Heat in the Hotpot: When a Rat Turned a Family Dinner Into a Horror Show
What Went Wrong
On September 6, a pregnant woman eating at Xiabu Xiabu in Shandong Province pulled a dead mouse out of her sizzling hotpot—straight from the bowl to her lips! The wife had already taken a few bites before she noticed the grim surprise.
Family Panic
The husband, in a rush to calm the situation, told the staff, but the waiter flipped the conversation from outrage to outrageous offers. “We can give you 20,000 yuan (about S$4,000) if you consider an abortion because of this,” the staff claimed. The shock spread like wildfire, with photos and videos going viral.
Netizen Reaction
- “I feel like vomiting. I’ll never eat hotpot outside again,” one Weibo user wrote.
- “If something happens to her baby, how are they going to compensate her? Is a life worth only 20,000 yuan?” another taunted.
The Restaurant’s Stance
Xiabu Xiabu later posted a statement: “We have always put the utmost emphasis on food safety and will make necessary improvements.” On September 8, the local authorities shut down the Shandong outlet for a thorough investigation.
Compensation Attempts
The outlet offered a 5,000 yuan red packet, but the husband declined, demanding a full medical check-up before any settlement. The situation left the couple in an uneasy spot in front of a kitchen filled with simmering broth.
Saying Goodbye to Hotpot Hobbies? No!
In the wake of the incident, Xiabu Xiabu’s stock tumbled 11%, a loss of S$291 million, dropping on September 11. The chain, which first opened in Beijing in 1998, now runs over 800 locations across China. Food safety became the headline, not the hotpot’s flavor.
