Recently, a video shared by a netizen claimed to have encountered the “White Porridge Assassin” in Shanghai, where a pot of white porridge and some pickled vegetables were priced at 200 yuan per serving. This revelation has shocked many netizens, rapidly propelling the topic to the top of trending searches.
According to the netizen, the restaurant is located in Pudong New Area of Shanghai, predominantly offering Chaozhou cuisine at relatively high prices. The menu lists Chaozhou white porridge at 100 yuan for 2 to 3 servings and 200 yuan for 4 to 6 servings, with only a pot of white porridge and some pickled vegetables. The netizen further mentioned that the bottom of the white porridge was burnt.
In the video, the netizen questioned why the price was so high. The staff explained that the white porridge is cooked with organic rice from Northeast China and mineral water from the Alps, justifying the high price due to the manual cooking process, claiming that one can indeed taste the difference when consuming it.
However, the netizen bluntly stated, “I cannot taste the difference.”
On November 26, the topic of “200 yuan for a serving of white porridge” surged to the top of hot searches, sparking discussions.
Netizens criticized: “There is no cost, only profit.” “In Guangdong, a bowl of white porridge for breakfast costs only two yuan, including side dishes.”
Some netizens expressed, “I can’t even afford porridge without working hard.” “For a bowl of porridge at 200 yuan, I need to work for three days to earn that much.” “Only poverty limits my imagination.” “From the exorbitant prices of seafood in Qingdao, tea eggs in Wuxi, noodles in Shaanxi, to dumplings in Northeast China, the ‘price assassins’ seem never to cease pestering ordinary people who regard food as their top priority.”
However, some netizens believed, “Everyone has their own choices.” “Ordinary people are just here for the show; as long as the prices are clearly marked, there shouldn’t be an issue, it’s a matter of free trade.”
In response to this, the restaurant manager, interviewed by the media, mentioned that the price has been the same for over a decade. Those who find it expensive “are not our ultimate customers; it’s our customers who would call in the middle of the night asking for a pot of white porridge to be cooked.” As for the netizen’s complaint about the burnt bottom of the 200 yuan white porridge, the manager claimed not to know how the staff handled it at that time.
According to the report from Extreme News, the restaurant is still operating normally at present.