By buying directly from Canada, a Beijing restaurant makes a bargain out of lobster meals that don't pinch the pocket. Ye Jun tucks in a bib for a tasting.

A shell of a good meal

China's famous baozi

According to He Jianmei, the chain's general manager of Beijing area, a delegation from Tang Palace visited Canada in 2012, where they got in touch with Atlantic Canada Resources, a Canadian company. They decided to cooperate to provide Canadian lobster directly to the restaurant.

On Dec 12, Tang Palace held a press conference to announce the start of a Canadian lobster festival, along with representatives from the Canadian embassy.

Murray Gwyer, agriculture and agri-food counselor with the embassy, says Canada has exported seafood to China for many years.

In the past two or three years, lobster shipping has increased dramatically. "China is an increasingly important market," he says.

In 2012 the country exported $30 million worth of lobster to China. China is now Canada's second-largest market for lobster exports, just after the United States.

Canada exports the same variety of lobster produced in the US northeastern regions. It is Homarus americanus - known in the US as "Boston lobster".

These crustaceans are dark greenish in color and have big claws.