Profits at Ma Hong's spicy hotpot restaurant have been squeezed by about a fifth since he opened in downtown Beijing last year, crushed by beef tripe prices that have shot up by more than 50 percent and the surging costs of other key ingredients.

"We sell it at the same price as before. Also with the impact of the pandemic, everybody is hanging in there. It is the same all over Beijing, we are not the only restaurant suffering," Ma said.