There is an element of mystery when eating hotpot, as you’ll never know what you’ll grab from the pot once all the ingredients are tossed in.
In Chongqing, China, a customer was shocked when he fished a cooked mouse from his hotpot.
The customer took to Chinese social media to call out the shop after they accused the diners of throwing the mouse in.
Source: Jiao Dian Zi Xun on Sohu
Currently, the Chongqing City Jiulongpo District Administration of Market Regulation is investigating the situation.
According to the authority’s report, the incident occurred on Saturday (4 Mar) at Yi Yi Niu Zha Hot Pot Restaurant.
In his post, the customer recounted that he was initially enjoying a hotpot meal with his friends.
However, towards the end of the meal, he ‘fished’ out a dead rodent from the pot.
Source: Jiu Pai Xin Wen on Sina Weibo
In gruesome detail, he described how the mouse was boiled to the point it was soggy and its skin was peeling.
The man told the Chinese news site Jiu Pai Xin Wen (transliterated from Mandarin) that he initially thought it was beef tripe, but realised it was an entire mouse after scooping it out.
Source: Jiu Pai Xin Wen on Sina Weibo
Appalled, the man allegedly rushed to the toilet to throw up twice.
OP explained that while they did not eat the mouse, the rodent looked so cooked that whatever germs it carried had probably contaminated the entire hotpot.
Following this, the diners informed the staff of the situation, and they promptly took the mouse away.
Source: Source: Jiu Pai Xin Wen on Sina Weibo
OP shared his regret over only taking a few pictures of the mouse before staff cleared it away.
The man shared in his post that the store initially agreed to settle the situation with the diners privately, with compensation 10 times the total bill.
The store also supposedly agreed to pay a mental distress fee and cover the customer’s medical check-up expenses if the mouse was carrying any bacteria or viruses.
However, the shop allegedly turned back on its words after initially agreeing on the settlement amount. They also refused to sign a written agreement of compensation.
Source: Cai Ru Men on Sina Weibo
The restaurant called the Chongqing City Jiulongpo District Administration of Market Regulation to the shop to settle the disagreement and accused the diners of throwing the mouse into the hot pot themselves.
OP alleged that authorities asked for the shop’s closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage, but the staff claimed it was broken.
The OP also claimed in a separate post that the staff reached out to him after his post on social media. They asked to settle the matter privately and requested that he delete the post.
However, the diners decided to settle the case through legal means instead, no matter how much compensation the store offered them.
Following the exposé, Chongqing City Jiulongpo District Administration of Market Regulation announced on their website that they have been working with Jiulongpo District Police to investigate the situation since 5 Mar.
Their preliminary investigation finds that the diners’ allegations are true.
The authorities added that they are already in the process of investigating the shop.
They will publicly release the results of their probe once investigations are complete.
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Featured image adapted from Cai Ru Men on Sina Weibo and Jiu Pai Xin Wen on Sina Weibo.
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