BEIJING: In freezing winter days of Beijing, a small eatery is leaving its patrons with full bellies and warm hearts by offering a helping hand to those in need with free meals. The inconspicuous halal restaurant, located near the Sanyuanqiao overpass on the northeastern Third Ring Road, has gathered a robust online following this winter because of a secret code — “A-set meal.”
Anyone who comes to the restaurant and asks for an “A-set meal” will be given a meal free of charge, for as the signs on the front entrance explain, “It is not easy to deal with working away from home, family, and friends. Our restaurant would like to offer you free dinner, and may you care for others when you are capable.”
The dinner is a big bowl of braised beef noodle soup which usually costs 22 yuan (about 3.37 U.S. dollars), said Ma Zongxian, head chef of the restaurant. “We began to provide free meals in October. It’s really hard for many this year because of COVID-19 and our small business also suffered from the epidemic. Our boss said we should just do what we are able to do to help those who are facing difficulties,” Ma added.
Yu Chenghao, the owner of the restaurant, said he did not expect his restaurant would rise to overnight stardom due to what he called “a small favor.” “I did so because I was once helped by a stranger,” he said.
Yu still remembers a time when he was a college student in Kunming, capital of southwest China’s Yunnan Province. He had no money to buy food on the Mid-Autumn Day of 2012, usually an occasion for family reunions, as his wallet had been stolen. The owner of a restaurant offered him a free bowl of rice noodle soup and gave him five yuan to buy a bus ticket back to school. –Agencies
