Chinese Customers Show Appetite For Fish And Chips
The Regency Restaurant in the seaside city of Brighton has been serving traditional fish and chips for decades.
But over the past two years, the restaurant has seen a change in its clientele, with more visitors from China coming to sample the cuisine.
According to the restaurant's owners there are days when more than 70 percent of the customers are Chinese.
Emilio Savveides owns the restaurant with his brother, Roberto. He says the restaurant's popularity is down to the power of the blogosphere.
''We always try and ask how they found it, and it's always on the blog, there's a blogger or there have been a number of bloggers over the years that have recommended the restaurant, and obviously as people come here they recommend the restaurant themselves and the blog is getting bigger, and bigger, and bigger, and bigger and we're getting busier with that,'' said Savveides.
The restaurant provides a variety of dishes, including mussels, lobster, pasta and poultry. But according to the restaurant's owners, Chinese customers tend to order the shellfish platter, one of the most expensive items on the menu, just under £50.
On average, a table of four Chinese customers will spend between £60-80 on a meal at The Regency, where as other customers spend less than half of that amount on their meals.
Whilst other business across Britain have been struggling in the recession, Savveides said his trade has been boosted by bloggers talking about his restaurant, prompting others to come and tuck in to the dishes being served here.
''Obviously you are always looking out to see how you can get customers in, how you can improve how to get customers in. In our case we didn't have to do that. The customers came to us, so we were able to fill that void created by the recession, with the fact that we had that extra business that we didn't expect, and we're obviously very happy with it,'' Savveides, said.
One of those bloggers, who could've been responsible for the initial wave of Chinese customers eating at The Regency is Pauline Guo.
Guo came to England initially to study, she then went on to set up a blog and website called Red Scarf, where she posts information on places to visit in Britain.
She claims to have more than 54 thousand followers, and around two years ago she posted a comment on her site recommending Brighton's Recency Restaurant, without even trying the food there.
Guo said she initially read reviews online praising the restaurant in English, and that's why she decided to write about it in mandarin.
But The Regency didn't need to approach anyone to tap in to the Chinese market, and customers continue to post comments praising the restaurant's food online.
Presented by Adam Justice