Who ordered the snake? Chinese restaurant ordered to close after ‘serpent found in noodles’
Authorities issue closure notice after customer posts images of reptile she claims was slithering on top of her vegetables
A restaurant in southern China’s Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region has been ordered to close after one of its customers claimed to have found a snake in her takeaway noodles, mainland media reported.
The woman, a student at Guangxi University surnamed Wang, said she bought a bowl of river snail rice noodles – a local speciality – for her lunch last Friday, News.qq.com reported on Monday.
However, soon after tucking into her meal back at her dorm room, Wang said she made a shocking discovery.
“I’d eaten a few bites of the noodles when I saw a small snake lying on top of the vegetables in the bowl,” she was quoted as saying.
After taking several photographs of the offending serpent, Wang poured the remains of the dish down the toilet, she said.
Though she didn’t make a formal complaint to the restaurant, she did share the images via her WeChat account. They soon went viral and attracted the attention of the local food authority, which launched an investigation.
Inspectors subsequently found that the restaurant’s food storage facilities were unhygienic and that the proprietor was unable to provide valid receipts from his suppliers, the report said.
The owner, whose name was not given, said he didn’t think the offending dish had come from his kitchen as none of his other customers had complained.
Despite his protestations, the authorities ordered the restaurant to close pending a thorough cleaning and the completion of repair work to its ceiling. An image of a notice detailing the ruling was included in the online report.
The owner, who also operates a restaurant selling steamed buns, or baozi, was not personally charged with any offences as there was no evidence linking him to the snake, the report said.
