Chinese Governor of Hainan pulled into Sanya seafood urchin scandal as tourist refuses to accept official investigation result

The dispute centres around whether or not any sea urchin meat was used in a dish prepared at a restaurant on Hainan island last week

Sanya is among the top tourist destinations on the mainland, making the island’s government wary of any potential threats to tourism dollars

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A consumer dispute over a dish of sea urchin eggs has led to heated debate online after the customer posted a video showing the dish. Photo: Baidu

Published: 6:15am, 14 Apr 2021Updated: 6:52am, 14 Apr 2021

The Governor of the Chinese island of Hainan said the authorities will conduct a “deeper investigation” after a scandal erupted this week over a tourist claiming that a US$35 dish of steamed sea urchin mixed with egg did not contain any urchin meat.

The incident made headlines after the tourist posted a short video on social media showing a dish that was supposed to contain six urchins steamed with egg at a restaurant in Sanya last week. In the video the tourist claims the dish contains no urchin meat at all and was just egg.

Sanya, nicknamed China’s Hawaii, is among the country’s top domestic tourist destinations, making the island’s government wary of any potential threats to tourism dollars.

Tourism plays a key role in Hainan’s economy. Photo: Xinhua

The incident happened on the evening of Friday last week when the tourist, identified by his surname Zhang, and four other tourists ate supper at Yunqi Guancanghai Restaurant. They ordered six dishes, including the urchin one, and were charged 2,655 yuan.

Zhang said after carefully checking inside the urchin shells, he was unable to find any urchin meat. He also said he suspected the urchin shells had been cooked previously more than once.

Zhang reported the matter to local police, and after their mediation the urchin dish was removed from the bill which was then 2,427 yuan.

An initial investigation by the local government using surveillance records from the restaurant found no evidence of any wrongdoing, authorities said. However, Zhang remained unconvinced and has been defiant in online posts. In response, the restaurant owner has threatened to sue Zhang for damaging his reputation.