In-flight hot pot: Enjoying 'airplane food' at China's A380 theme restaurant

Reclining chairs

Legroom is decent and chairs recline enough for a “just finished my last morsel stretch.” Bowls, chopsticks and cups are stored beneath the table.

By Richard Macauley, CNN

Miss that fresh-off-the-plane feel? Chongqing's new seafood restaurant is modeled after the Airbus Superjumbo

Although most of us gripe about airplane food, others seem to enjoy dining aboard.

Well, that seems to be the case at least with a certain group of foodies in Chongqing, in southwest China.

A novelty restaurant modeled after Airbus’s A380 has recently opened in the city.

DC seafood restaurant (特等舱餐厅), or "Super-class Restaurant" in Chinese, treats diners with steaming congee and hot pot fare served by waitresses dressed as flight attendants.

There are also views across Chongqing’s Jialing River (嘉陵江).

“Normal restaurants are noisy -- they don’t create a sense of privacy or intimacy for guests,” says Mao Jianhong, DC Restaurant beverage manager.

“First-class travel, on the other hand, is where these services are to be expected, so it was decided to theme the restaurant as an Airbus A380,” Mao says.

The 28-table, 100-seat restaurant serves mostly seafood congee and seafood hot pot.

Since opening in April, customers have remarked mostly on the snugness of the restaurant’s environment, as well as its creativity, says Mao.

The most popular item on the menu is a congee-based soup that's cooked at the table.

Chongqinger Carmen Zheng, eating at the restaurant for the first time, described the environment as “unique.”

“It’s the first time I’ve seen any decorations like this," said the 28-year-old Zheng. "The call button to get service is also new to me.”

That’s right, call buttons for hostesses, just like on a real plane.

The restaurant provides two types of two-person set meals. The cheaper option goes for RMB 278 while the expensive option runs RMB 728. Both prices include two beers.

DC Restaurant

Unit 1, 6/F, 5 Longhu Xingyuehui

258 Beibin Yi Lu, Jiangbei, Chongqing

重庆市江北区北滨一路258号

龙湖星悦荟5号楼6-1

+86 23 6753 6117

2-10 p.m.