Latest news with #Chengdu
Time of India
37 minutes ago
- Business
- Time of India
Rs 2,500 to eat in a stranger's apartment? With no big investment, hosts are earning lakhs with new dining trend
In cities like Bengaluru and Gurgaon, a new kind of dining experience is reshaping the way people connect over food. Supper clubs—private, home-based dining events hosted by individuals—are gaining momentum, offering guests curated meals, intimate ambience, and deeply personal storytelling. With minimal upfront investment, some hosts are now earning lakhs each month through this emerging trend. From Home Kitchens to Gourmet Destinations At the heart of this movement is Bengaluru's Ma La Kitchen Supper Club, run by Aditya Ramakrishnan and Dongli Zhang. Inside their modest apartment, they serve a seven-course Sichuan meal, complete with pu-erh tea, Chengdu rap, and stories rooted in Chinese mythology. The setting is far removed from a traditional restaurant, but that's exactly what makes it special. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Select a Course Category Finance Operations Management Healthcare MBA Digital Marketing MCA CXO Data Analytics Degree Data Science healthcare others Data Science Design Thinking Leadership Cybersecurity Project Management Public Policy PGDM Others Management Product Management Artificial Intelligence Technology Skills you'll gain: Duration: 7 Months S P Jain Institute of Management and Research CERT-SPJIMR Fintech & Blockchain India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 9 Months IIM Calcutta SEPO - IIMC CFO India Starts on undefined Get Details The duo chose this model after realising that launching a full-fledged restaurant was too costly and complicated. Hosting in their own home gave them the creative freedom to design an experience on their terms. Over time, their supper club has become a profitable venture, reportedly bringing in up to Rs 6 lakh per month. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Villas For Sale in Dubai Might Surprise You Dubai villas | search ads Get Deals Undo A Revival of Social Dining Supper clubs have historical roots, tracing back to 1930s Hollywood, where they once served as lively venues for food and music post-Prohibition. Though they faded over the years, the concept has resurfaced in the post-pandemic era, as people increasingly seek out deeper, more meaningful interactions. Sharing a meal in a stranger's home now feels more inviting than ever. Archit Agarwal and Natasha Ratti Kapoor, a couple from Gurgaon, tapped into this appetite for connection with The LOST Table. What began as an Instagram-based initiative to engage their followers soon transformed into a popular supper club, with events selling out in minutes. Kapoor shared that the overwhelming response encouraged them to pursue it more seriously, drawing interest even from commercial brands. Unique Experiences Over Fancy Setups In Bengaluru, Anurag Arora's supper club, Apartment, has built a reputation for its creatively themed meals like 'Fried Chicken and Flowers'. According to Arora, the success of such events lies in the experience itself. He noted that diners aren't focused on location or luxury—they're drawn to the individuality and warmth of a home-cooked, well-crafted gathering. The model has also appealed to culinary professionals looking to showcase their craft in new ways. Pastry chef Jenny Clinta, based in Bengaluru's OMBR Layout, runs Sakare, a weekend-only dessert supper club from her apartment. For Rs 2,500, guests enjoy a five-course dessert tasting inspired by her Andaman upbringing and training in French techniques. Clinta believes the intimate setting enhances the emotional connection her guests feel with the food. Low Investment, High Return For aspiring chefs or food enthusiasts, the supper club model presents a promising alternative to the high-risk restaurant industry. The primary investment is time, creativity, and culinary skill. As Natasha Kapoor noted, more chefs are showing willingness to explore this route, driven by growing demand for distinctive and immersive dining moments.
