Men eat at Mars, Women eat at Venus
How do men and women differ in their preferences for Beijing restaurants? With the voting over and the winners announced in the Beijinger’s 7th Annual Reader Restaurant Awards, we decided to take a closer look at where men and women differ in their dining preferences.
The survey provides a nice pool of candidates from both sexes – 52% of all voters were male while the remaining 48% were female.
While many of the categories saw men and women voting the same, there were key differences in several categories, with women showing a marked preference for more intimate, single-location restaurants. So where were they different?
Let’s start with the key category when it comes to the subject of men and women: Best For a Romantic Meal. The overall winner in this category was Maison Boulud. So men, is this where you should take your date to maximize your chances to score? Think again:
Best For a Romantic Meal, as voted on by Men:
Best: Maison Boulud
Outstanding: The Courtyard, Capital M
Best For a Romantic Meal, as voted on by Women:
Best: Mosto
Outstanding: Capital M, Maison Boulud
Maison would not be a bad choice (neither would Capital M) but interesting to see Mosto sneak into the top spot in women’s hearts – perhaps due to the intimate size intimate dining room.
How about Restaurant of the Year (Non-Chinese), which again was won overall by Maison Boulud? What restaurant captured the hearts of men vs women?
Restaurant of the Year (Non-Chinese), as voted on by Men:
Best: Maison Boulud
Outstanding: SALT, Mosto
Restaurant of the Year (Non-Chinese), as voted on by Women
Best: SALT
Outstanding: Maison Boulud, SALT
The top 3 are the same here, just in a slightly different order – with SALT coming in on top with women and Maison topping the male vote.
The male/female divide is no more apparent than in the Middle Eastern category. 1001 Nights was the overall top choice, but the fairer of the species showed a distinct preference for Middle Eastern eateries not characterized by belly dancing performances:
Best Middle Eastern, as voted on by Men:
Best: 1001 Nights
Outstanding: Rumi, Biteapitta
Best Middle Eastern, as voted on by Women:
Best: Rumi
Outstanding: Biteapitta, 1001 Nights
Best Non-Hotel Brunch also saw the females preferring the intimate surroundings of a single-location venue:
Best Non-Hotel Brunch, as voted on by Men:
Best: Element Fresh
Outstanding: SALT, Chef Too
Best Non-Hotel Brunch, as voted on by Women:
Best: Vineyard Café
Outstanding: Element Fresh, Chef Too
Finally, men and women have differing opinions on what impresses visitors to the capital:
Best for Impressing Visitors, as voted on by Men:
Best: Da Dong
Outstanding: China Grill, LAN
Best for Impressing Visitors, as voted on by Women:
Best: Capital M / LAN
Outstanding: Da Dong, Dali Courtyard