Harper creates a hot pork dish in Beijing

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Business at the well-known Yi Wan Ju restaurant in Beijing is up 20 per cent after widespread coverage of a visit there by Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper during a trade mission.

According to The Globe and Mail, management went so far as to name a dish after the prime minister, taking advantage of what locals would have considered a culinary faux pas. The dish, dubbed either "Harper's Elbows" or "Harper's Knuckles" depending upon the translation, consists of braised pork and a hot mustard sauce. On his February visit, Harper did something that Chinese never do; he dipped his pork in the jiwmo mustard and cabbage side dish before eating.

The restaurant is taking full advantage of Harper's patronage. The chairs that he and goodwill ambassador Mark Rowswell sat on are now covered in gold cloth and off limits to customers. The dish that Harper accidentally created is now featured on the menu.

Harper reportedly washed the sauce down with a can of Coca Cola. The soft drink is likely a very good idea. The sauce is, well, hot.  How hot? Well, almost as hot as the election cheating issue that he faced when he returned home. BP