News.com.au
a day ago
- Business
- News.com.au
China boasts ‘reliable' partner amid Trump turmoil after PM's trip
Anthony Albanese has landed back in Australia after six days abroad touting Australia's trade and tourism offerings in China. The Prime Minister has been keen to reframe the Australia-China relationship in friendlier terms, steering away from the increasingly militaristic tone to focus on a peaceful coexistence ensured through deeper economic interdependency. 'Overwhelmingly, what we discuss as moving forward is issues of today and tomorrow, rather than the past,' Mr Albanese told reporters on his final day in Chengdu, a major research hub in western China. 'What I speak about is the potential that's there to grow the relationship, to develop further economic ties. 'We – of course, as I've said repeatedly – we co-operate where we can, we disagree where we must, but we don't want those disagreements to define our relationship either. 'So what we do is talk about how we can co-operate further in the future.' His message has gone down well in Beijing, with Chinese state media eagerly lapping up every photo op and flattering remark Mr Albanese made. The Global Times is a leading English-language propaganda mouthpiece for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Doing its best to imitate a Western-style publication, it is often used to circulate the CCP's various pet peeves and routinely takes scathing shots at Australia. But the Chinese government tabloid has had only good things to say after Mr Albanese met with Xi Jinping and other party top brass in the middle of the trip. 'The most important insight this gives us is that treating each other as equals, seeking common ground while shelving differences, and engaging in mutually beneficial co-operation serve the fundamental interests of both China and Australia and the two peoples,' it cited the Chinese President as saying in his remarks at the top of the big meet — a striking similarity to Mr Albanese's own words. More tellingly, it summed up the state visit as a revival of 'Australia's independent China policy', speaking to the elephant in the room. Donald Trump has made clear China is the main game when it comes to the foreign policy focus of his second administration. Its exploding middle class and relentless growth is evidence of an economic model that could rival the US. Similarly, China's rapid expansion of its nuclear and conventional arsenals has raised questions about how it might use its might, sparking warnings from Washington that Mr Xi is eyeing an invasion of Taiwan. It is with that concern that US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth demanded the Albanese government hike Australia's defence spending to at least 3.5 per cent — a request Mr Albanese has rejected even as his deputy and defence minister, Richard Marles, said China's military build-up is driving 'security anxiety' in Canberra. Brushing off the Trump administration's warnings as needless warmongering, the resistance to the US defence demand has not gone unnoticed in Beijing, which has eagerly seized on global trade uncertainty driven by tariffs. In an opinion piece on Thursday, the Global Times said Mr Albanese's 'trip has come at a time of global turmoil instigated by the US'. 'The prime minister's critics are accusing him of prioritising the China relationship over the US relationship, but this is a misrepresentation,' it read. 'The simple reality is that China is a reliable partner.' The piece went on to say 'Australia's relationship with the US has deteriorated' due to tariffs imposed 'despite Australia being the US' most reliable ally'. 'The contrast between China's steady reliability and the US' erratic demands is being noticed by the Australian people – opinion polls in Australia show falling confidence in the US and rising confidence in China,' it claimed. Throughout the trip, Mr Albanese has leaned heavily on his mantra of co-operating with China where possible and disagreeing where necessary, making clear chasmic differences remain between Canberra and Beijing. But his messaging from the glitz of central Shanghai, to the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, and the panda breeding capital of Chengdu, is that peace through trade and people-to-people ties are the best ways to navigate the challenges in the relationship. It is not a new approach — the EU took it with post-Soviet Russia and was blindsided after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Whether Mr Albanese's China push will make Australia vulnerable down the line will be a matter for future generations.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
‘Reliable': China's big call on Albo trip
