Group of 7 eats 300 crabs, 80 desserts, 50 boxes of durians at buffet, says overeating gets money’s worth but Chinese social media chews lot out in disgust
- The diners in their 20s gorging on copious dishes at an all-you-can-eat buffet in China face backlash online after video of the spectacle appeared online
- One of them tells local news media that his friends have big appetites and claims eating large amounts of food is normal at their age
A group of diners in China has caused a stir online after going to a restaurant and consuming more than 300 crabs, 80 cups of desserts, 50 boxes of durian flesh and countless prawns and salmon pieces in one sitting.
Mainland news site Bailu Video reported that the six men and one woman, all aged in their 20s, went to the buffet-style restaurant in Qingdao in China’s eastern Shandong province at 5pm on May 3 and stayed till closing at 9.30pm.
A video posted on mainland social media by one group member showed the party gorging on seemingly endless dishes with hundreds of crab shells and empty cups used to serve mango sago desserts lying on tables nearby.
Another group member, surnamed Zhang, told Bailu Video that he and his friends all have big appetites and claimed that people generally ate excessive amounts of food at their age.
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Chinese diners eat 300 crabs and 50 boxes of durians at buffet
“The seafood this season is still expensive. But we all wanted to eat seafood so we chose a seafood buffet restaurant,” Zhang said, adding that they each paid 160 yuan (US$23) for their meals.
“Besides crabs, mango sago desserts and durians, we all ate many plates of salmon, prawns, and more desserts and meat. We also ate a lot of crayfish,” he said.
Zhang insisted they did not eat excessively and stopped eating at the limit of their appetites.
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“We digest food quickly. By midnight that night, one friend in the group said he was hungry again. He wanted to go out again to eat more, but because it was too late, he didn’t,” Zhang said.
An employee from the restaurant said each customer can only eat for up to two hours at the venue. However, they said it was so busy that night that they forgot to check the time or ask Zhang and his friends to leave after their time expired.
Mainland internet users were shocked by the video and news reports on the group’s hefty dining consumption.
“I am worried about you all. Won’t eating in this way hurt your stomach?” one person said on Douyin.
“The restaurant’s boss had the bad luck to get customers like you. By the way, are you OK after eating so much?” another person asked.
A third person commented: “It’s all right that you ate so many things. But it made people sick that you showed off the crab shells and other waste. You are proud because you’ve gained at a cost to others. You don’t have a moral bottom line.”
The Chinese government passed a law to prevent food waste two years ago to curb excessive food consumption as the country’s food supply remains in a “tight balance” due to supply chain issues and high demand.
It is common in China for customers at buffet restaurants to eat as much as they can in the hope the value of the food they eat will equal or exceed the price of admission.
This results in many customers taking more food than they can eat, which is then thrown out, prompting restaurants to display posters reminding people to practise moderation when eating and drinking.
Last month, two women in eastern China’s Zhejiang province were detained by authorities for secretly taking food worth 400 yuan from a buffet restaurant after they had eaten inside.
