Starry-eyed for roast chicken and beer

 

On WeChat,snowflakes tumble down on the screen when the words “roast chicken and beer” are entered into the dialogue box.[Filephoto]

In response to the show’s popularity, WeChat and Baidu launched a new function that causes snowflakes to tumble down on the screen when the words “roast chicken and beer” are entered into the dialogue box.

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Even the real weather seemed to be in synch with the social phenomenon. When Beijing embraced its first snow last week, Chinese celebrities could not resist sounding off about the show.

Chinese actress Gao Yuanyuan posted photos of falling snow on her Weibo account and borrowed a line from the drama, posting “Now it is snowing, where is the roast chicken and beer?”

Actress Qi Wei, who was among the first followers of the drama, wished that “all men can find their Cheon Song-yi and all women can have their ‘professor’.”

Still, the frenzy has had its downsides.

Famous Chinese TV host He Jiong joked about the burden on the internet: “Someone found that snowflakes fall on the screen when you enter ‘roast chicken and beer.’ Now, my friends all try sending the message to me to see if the trick works. My WeChat is paralyzed!”

And South Korean eateries have been groaning about the heavy demand for the show’s signature dish.

The boss of a South Korean restaurant in Chendu, Sichuan province, said Thursday that 70 percent of his dinner tables have been booked up for February 14, adding that most customers asked about roast chicken and beer.

A waiter at another South Korea restaurant regretfully expressed that roast chicken would not be available on February 14 because the sauce needed to make it had already been used up.