Anthony Albanese has landed back in Australia after six days abroad touting Australia's trade and tourism offerings in China. The Prime Minister has been keen to reframe the Australia-China relationship in friendlier terms, steering away from the increasingly militaristic tone to focus on a peaceful coexistence ensured through deeper economic interdependency. 'Overwhelmingly, what we discuss as moving forward is issues of today and tomorrow, rather than the past,' Mr Albanese told reporters on his final day in Chengdu, a major research hub in western China. 'What I speak about is the potential that's there to grow the relationship, to develop further economic ties. 'We – of course, as I've said repeatedly – we co-operate where we can, we disagree where we must, but we don't want those disagreements to define our relationship either. 'So what we do is talk about how we can co-operate further in the future.' His message has gone down well in Beijing, with Chinese state media eagerly lapping up every photo op and flattering remark Mr Albanese made. The Global Times is a leading English-language propaganda mouthpiece for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Doing its best to imitate a Western-style publication, it is often used to circulate the CCP's various pet peeves and routinely takes scathing shots at Australia. But the Chinese government tabloid has had only good things to say after Mr Albanese met with Xi Jinping and other party top brass in the middle of the trip. 'The most important insight this gives us is that treating each other as equals, seeking common ground while shelving differences, and engaging in mutually beneficial co-operation serve the fundamental interests of both China and Australia and the two peoples,' it cited the Chinese President as saying in his remarks at the top of the big meet — a striking similarity to Mr Albanese's own words. More tellingly, it summed up the state visit as a revival of 'Australia's independent China policy', speaking to the elephant in the room. Donald Trump has made clear China is the main game when it comes to the foreign policy focus of his second administration. Its exploding middle class and relentless growth is evidence of an economic model that could rival the US. Similarly, China's rapid expansion of its nuclear and conventional arsenals has raised questions about how it might use its might, sparking warnings from Washington that Mr Xi is eyeing an invasion of Taiwan. It is with that concern that US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth demanded the Albanese government hike Australia's defence spending to at least 3.5 per cent — a request Mr Albanese has rejected even as his deputy and defence minister, Richard Marles, said China's military build-up is driving 'security anxiety' in Canberra. Brushing off the Trump administration's warnings as needless warmongering, the resistance to the US defence demand has not gone unnoticed in Beijing, which has eagerly seized on global trade uncertainty driven by tariffs. In an opinion piece on Thursday, the Global Times said Mr Albanese's 'trip has come at a time of global turmoil instigated by the US'. 'The prime minister's critics are accusing him of prioritising the China relationship over the US relationship, but this is a misrepresentation,' it read. 'The simple reality is that China is a reliable partner.' The piece went on to say 'Australia's relationship with the US has deteriorated' due to tariffs imposed 'despite Australia being the US' most reliable ally'. 'The contrast between China's steady reliability and the US' erratic demands is being noticed by the Australian people – opinion polls in Australia show falling confidence in the US and rising confidence in China,' it claimed. Throughout the trip, Mr Albanese has leaned heavily on his mantra of co-operating with China where possible and disagreeing where necessary, making clear chasmic differences remain between Canberra and Beijing. But his messaging from the glitz of central Shanghai, to the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, and the panda breeding capital of Chengdu, is that peace through trade and people-to-people ties are the best ways to navigate the challenges in the relationship. It is not a new approach — the EU took it with post-Soviet Russia and was blindsided after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Whether Mr Albanese's China push will make Australia vulnerable down the line will be a matter for future generations.
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Australian journalist who was detained in China issues warning
Australian journalist Cheng Lei, who was imprisoned in China for three years, has warned the 'scars' of her detention are still present as she watches Anthony Albanese wooed in China. The Prime Minister has been photographed at tourist spots in the country during his six-day diplomatic tour to continue easing relations between the two nations. This included retracing the steps of Gough Whitlam on the Great Wall of China, attending a tennis tournament and visiting a panda research centre in the southwestern city of Chengdu. Ms Lei is now questioning whether the government remains 'clear-eyed' amid its newly improved relationship with China. 'I have said I don't want to be the symbol of disengagement, but I am proud to be the reminder of how China really is, not how it portrays itself by hiding everything from Xinjiang's internment camps – where many Australian Uyghurs' family members are still missing – to its brutal arrests of dissidents,' she wrote in The Sydney Morning Herald. 