Chinese sister app of TikTok tests the waters with popular dining table list in challenge to local services giant Meituan
- The Douyin restaurant guide covers 175 establishments across 14 Chinese cities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen
- The dining guide represents another challenge to bigger rival Meituan, which dubbed its Black Pearl guide as ‘an authoritative food guide for all gourmets’
Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok that has been successful converting short video clicks into revenues, has taken a step further into local services by publishing lists of popular dining tables as its answer to the Michelin guide for restaurants.
The preferred restaurant list, compiled by Douyin based on user data and expert opinion, was released this week and is stirring up competition with local services giant Meituan, which has been promoting its annual “Black Pearl” restaurant list since 2018.
Douyin and TikTok are both owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, which was valued at US$268 billion in its latest share buy-back plan, making it China’s most valuable unicorn.
ByteDance is trying to leverage the popularity of Douyin, with over 600 million daily active users, to expand its sources of revenue. The app currently provides services covering local eateries, drinking, entertainment and e-commerce.
The Douyin guide covers 175 establishments across 14 Chinese cities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen. It not only measures how the cuisine is cooked and presented, but also how the restaurant serves and innovates, according to guidelines provided by the app.
The initiative has named Hong Kong actor and singer Nicholas Tse Ting-fung as an ambassador, and he will help pick the dining places, according to the promotional materials. Tse starred in cooking shows in 2014 and 2018, and owns a restaurant chain under his brand.
The platform also invited renowned gourmets, chefs and food critics to form a special committee that advises on the dining table selection.