Yang Guofu Spicy Hotpot Restaurant Exposed for Rat Infestation

Another food safety issue has surfaced at a restaurant following the incident at Yang Mingyu’s restaurant with braised chicken. Recently, the Yang Guofu Spicy Hot Pot Suzhou Jiangsu branch was exposed for having rodents, leading to all dishes being taken off the menu.

On March 18, a netizen in Suzhou, Jiangsu, posted a video showing rats nibbling on ingredients in the food selection area at the Yang Guofu Spicy Hot Pot Suzhou Impression City branch. After the video went viral, netizens expressed their disgust, with many saying, “After such a disgusting incident, how many people’s appetites will be ruined? Punishment, severe punishment!”

According to a live report, the restaurant responded by stating that the rats came from a neighboring store and that all related dishes have been removed from shelves. The restaurant mentioned that they undertake daily pest control and will enhance their management going forward.

The Suzhou Industrial Park Market Supervision and Administration Bureau announced on the evening of March 21 that they had inspected the restaurant in question, ordered its closure for rectification, and filed a case on the same day.

On the official website of Yang Guofu Spicy Hot Pot, it is shown that Yang Guofu, one of the founders, opened the first Yang’s Spicy Hot Pot store in 2003 and registered the “Yang Guofu” brand in 2007, beginning nationwide franchising. As of March 10, Yang Guofu Spicy Hot Pot had a total of 6193 stores.

This is not the first time a Yang Guofu Spicy Hot Pot restaurant has had a rodent issue.

On February 19, a consumer in Dongxing, Guangxi, visited the Yang Guofu Spicy Hot Pot Beilun Avenue store and found a rat on the food display counter when packing hot pot dishes.

In May 2024, a customer in Zhongshan, Guangdong, captured footage of a rat moving around the food area at a Yang Guofu Spicy Hot Pot store.

In the 2024 Blacklist of Offline Food and Beverage Establishments released by Black Cat Complaints, Yang Guofu Spicy Hot Pot topped the blacklist.

On March 22, the topic of “Suzhou reporting rats at Yang Guofu” trended on Weibo hot search page.