'I'd like to ask the prime minister this: Now that relations are better, is it easier or harder to broach the hard subjects?' Ms Lei was imprisoned by Chinese authorities in 2020 after being accused of 'illegally supplying state secrets overseas', allegations that were unfounded. She spent almost three years imprisoned. It was previously confirmed by Ms Lei that the allegation concerned the sharing of a government briefing, which had been issued to the media under embargo and broken by a matter of minutes. 'At this time two years ago, I was still locked up in a Beijing prison, a television journalist absurdly accused of espionage,' she said. 'Monthly visits by Australian embassy staff were my only hope of finding out what was really happening in the world until concerted diplomatic pressure secured my release.' 'A Chinese saying, 'You forget the pain once the scar heals', comes to mind. But the scars are still there,' she said. Ms Lei likened the way Westerners, including Prime Minister Albanese, behave when visiting China to deep-sea divers who descend beyond 30 meters 'They get high and giggly and may start dancing or taking off their gear. The rush of sensations leads to soundbites about 'dynamism' and 'rapid growth' and 'incredible opportunities',' she said. 'I don't see observations that show an understanding of what makes China tick. 'Australia, nevertheless, may need to consider how much hardball it is willing to play with China,' she said. She also took aim at politicians who might only believe the projected impression China offers to them. 'I can almost hear visiting politicians thinking, 'If only we could pass big projects with China's speed and execute them at its rate!',' she said. 'For every one of China's impressive infrastructure projects or breakthrough technologies, flip it over and look at the price tag. 'Are there worker organizations or lawyers to protect their rights? Without fear of arrest and torture?' 'Are there investigative journalists taking leads and exposing scandals leading to legislative change? How stringent and independently verified are the environmental standards?' Ms Lei highlighted officials of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) who refuse to declare assets or send their family abroad. 'China operates on a 'party first' principle. It is built into every message the citizen receives. Individuals can be easily sacrificed to ensure party longevity,' she said. 'To save the party's face or interests, China has no qualms arresting and torturing innocent individuals and manipulating the narrative. I know it personally.' The final shot is a reference to an incident in June last year when Chinese media officials attempted to block Ms Lei from appearing on camera during a press conference beside China's second-in-command Premier Li Qiang. The whole interaction lasted the duration of the 20-minute press conference. The journalist also opened up about why she thinks she was incarcerated, suggesting it was an 'act of retaliation against then foreign minister Marise Payne'. The former cabinet minister had requested an independent investigation into the cause of the COVID epidemic, including China's management of the initial outbreak. 'What revenge might China take against Australians over the rescinding of its purchase of the Port of Darwin?' Ms Lei said. Her final point in the column, which was published on Friday, was to emphasize that all Australians need to be 'clear-eyed and cool-headed' regarding China. The journalist said the country is divided, with some Australians calling Albanese a 'sell-out' for trading with China while others say the US tariffs have left the country with no choice. 'Both sides have a point,' Ms Lei said. 'It is the responsibility of all of us... Let's not scapegoat our leader when we all benefit from China's money,' she said. 'China loves nothing more than to see us distracted and divided from endless bickering.' 'I am glad the prime minister raised the case of the Australian citizen and democracy activist Yang Hengjun, who remains imprisoned in China, but I'm disappointed that others are not doing more.' Daily Mail Australia has contacted the federal government for comment. The has been shorter on concrete outcomes than in previous years, when his resumption of dialogue with China saw $20 billion worth of Chinese trade sanctions lifted from Australian exports. A few agreements to boost trade and tourism links have been reached. While detained, Ms Lei said she was forced to shove sanitary pads in her shoes due to the inadequate footwear. She was also often pinned to uncomfortable chairs with heavy wooden boards and shares a cramped cell with a single bed and one toilet with three others, forcing the group to take turns sleeping. The mother-of-two told officials her eyesight had deteriorated after spending long hours in her cell and was told it would be a 'hassle' to get her reading glasses.
