China Food & Drinks

From Crayfish To Doughnuts – Chinese Netizens Fed Up With Food Scandals

Two new food safety scandals has shaken China’s netizens. Popular chains Zheng Wen Qi Crayfish Donburi and Breadtalk are serving their customers contaminated and expired food. Weibo’s netizens have had enough.

Published

10 years ago

August 25, 2015

Yiying Fan

Food safety has recurrently been an issue in China, as one after the other food safety scandal has erupted over the past few years due to lack of knowledge about contamination and inadequate supervision. Earlier this month, two popular food enterprises were found to have food safety issues in Shanghai (上海) and Shenzhen (深圳), causing an uproar on Sina Weibo and WeChat.

The popular Zheng Wen Qi Crayfish Donburi (郑文琪龙虾盖浇饭), a nation-wide crayfish restaurant, was ordered to close one of its outlets in Shanghai after seven people eating there had fallen sick. A number of diners who had to wait in line at the restaurant were reported suffering from diarrhea, stomach aches and vomiting.

On August 21st, the local market supervision administration released the inspection report, revealing that employees and diners were infected with vibrio parahaemolyticus bacteria, typically causing disease in people who eat contaminated seafood.

Later, owner and founder Zheng Wenqi claimed in a statement that all of the ingredients had met the requirements and passed the appropriate quality checks. This suggested that the contamination was caused by the staff who didn’t follow the right ways to cook the crayfish.

“The right to health and safety is a basic consumer right.”

Netizens on Sina Weibo are angry that the restaurant has not apologized to the poisoned customers, and has instead shifted the focus to employees’ misoperation. User Flower Majesty comments: “We need public apology! The company didn’t criticize itself or examine its ingredients after the poisening occurred. The right to health and safety is a basic consumer right. We have the right to know the details of more specific penalties.”

The Crayfish scandal is not the only food safety scandal this month. Singaporean chain BreadTalk (面包新语) was reported of reusing cooking oil and replacing expiration labels on its bread in one of its Shenzhen stores.

He recorded another employee saying: “I’m not going to eat it myself.”

The violation operation was discovered by a journalist from TV show “Law Time” (法治时空), who went undercover as an employee at the store. With a hidden camera, the reporter recorded Breadtalk’s everyday management. He found out that the store reused the same cooking oil to fry doughnuts for months in a row. He was able to capture employees saying that the oil is used repeatedly, and that they only add some new oil if it they run low on oil or when regulators come for investigation.

The correspondent also discovered that the BreadTalk staff exchanged products’ expired tags instead of throwing it away. He recorded another employee saying: “I’m not going to eat it myself.”

BreadTalk has stated through its official Weibo account that the report is absolutely false. According to the statement, BreadTalk always complies with national food hygiene and food safety requirements – from ingredient procurement and logistics to warehousing and instore production.

“How come an enterprise like BreadTalk is still running as if nothing has happened?”

Netizens quickly initiated a lively discussion on Sina Weibo under the hashtag “The Fall of BreadTalk” (#面包新语沦陷#). The majority of the users expressed anger and disappointment, as it was not the first time BreadTalk was reported regarding food safety issues.

User ‘Xiaoyao 520’ points out: “BreadTalk used expired flour last year and then another food safety issue is reported this year. Didn’t the food watchdog claim that they would be severely punished? How come an enterprise like BreadTalk is still running as if nothing has happened?”

Other users urge BreadTalk to face the reality and solve their problems rather than covering and concealing them to the public.

User ‘Zheng Yuntian’ says: “Actually I don’t think your [BreadTalk’s] issue is that serious compared with other food processing enterprises in China. But when problems are reported, the best way to deal with them is to find a solution instead of making superficial statements. It will really ruin your reputation amongst customers.”

By Yiying Fan
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Related Topics:china fast food china food

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Yiying Fan

About the author: Yiying Fan is a world traveler and Chinese freelance writer from Shanghai.

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China Food & Drinks

Guming’s 1 Yuan Ice Water: China’s Coolest Summer Trend

Published

3 weeks ago

May 22, 2025

Manya Koetse

🔥 Quick Take: Trending in China
This is a brief update from our curated roundup of what’s trending in China this week. A version of this story also appears in the Weibo Watch newsletter. Subscribe to stay in the loop.

Over the past decade, China’s milk tea industry has become something of a cultural phenomenon. The market has gone well beyond milk tea or bubble tea alone, and is now about any tea-based drink — hot or cold — and the marketing ideas that come with it, from trendy snacks to collectible wannahaves.

