(Yicai Global) June 30 -- Shanghai residents have been flooding back to their favorite eateries as the city’s ban on ‘eat-ins’ due the recent outbreaks of Covid-19 ended yesterday. Online transactions of dine-in orders quadrupled from the previous week.

Japanese cuisine was a particular draw, with digital payments soaring three-and-a-half times week on week, according to Chinese food delivery giant Meituan. Cantonese cuisine, hotpot and buffets were also very popular.

Restaurants have been eagerly awaiting this moment. Managers and staff at Cantonese restaurant Tong Fat Tou were all back at their posts on June 28, energetically preparing to reopen, a company executive told Yicai Global.

“The Fuzhou Road outlet was overwhelmed at noon on the first day of reopening as there were so many orders, both from sitting-in customers and takeaways,” the person said. “We are thinking of hiring more staff as we believe it will just get busier.”

Customer numbers at restaurants in Wanda Plaza, Baoshan district were back to 70 percent of pre-pandemic levels between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. yesterday, Securities Daily reported.

Japanese restaurant Sushi Noboru on Tai’an Road is fully booked until the middle of July, Beijing-based Meituan said. The eaterie was recently added to Meituan’s Black Pearl Restaurant Guide, China’s equivalent of the ‘Michelin Guide.’ The guide, which ranks in diamonds rather than stars, has scoured 22 Chinese cities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong, as well as Paris, New York, Tokyo, Singapore and Bangkok for the best Chinese fine dining experiences.

Editors: Xu Wei, Kim Taylor