ABC News
a day ago
- Business
- ABC News
Anthony Albanese's China visit sought to 'stabilise the relationship'
The Chinese don't seem to do things by halves. The city of Chengdu in China's south-west has a history of continuous occupation dating back over 2000 years. But drive through this metropolis of 21 million people and you would be lucky to see a building that is more than 30 years old. And it looks and feels very prosperous. Chengdu is part of the staggering economic and social transformation that has taken place in China over the past four decades and it only seems to be speeding up. They are building a completely new suburban city, named the Great City, on the outskirts of Chengdu which will house 80,000 people in just 1.3 kilometres of land when it is estimated to be completed in 2040. Fifteen per cent of the land will be devoted to parks and landscaped space. The idea is that you will only ever be a 15-minute walk from the city centre and so won't need a car. And it is estimated the city will use 48 per cent less energy and 58 per cent less water and produce 89 per cent less landfill waste and 60 per cent less carbon dioxide than a city with the same population. For self-described "infrastructure nerd" Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, the city is mesmerising. Albanese told journalists at his final press conference of his six-day visit to China that he wanted them to go back and tell Australians about what was happening there, even in places beyond Beijing and Shanghai, as part of his mission to re-emphasise the importance of Australia's economic relationship with China, as opposed to just the focus on the rising superpower as a strategic threat. There is a great sense abroad, when you are in China, that you are looking at the future, even as the United States seems determined to relegate itself to the past. English commentator Ambrose Evans-Pritchard wrote in London's The Telegraph recently: "China's leaders must be wondering whether they are hallucinating or whether America's political class really has lost its mind, committing economic and geopolitical self-harm on a breathtaking scale. Donald Trump's 'big beautiful bill' marks a wholesale retreat from swaths of advanced manufacturing and energy technology. It abandons a central front of the Sino-American superpower contest without a fight." There's some sense of the tin ear, too, in the way the US is conducting itself in the strategic space, at least as far as Australia is concerned. In what was seen as a fairly blatant attempt by the US — our biggest strategic partner — to disrupt Albanese's visit to our biggest economic partner, a story appeared in the Financial Times last weekend reporting that US Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby has been privately pushing Australia and Japan for pre-commitment to support the US in a future conflict over the Taiwan Strait. It was a push that was met with incredulity by official circles in Australia, and publicly with a polite but complete rebuff from the prime minister. "We, of course, are a sovereign nation," the PM told the ABC when asked if the US push was somewhat presumptuous. "The US alliance has been our most important alliance. It remains our most important alliance. That is a critical relationship that we have for our defence and security. But that doesn't abrogate the need for Australia to have the last say in our own defence and security relationships." The pressure was coming from a nation that has long had a policy of "strategic ambiguity" over Taiwan: that is, not saying how it would respond if China chose to forcefully bring Taiwan under its control. "The United States has had a policy of strategic ambiguity over these issues," the PM told the ABC. "It's one that's been shared by Australia. We don't want to see any change to the status quo. "We have supported the one China policy, as does the United States, as part of the recognition of China that occurred, in our case, under Gough Whitlam." There's also quite a lot of questioning among analysts of the US's broader commitment to the Asia-Pacific too, let alone whether it would ultimately commit to full-scale war over Taiwan. Barack Obama's "pivot" to the region never really took off. The region has never really been a clear priority for Trump. Joe Biden talked about it but not much happened. Except, of course, Australia's position as a physical base for the American military continues to grow: from B52 bombers and troops in Northern Australia to US nuclear submarines in Perth. So is the PM confident that the US is committed to the region? "Well, I'm confident that it is in the United States's interests," he said. "Of course they have a major presence in their Pacific nation there, and their naval presence based in Hawaii is one, where Australia participates with our allies, there in Hawaii. And I've visited the centre there and engaged with the leadership there in the Pacific. And I think that the United States will continue to be engaged. That's an important thing for their presence and we welcome it." But do the recent actions of Trump raise a question about the reliability of the US as an ally? Those actions have included everything from unilaterally bombing Iran, to imposing tough tariffs on allies. "We continue to express our support for the relationship with the United States", he says. "It is our most important ally and we continue to have constructive relations with the US." Trump's war on the world has been focused primarily on trade wars, rather than shooting wars. The