No one likes their meal being interrupted, not in any way, shape or form. It was really unfortunate then that this rat decided to drop in while a group of friends were enjoying their hotpot.
A few days ago, this Taiwanese lady and her friends were having hotpot at a popular outlet in Banqiao, Taiwan when they had a a rat literally dropped in on them from the ceiling. Needless to say, the rat’s appearance sent them scattering and there has since been an outcry about the eatery’s cleanliness.
On 26th November, a Taiwanese netizen shared her shocking experience at hotpot restaurant 桥双十店用餐, in Taiwan via Facebook group 我是板桥人. Allegedly, she and her friends had been eating at a certain restaurant when they were rudely interrupted while eating. “A super, super big rat fell through the ceiling!” she exclaimed. “It fell from nowhere and scared us so much, so we ran away.”
Footage uploaded showed the large rat sitting on the table, between plates of half-eaten food. Allegedly, a waiter then came to remove the rat by catching it with a dishcloth and a plate. However, what truly surprised the netizen was the fact that customers were still willing to enter and eat at the store. “The customers at other tables also seemed very calm and continued to eat (their) hotpot.” she recounted.
Netizens were horrified however upon seeing the rat in question. Several opined it was about the size of a small plate while others exclaimed they would be terrified too in her position. The restaurant has since issued an apology for the incident, adding they will be suspending operations in that area of the restaurant for two days to disinfect the area.
Reportedly, the city’s Health Bureau later did an inspection on Sunday (26th November) and discovered various hygiene issues with the store, such as not covering their trash cans, and not pest-proofing their back door. If the restaurant fails to comply with the regulations during the follow-up inspection, they will be fined between NT$60,000 to NT$200 million (~RM8900 to RM29 million) for violation of the food safety law.
That was certainly a horrible ending to a meal. We sincerely hope the restaurant will take the necessary steps to ensure their customers’ safety and comfort. For now, however, we might just avoid eating hotpot for a few days.
Sources: Sin Chew Daily, China Press
