Hola Argentina! A bite of beef at local steakhouse

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Carnivorous food lovers heading to Buenos Aires need to prepare their stomachs for an all-you-can-eat barbecue buffet wherever they go in the city.

It may not be easy for hungry Chinese travelers, used to having their second meal of the day a little before or around midday, to adapt fast to Argentine lunch hours, around 1 or 1:30 p.m., but the wait is well worth it – especially if Asado is on the menu.

Asado is Argentina's take on barbecue. It's more than just slapping a cold cut of beef onto a grill, seasoning it and waiting for juices to ooze. It's a national identity, an affair in its own right using a cast-iron grill called parilla.

The culinary technique is cooking at its most basic form, with nothing more than a good piece of meat, salt and fire.

Any Asador, or Asado aficionado, worth their salt knows that when it comes to beef parts, there are no holds barred on the grill – cuts such as the rib, sirloin, flank, and rib eye as well as internal organs are all eligible to be charred to perfection.

An average Argentine wolfs down over 50 kilograms of beef every year, according to the country's meet industry and trade chamber CICCRA.

Meat grilled on a parrilla. /CGTN Photo

Now, Chinese consumers also have the chance to join the feast of premium beef. China is Argentina's second largest trade partner and a leading export destination for beef.

In May, the two countries signed a protocol authorizing the export of Argentine cooled beef as well as frozen bone-in beef to the Chinese market in a move to boost bilateral trade.

During the first China International Import Expo (CIIE) in November in Shanghai, booths promoting Argentine beef steaks attracted a crowd of epicureans.

The bilateral cooperation was also extended to the e-commerce sector.

During "Double 11," a shopping bonanza introduced by China's e-commerce giant Alibaba on its online platform Taobao, over 10,000 pieces of beef shank imported from Argentina were sold in just one minute.

“Hola Argentina!” is CGTN's special series launched ahead of G20 Buenos Aires summit and Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit. The series explores the host city and finds the stories behind China-Argentina cooperation.

(Video filmed by Wang Xuejing, edited by Chen Shi)

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