A Trend We Like: Half Price for Diners Who Don't Use Their Mobile Phones

Now here's a dining promotion we can dig: one restaurant franchise is bucking the hipster trend by offering diners 50% off if they just check their damn cellphone at the door, stop spending mealtimes taking pictures of their food, and eat and converse like how normal people used to.

In & Out (perennially named to our readers' list of favorite Yunnan restaurants) is currently running this promotion every Monday at lunch and dinner to entice diners to try its fare in its brand new location in Tun San Li that just opened yesterday.

Diners wishing to take part in the promotion will have their phone sealed in a paper bag by a waitress; in order to fully enjoy the discount, the bag must remain untouched until after the meal. Meanwhile, its original location still does brisk business in the not-too-far-away northern section of Sanlitun near Jenny Lou's.

The promotion is a refreshing break from what has become a somewhat tired routine that has displaced ordinary discourse around the dining table: each diner whipping out their cellphone to take pictures of what they are about to eat in order to upload to one of their social networks.

Hey, we like sharing as much as the next guy, but eventually all of these close-ups of food and endless repetitive selfies gets tiring, and there's nothing quite as dull as dinner with people who prefer the company of their phones over their dining companions.

The restaurant features similar Yunnan cuisine to that you can find in Middle 8th Restaurant, but with a more affordable price. A cold appetizer, a whole roasted tilapia fish, two fried beef dishes and a plate of tofu all came in less than RMB 100 after discount

My personal experience with "telephone withdrawal" wasn't so bad; during the one-hour meal, no one actually texted me and I only missed a phone call from my 3-year-old niece who tried to dial my number.

This promotion takes place at both locations of the In & Out restaurant including the new restaurant located at the Tun San Li Mall at 21 Gongti Beilu (工人体育场北路21号屯三里购物中心); they can be reached by telephone at 5801 0086. But don't delay; this promotion will only last until March 3, 2014.

Images: China.org, och.cc, Clemence Jiang