海底捞“火辣”上市引外媒围观，连用词都充满“火锅”味！| 外媒说
近日，中国火锅品牌海底捞“火辣”上市，开盘8分钟市值破千亿。这家火锅的惊人表现引多家国外主流媒体关注。
BBC开篇用了“raising eyebrows”（刮目相看） 来表达对此事的惊叹。
报道称：
海底捞，一家从美国到日本均设有分店的北京火锅连锁店，本周却因为别的原因让人刮目相看。
The Beijing-based hotpot chain Haidilao, which has outlets from the US to Japan, has been raising eyebrows for another reason this week.
只是，北京火锅？四川火锅？BBC有点分不清楚......
其实，海底捞是典型的四川火锅，不论是味道还是企业本身。
△海底捞官网截图
△天眼查截图
而对于这点《纽约时报》研究的就很深入：
海底捞的名字来源于一个有获胜含义的四川麻将术语。虽然连锁店提供各种各样的锅底，但还是主要以四川风味的麻辣锅著称。
Haidilao’s name originates from a Sichuanese mah-jongg term that connotes winning. While the chain offers a wide variety of broths, it is known mainly for its Sichuan-style spicy hot pot.
海底捞是如何让人刮目相看的呢？
《金融时报》用了一个特别火锅的词——“hit a rolling boil”（滚煮到沸点）。
中国餐饮集团海底捞火锅周三在香港挂牌交易，开局如煮开的火锅，达到沸点！
Chinese restaurant group Haidilao Hotpot hit a rolling boil on its trading debut in Hong Kong on Wednesday.
海底捞的发行价位于定价区间高端，发行价为每股17.80港元，共筹得9.63亿美元。在周三的早盘中，海底捞股票一度上涨10.3%。
The company, which had priced shares at the top end of its target range at HK$17.80 ($2.28) each to raise $963m, jumped as much as 10.3 percent in early trading.
美国消费者新闻与商业频道（CNBC）周三援引专家评论称，“这毫无疑问是香港最贵的餐饮股之一”。
Partners Financial Group非执行董事长 Ronald Wan周三表示，海底捞的估值约为其历史收益的79倍，“毫无疑问是香港最贵的餐饮股之一”。
At a valuation of about 79 times its historical earnings, Haidilao is "certainly one of the most expensive restaurant stocks in Hong Kong," Ronald Wan, group non-executive chairman at Partners Financial Group, told CNBC on Wednesday.
外媒报道：火锅在中国是怎样一种存在
海底捞的上市，让外媒下决心研究一把火锅和这家火锅企业，而报道的画风是这样的！
➤ BBC报道称，太逗了！那么大的锅就搁桌子的正中间：
从来没听说过火锅？火锅在中国和亚洲其他地方非常普遍。
Never heard of hotpot? Well, it's a pretty common meal in China and across other parts of Asia.
非常有趣的是，在桌子的正中间会放置或者嵌入一个装有肉汤的大锅。
Funnily enough, it involves a very big hot pot of broth, which is usually positioned or sunk into the middle of a table.
外媒细数海底捞提供的“变态服务”
➤ 什么？！这样吃火锅可还行？
在研究了海底捞火锅运营后，外媒惊讶表示，原来海底捞靠的是服务！
BBC在报道中表示：
海底捞以能让消费者等位两小时而扬名。
It has a reputation for keeping customers waiting for more than two hours for a table.
如何做到的呢？报道中进一步分析称：
餐厅雇有美甲师免费提供美甲服务
Manicurists are employed to offer a complimentary nail service
为儿童配备儿童区
there are play areas for children
按摩师提供颈部按摩
masseurs offer neck rubs
有些餐厅甚至有照片打印区
some restaurants even have photo booths to print pictures while you wait
《金融时报》在报道中专门提到了跳着舞拉面条这个噱头：
海底捞火锅餐厅供应麻辣的四川式火锅，并采用一些噱头（如跳着舞的面条师傅）来吸引食客，此外还为等位的食客提供美甲服务。
The restaurant sells spicy Sichuan-style hotpot and offers manicures to diners as they wait for their tables alongside other gimmicks such as dancing noodle chefs.
不仅有拉面舞，海底捞还给单身食客提供毛绒熊。
《金融时报》报道称：
著名火锅连锁店动用了一个新武器来吸引单身食客：毛绒熊。
the country’s dominant chain has a new weapon to attract single diners: stuffed bears.
➤海底捞是否能在海外扩张时保持其独特的品质？
CNBC的担心是这些服务能否同时揽获外国网友芳心：
Partners Financial Group非执行董事长怀疑海底捞是否能够在海外扩张时保持其独特的品质，即餐厅的额外服务，如免费修指甲和为排队的顾客提供零食。
Wan also questioned whether Haidilao would be able to sustain its unique qualities as it expands overseas, referring to the restaurant's additional services such as free manicures and snacks for customers waiting in line.
