SHANGHAI (SCMP): A Shanghai restaurant which sold a half chicken dish costing a shocking 480 yuan (US$66) has justified the price by saying the bird was raised on music and milk, sparking sarcastic comments online.
Four million people watched footage a customer of the Shanghai Club restaurant posted online March 14.
In the video, a man remarks on a tiny-looking chicken dish on a plate, priced at 480 yuan (US$66).
The businessman and influencer with 270,000 followers, was apparently shocked at the price, and checked with the restaurant staff if the chicken was raised “listening to music and drinking milk”.
The staff said that the chicken was raised in the manner he described and was a rare breed known as “sunflower chicken” only kept at a farm in southern China’s Guangdong province.
According to the chicken farm’s online introduction, the sunflower chicken is raised by being fed juice extracted from sunflower stems and faded flower heads in the farm, which is also a commercial sunflower garden.
The three-yellow chicken, also known as emperor chicken, is a popular breed among Michelin-starred chefs.
It is named after the breed’s yellow beaks, skin and feet, and known for its succulent taste and tender texture when cooked whole.
The cost of a dish which uses a whole chicken can reach as much as US$140. - ctdsb.net
It was reported that the sunflower chicken is even more expensive, and priced at more than 200 yuan (US$28) per kilogramme. A whole sunflower chicken can be priced at more than 1,000 yuan (US$140) at restaurants.
A member of staff at the sunflower chicken farm told the mainland media outlet Jimu News that the chickens do listen to classical music, but they are not fed with milk.
The man told the waiting staff that he could accept paying 480 yuan for half a chicken, but could not accept them making up stories to deceive him.
The story sparked sarcastic comments online.
“Amazing the bizarre stories one can make up to sell products,” said one online observer.
“One can grab a small share of a dish from less-developed areas in China, and easily sell to Shanghai people at a much higher price,” said another.
“Can my chicken be priced at 1,888 yuan (US$260) a dish? They were raised listening to Shanxi music,” another person from central China’s Shanxi province said.
Some joked that the chicken reflected “Shanghai currency”, a term that went viral last year referring to sky-high prices and people’s spending power in the city.
A famous example came when Shanghai people queued up for an 800g loaf of toast from Japan, which sold for 98 yuan (US$14) and was limited to 400 pieces a day. The same product was sold at half the price in Japan.
Ordinary toasted bread is sold for around 20 yuan (US$3) in supermarkets. Many frowned upon the popularity of such a product.
According to government data, Shanghai residents’ per capita disposable income in 2024 was 88,366 yuan (US$12,200), double that of nationwide. - South China Morning Post
