Crystal Jade offers free char siew to parents who recite Cantonese phrase, gets backlash

Crystal Jade’s promo involves parents saying that giving birth to char siew is better than a kid

Update (4 June, 10.25am): A Crystal Jade Group spokesperson said the intention of the campaign was to “bring a touch of lightheartedness to the Mother’s and Father’s Day weekends” and connect with its Cantonese-speaking audience in “a relatable and humorous manner”.

The restaurant’s Instragram post on 29 April illustrated the use of this phrase, which is “a common Cantonese saying parents use to express exasperation over their children”, it added.

However, humour can be subjective, it understands. The company regrets “that this particular reference missed the mark and has caused unhappiness among some customers”.

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While many Chinese people might have heard their parents scold them with a choice phrase, doing this at Crystal Jade could get you free char siew.

The local restaurant chain is offering the dish to parents who use the Cantonese expression on their offspring.

However, this has garnered some backlash from netizens, while others brushed it off saying it’s just a joke.

Crystal Jade offering free char siew worth S$15.80

The Crystal Jade char siew promotion was brought to wider public attention when a netizen shared it in the Complaint Singapore Facebook group on Monday (3 June).

According to a photo of the sign she posted, customers can get free char siew, or roasted honey barbecue pork, worth S$15.80.

All they have to do is like and follow them on social media and get their parent to say to them in Cantonese:

生嚿叉烧好过生你.

This loosely translates to: “Giving birth to char siew is better than giving birth to you”.

Crystal Jade char siew promo meant to be light-hearted

According to an Instagram post by Crystal Jade on 29 April, the promotion is legitimate and valid over four weekends across May and June.

The free char siew, which was redeemable on 4-5 and 11-12 May, as well as on 8-9 and 15-16 June, is meant for dining in at Crystal Jade Hong Kong Kitchen and La Mian Xiao Long Bao outlets with one’s parent.

It’s meant to be a light-hearted way to celebrate Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, it said.

Netizens fail to see the humour

However, some netizens failed to see the humour.

The woman who shared the promo on Facebook said it’s “not fun at all” because the phrase is used to scold one’s child as useless.

A commentator on Crystal Jade’s post didn’t understand why he would ever say something like that to his child, calling it “demeaning”.

Another commentator on Facebook even described it as “child abuse”, even though the promotion seemed to be targeted at adults and their parents.

A netizen also felt that the marketing department should be sacked.

Some commentators, however, identified the promo as a joke and urged people not to be so serious about it.

Another pointed out that the phrase is used by parents in real life.

Crystal Jade intended to connect with Cantonese-speaking audience

In response to queries from MS News , a Crystal Jade spokesperson said:

Our intention was to bring a touch of lightheartedness to the Mother’s and Father’s Day weekends with this campaign that references a common Cantonese saying parents use to express exasperation over their children.

A post was put up on our socials on 29 April to share about this campaign and also to illustrate the use of this phrase. We intended this to be a way for us to connect with our Cantonese-speaking audience in a relatable and humorous manner.

However, we understand that humour can be subjective, and regret that this particular reference missed the mark and has caused unhappiness among some customers.

Also read: OSIM apologises & changes displays after netizens say its Mother’s Day campaign ‘recommends domestic violence’

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Featured image adapted from Complaint Singapore on Facebook and @crystaljadesg on Instagram.