This time, it’s the Chinese teashop brand Guming (古茗) that has managed to become an online hit again. Not because of creative collabs or artsy tea cups — the reason is surprisingly plain: selling a cup of ice and water for 1 yuan ($0.15).

How come Guming’s “one cup of iced water” (一杯冰水) has become a hit among Chinese teashop goers? One reason is that it’s something people often want yet hesitate to ask for. Now that it’s actually on the menu (medium cup, regular ice, no sugar), people can just order it for 1 RMB — cheaper than a bottle of water from the supermarket — and it’s become a major hit, like a little ‘luxury’ everyone can afford.

People love getting a cup of ice water (more ice than water) to cool down in hot weather, add it to their lemon tea or iced coffee, or store it in the freezer at home or work for their DIY drinks. Add instant coffee and you’ve got your own iced Americano. Others throw in a tea bag for a refreshing iced tea.

Some say it’s the perfect product for lazy people who don’t make their own ice cubes or who like convenience on the go.

Besides the iced water, Guming has also added a simple lemon water (鲜活柠檬水) to its menu for 2.5 yuan ($0.35). Perfect to quench thirst on a hot summer’s day, one Xiaohongshu user called it Guming’s “secret weapon” (大杀器) in China’s (milk) tea shop market.

Compared to relatively low-priced tea beverage competitors like Mixue Ice Cream & Tea (蜜雪冰城), which sells lemon water for 4 yuan ($0.56), Guming offers great value for money (although it should be noted that Guming, unlike Mixue, doesn’t use real lemon slices but diluted lemon juice).

People are loving these simple and affordable pleasures.

Just last month, Guming shot to the top of Weibo’s trending lists when it launched its new collaboration with the Chinese anime-style game Honkai: Star Rail (崩坏：星穹铁道), featuring a range of collectible tea cups, bags, and other accessories.

Guming was founded in 2010 in Zhejiang and has become one of China’s largest custom beverage chains alongside Mixue and Luckin. Competition is fierce — but at least Guming has its iced water as a secret weapon for this summer.

By Manya Koetse

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China Brands, Marketing & Consumers

‘Lai Dou Lai Le’: IShowSpeed Debuts in Chinese Online Commercial

Published

1 month ago

May 8, 2025

Manya Koetse

🔥 A version of this story also appeared in the Weibo Watch newsletter. Subscribe to stay in the loop.

The China tour of American Youtube star IShowSpeed (Darren Watkins Jr.) is still echoing on Chinese social media—the hype hasn’t quieted down just yet, especially now that the popular livestreamer launched his very first Chinese commercial recently, just before the May Day holiday.

It’s an online commercial for China’s dairy giant Yili, and—in line with IShowSpeed’s high-energy livestream—it is entertainingly chaotic. Watkins himself posted the video on his Weibo account on April 30.

In China, Watkins is known as 甲亢哥 (Jiǎ Kàng Gē), which literally means “Hyperthyroidism Brother.” Hyperthyroidism is a condition where the thyroid is overactive, leading to symptoms like restlessness, a rapid heartbeat, and high energy levels. Due to Watkins’ fast-paced livestreams and his reputation for running, screaming, and jumping around, the nickname is a tongue-in-cheek reference that fits him well.

The commercial also suits him, as it is a bit of a rollercoaster. It begins like a typical celebrity endorsement, with Watkins promoting a dairy drink, but quickly shifts into a quirky narrative. In it, Watkins appears god-like, watching over people from a mountaintop and encouraging them to try new things. The ad then morphs into a music video before ending with some inspirational words from the YouTuber himself. Watch the commercial here.

The slogan used in the commercial is “lái dōu lái le” (来都来了), along with the English tagline “Enjoy milk, enjoy holiday.”

“Lái dōu lái le” (来都来了) is a simple phrase that basically means “You’re already here,” and implies a light-hearted “Why not?” to encourage people to go on and do something (since you’ve come this far), or try something new.

Dao Insights’ Yimin Wang explained it as having a positive and daring tone to try new things that you’d otherwise “wouldn’t, couldn’t, or even shouldn’t,” much like “YOLO” from the early 2010s (link).

On Xiaohongshu, typical responses to the commercial describe it as “creative” and “cute.” More notably, many users see it as proof of how successful Watkins’ tour in China has been. “He’s like a native celebrity in China now,” one commenter remarked.

By Manya Koetse

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