VIDEO IS GRAPHIC. VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED
KUALA LUMPUR: If I were to catch a real-life glimpse of Jerry (of Tom and Jerry) sans Tom, I would feel terribly disillusioned (because, let’s face it, TOM was the diva of the show). Last week, a woman at a restaurant in Weifang, China suffered just such a let-down.
The pregnant lady in question was working her way through a steamboat meal when, instead of marine life writhing in agony, she fished out a boiled baby rat from the hotpot stew. (Talk about being rattled.)
Horrified by the discovery – but not disgusted to the point of projectile vomiting – the woman’s husband, surnamed ‘Ma’, proceeded to make video documentation of the un-ordered ingredient while delicately holding it up for display with a pair of chopsticks, and turning it from side to side. (Yup, it’s a rat alright.)
With his wife tearing her hair out imagining the possible effects boiled rodent might have on her foetus, Ma then alerted staff of the Xiabu Xiabu outlet to the would-be Ratatouille star’s unwelcome presence, The Mirror reported.
Remarkably, the popular chain restaurant’s staff members responded in two lower life-form ways – instead of apologising, one employee instantly offered 5,000 yuan (RM3,015) in compensation, which the couple turned down. (That’s rat feed!)
According to Kankan News, a second more imaginative employee said: “If you are worried about the baby, then we’ll give you 20,000 yuan to abort it.” (The rodent in the hotpot was clearly not the ONLY rat in the restaurant).
No agreement was reached, and the following day, Ma lodged a report with the Market Supervision Bureau of Kuiwen district in Weifang. (Yes, they ratted the restaurant out).
The bureau’s officers instantly descended on the eatery to conduct an inspection, and after finding several elements not to their liking, ordered the food outlet temporarily shut.
The boiled Mickey Mouse tale would have ended there were it not for the fact that Xiabu Xiabu is a colossal restaurant chain which, according to the South China Morning Post, runs 759 stores across China.
News of the Weifang outlet’s closure had investors smelling a rat, and when a video clip of Ma’s recording (somehow) made it online and instantly went viral, the share price of parent company XiabuXiabu Catering Management plunged 12.5 per cent on Sept 11, deflating the company’s value by a jaw-dropping RM787 million, the Sydney Morning Herald reported. (Rats abandoning a sinking ship!)
Later that day, the company, which until then had been as quiet as a mouse, issued a statement insisting that it has always placed great emphasis on food security and would make all necessary improvements.
Xiabu Xiabu, the time has come to call Mighty Mouse.