顾客享受服务，也有错？
多家媒体均认为打服务牌是海底捞得以成功的主要原因之一，《纽约时报》也这样认为。但是，认真阅读就会发现，相比而言，《纽约时报》的报道非常夸张、刻意。
《纽约时报》对海底捞的美甲服务做了大篇幅的报道。文章以一个中国女孩尚飞飞（音）的体验为开头：
有时，尚飞飞去那家餐馆只是为了美甲。
Sometimes, Shang Feifei goes to a restaurant just for the manicures.
前不久的一个周三晚上，40岁的尚飞飞耐心地坐在北京市中心的一家海底捞分店。海底捞的一名员工为她免费打磨指甲、涂上颜色。锅中的肉汤冒着泡，香气在空气中飘荡。
On a recent Wednesday night, Ms. Shang, 40, sat patiently at a downtown Beijing branch of Haidilao. A Haidilao employee buffed and painted her nails, free. The aroma from bubbling broth-filled pots lingered in the air.
的确，这样的画面在海底捞门口可谓是司空见惯。但是《纽约时报》接着写道：
尚飞飞的美甲做完了，粉红色的指甲闪闪发光，之后她并不打算继续用餐。她这次来，食物是次要的。
Ms. Shang wasn’t planning to stay to eat after she got her pink, glittery nails done. For her, the food was secondary to the experience.
“我觉得海底捞这些特殊服务都太好玩了，”尚飞飞说，她每周都来海底捞做美甲。
“I find Haidilao’s special services so entertaining,” said Ms. Shang, who comes to Haidilao every week to get her manicures.
CD君想问，尚飞飞这样的极端案例究竟有几个？《纽约时报》真的切实做过调查么？
而随后，《纽约时报》采访了一位餐饮同行：
“人们一边等餐一边修指甲是令人作呕的，”东西迎客集团(East West Hospitality Group)的首席执行官乔伊·西尔弗斯坦(Joel Silverstein)说。
“It was disgusting that people were waiting and having their nails clipped,” said Joel Silverstein, chief executive of the East West Hospitality Group.
△乔伊·西尔弗斯坦(Joel Silverstein)
他补充说，
“我对中国的了解是，中国人喜欢夸张的服务，只要是免费的。”
“...the thing I’ve learned about China is, Chinese people love over-the-top service as long as they don’t have to pay for it.”
CD君想问，一名顾客去餐厅吃饭难道不是去享受服务的么？如果你所需体验的服务正好免费，哪个国家的消费者会拒之门外。
相比海底捞服务方式的夸张，《纽约时报》这样的报道方式未免更夸张，甚至是失实。
食品丑闻
尽管《纽约时报》的有些观点是偏颇之论，但其报道中指出的这点的确是海底捞的硬伤——食品丑闻。
这个硬伤，BBC在报道中也有提及：
在中国和新加坡，海底捞曾深陷食品丑闻。
It has suffered a couple of very high profile food scandals in China and in Singapore.
《纽约时报》则详细地介绍了整个事情的始末：
去年，一名中国调查记者在北京的两家海底捞分店拍摄的热播视频显示，厨房老鼠横行，洗碗机覆盖着油脂，工作人员用汤勺清洗下水道。今年6月，中国新闻媒体报道，在之前一个违规分店用餐的顾客在芝麻酱中发现了一只苍蝇。
Last year, a viral video taken in two Beijing outlets by an undercover Chinese journalist showed rat-infested kitchens, dishwashers covered with grease and staff members cleaning sewers with a soup ladle. In June, the Chinese news media reported that a customer in one of the previous offending outlets found a fly in the dipping sesame sauce.
在这两起案例中，海底捞都表示道歉，并承诺在其所有分店中彻底整顿食品安全。
In both instances, Haidilao apologized and promised to overhaul food safety in all its restaurants.
现在，客户可以通过挂在墙上的平板电视或桌上的平板电脑观看厨房的实时视频。餐厅也欢迎他们亲自观看食物的准备过程。
Now, customers can watch a live-stream video of the kitchen from a flat-screen television hung on the wall or through tablets on their tables. They are also welcome to personally observe the food being prepared.
中国餐饮市场
海底捞的高开也引起了外媒对中国餐饮市场的关注：
《金融时报》介绍称：
行业机构中国烹饪协会(China Cuisine Association)最近的一份报告称，居民收入不断提高和中产阶层不断扩大，已推动中国成为世界第二大餐饮市场。
Rising incomes and an expanding middle class have propelled China’s restaurant market to the second-largest in the world, according to a recent report by industry body China Cuisine Association.
根据市场研究集团弗若斯特沙利文咨询公司(Frost & Sullivan)的数据，预计未来五年中国餐饮业的销售额将以每年约10%的速度增长。该公司补充称，在中国，火锅是人气最高的中餐，2017年占有14%的市场份额。
China’s restaurant industry is forecast to grow about 10 percent annually over the next five years in terms of sales, according to Frost & Sullivan, a market research group. Hotpot is the most popular Chinese cuisine in China, with a 14 percent market share in 2017, it added.
编辑：王瑜、陈智明
参考来源：FT、New York Times、BBC、CNBC、
热文推荐