prime minister has been criticised by the opposition for failing to have a meeting so far with Trump. "I note on tariffs that there's no country that has received a better deal than Australia," Albanese said. "I have engaged constructively with members of the Trump administration, as have other members of my government. "In the discussions I've had with him, they have been constructive and they certainly have not engaged in any negativity around AUKUS. "And when I visited the United States for my state visit [during the Biden presidency] and met with so many members of Congress and the Senate, there was overwhelming support for the AUKUS arrangements." Australians really haven't had much of a chance to see a debate about AUKUS because it was signed quickly and both sides of politics agreed to it. But in the wake of the Colby comments, the question of just commitments that may have been made to take part in US military actions comes into sharp focus. "Well, Australia's a sovereign nation and governments of the day make decisions on behalf of the Australian government and certainly I cannot envisage a circumstance where an Australian government would give up that sovereignty," the PM told the ABC. "Now I note in recent days most of the Coalition have said that that's the case. Angus Taylor has said something different and it's up to them to really clarify exactly what their position is." The PM continues to insist that the nuclear submarines that are central to the AUKUS plan are essential to our defence strategy. "What we've done is invested in our capability, but also invested in our relationships," he said. "When it comes to our capability, the getting, obtaining by Australia of nuclear powered submarines has a number of advantages over other pieces of military equipment. "The fact that a nuclear-powered submarine can stay under, submerge for longer, that it can travel further, that it's quieter, that it's less detectable means that it's an investment which my government agreed with the former government, was in Australia's national interest. " As for his visit to China. People often want to know what material benefits come out of such a trip (and Opposition Leader Sussan Ley was asking that very question on Thursday). But Albanese says the importance was in the relationship rather than the transactions. "This is about stabilising the relationship," he said. "It was at a bad point prior to our election in 2022. Since then, we have seen over $20 billion of trade impediments removed and we're now exporting large amounts, in some cases more than we were before." Barley into China as well as wine, our other agricultural exports, as well as our resources exports. "One of the really significant meetings that we've had here is on steel decarbonisation. Iron ore represents by far our largest export by value, and overwhelmingly it comes here to China," Albanese said. "China produces over 50 per cent of the world's steel. If we're going to address the emissions reduction that the globe needs, then steel decarbonisation has to be a part of that and the idea of combining green metals, green steel production is something that is very significant to take the world forward as well as being in our national economic interest." But none of this can take away from the sense of unease many feel about China's aggressive military build-up in the region and there have been many references in the past week to the tightrope the PM has had to walk between economic and strategic interests. "You've just gotta be clear and consistent," he said when asked about how much of a tightrope act it really is. "We have different political systems. We have different values, but we shouldn't allow our differences to define us. "We should acknowledge what they are, be prepared to engage with them, engage with them constructively. "My three phrases I consistently use, and have used, since the time I was Labor leader in opposition is that we should cooperate where we can, disagree where we must, and there are areas where we will continue to disagree but engage in our national interest." The appearance of Chinese military vessels off the east coast of Australia — and the live firing exercises that they undertook — has caused consternation to many but the PM points out we can't have one policy for us and another for China. "When it comes to military exercises, of course in international waters, Australia participates regularly in exercises, including around the South China Sea," he said. That is, on China's doorstep. "So we shouldn't be surprised that there will be exercises conducted. What we should do is seek greater clarification, greater notice to make sure there's no misadventure there. As I said at the time we did acknowledge that it was within international law." Like the building projects in Chengdu, there doesn't seem to be a lot done by halves on strategic issues in China either. There was an implicit acknowledgement from President Xi this week that China also had to change its method of engagement with Australia — which had become particularly aggressive during the so-called Wolf Warrior era. Now, the Albanese visit has proved a textbook case of China trying to portray itself as the steady and calm adult in the global room. While Donald Trump has had his focus on the Middle East, Ukraine and NATO, it will turn directly to China when he visits here in a couple of months' time. Australia will only be able to watch from the sidelines about who outdoes who in that meeting. Laura Tingle is the ABC's Global Affairs Editor.
