Video showed a live octopus climbing out of a restaurant food bucket on Jan. 21, the New York Post (NYP) reported, citing video provided by SWNS.
Ms. Liu, a customer eating dinner at a hot pot restaurant in Beijing, China, was surprised when the mollusk attempted to escape from a bucket containing an array of seafood ingredients, according to the NYP.
Octopus attempts to climb out of restaurant seafood bucket in wild video https://t.co/8rIg9Wk0if pic.twitter.com/T1I2J0Pt5c
— New York Post (@nypost) February 5, 2024
The octopus’ tentacles were spotted dipping into a separate pot of boiling broth, then retreating back into the bucket, video from SWNS showed, the outlet reported. Although the octopus was not intended to be eaten alive, it nearly entered the broth while still alive, according to the outlet. Ms. Liu had reportedly not yet placed the octopus into the meal herself. (RELATED: Young Americans Want To Change The World But Are Literally Too Anxious To Order At Restaurants)
Hot pot expects customers to cook many ingredients themselves suing boiling broth, according to the outlet. It is often a social form of eating found in non-Western countries in which various diners combine several ingredients, particularly meat and vegetables, into a pot to make a meal, according to Thrillist.
This is not the first time a diner has been surprised by their octopus while making hot pot. A life-threatening blue-ringed octopus was served to a diner at a restaurant in Guangdong province in southern China, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported. The diner reportedly identified its strange appearance, posting it online, then refrained from eating it after a science blogger warned him of the dangerous species, according to City Express, the SCMP reported.
A man reportedly died from a heart attack in Oct. 2023 after choking on his sannakji, a meal containing live octopus, in the southern city of Gwangju, Korea, according to The Korea Herald. The 82-year-old was reportedly unable to be resuscitated by first responders who arrived at the scene after an emergency call.