularly known in China as "enjoying wild flavours."

Many believe the meat of some wild animals increases virility, enriches the blood and is healthy in other ways. But experts say that wild animals are no more nutritious than domestic ones. They warned that when eaten as delicacies, wild animals, which carry parasites and viruses, pose a great threat to people's health.

A new draft regulation banning the eating of wild animals has been submitted to the Guangdong Provincial People's Congress, the provincial legislature, for approval.

"It is just the beginning of further progress in giving up wildlife consumption," Bian said.

(China Daily June 4, 2003)