The arrival of two pandas from China in Belgium has popularized panda-themed Macarons that are now selling like hotcakes in Belgium, the official Xinhua News Agency reported on Tuesday.

The panda-themed macarons feature black-and-white panda face to honor the arrival of the two panda ambassadors from China. The macarons are vanilla-flavored and produced by Wittamer & Co, a popular Belgian dessert maker.

Like Us on Facebook

The dessert, which is called Pandaron, is a huge hit in Belgium as people in the country enjoy watching the cute and cuddly Chinese pandas Hao Hao and Xing Hui. The macarons are sold for EUR4.5 a pair.

In a statement, Wittamer said it only sells up to 900 Pandarons at its stores compared with the 4,500 regular macarons, considering that making the Pandarons is more time-consuming than making the ordinary macarons.

The next plan, Wittamer said, is to create panda-themed chocolates, which are sure to be another hit as the two Chinese pandas are in Belgium.

The male and female Chinese pandas were sent to Belgium by China as part of the international research cooperation project that spans up to 15 years.

The two pandas, which arrived in Belgium last February, received a sort of a rockstar reception in the country, as they were greeted by thousands of cheering fans in Brussels.

The panda couple is housed at the Pairi Daiza zoo, southwest of the country's capital, where at least 2,000 people, mostly children, greeted their arrival.

The Pairi Daiza zoo spent around EUR8 million (US$11 million) to build a brand new Chinese garden that now houses the panda couple.

The zoo will soon be opened to the public this month after the two pandas have acclimatized to their new home. A maximum of 18,000 visitors per day will be allowed to view the pandas.