Steamed duck with meat jelly

Besides all there is to appeal to the palate, there is much to please the eye, too. The containers in which the dishes come are elegant, as are the four sets of porcelain dinnerware that come with them, adorned with patterns inspired by Chinese culture.

Such dinnerware is often given as a gift to foreign leaders, Chang says. Additionally, a set dinner usually comes with individual dinnerware, not family-style communal dishes traditional in China.

At the moment a meal for four costing either 3,480 yuan ($525) or 3,980 yuan, depending on menu, is available for delivery in Beijing and Tianjin, and for logistical reasons Diaoyutai Food and Biotechnology has put a cap of 6,000 on the number of sets it will deliver.

Diaoyutai State Guesthouse is among an increasing number of eateries that are selling Spring Festival Eve takeout dinners, although the idea is not particularly new.

Beijing Shanghai Classical Hotel, a branch of Shanghai Classical Hotel, founded in 1875, and which once had a powerful influence on the city's cuisine, has been offering takeout Spring Festival Eve dinners in Beijing and Shanghai since 2003.

"The meals always sell out soon after they go on sale," says Jin Liming, general manager of the restaurant.

Those holding special vouchers can reserve the meals by phone, and the dishes are half-cooked a day before customers collect them.

The set dinners often include eight cold dishes, eight hot dishes and two desserts, because the numbers eight and 10 are considered auspicious in Chinese culture.