Yangguofu Malatang (杨国福麻辣烫), sometimes stylised as Yang Guo Fu and shortened as YGF abroad, is one of the most popular malatang hot pot chains in China (and outside). However, like many gigantic franchises, quality control, or lack thereof, can sometimes land you in trouble. Since the beginning of the year, Yangguofu has been plagued by multiple sightings of mice in its restaurants., and a mouse being caught on camera.
On 18 March, a mouse was filmed in a Yangguofu branch in Suzhou, Jiangsu, in the display cabinet where food is stored. Three days later, local authorities in Suzhou announced that they had suspended the branch, pending regulatory measures. Reporters contacted the Yangguofu branch, and a member of staff claimed that the mouse migrated from next door, where they were undergoing a refurbishment project.
On Weibo, China’s Twitter-like platform, the topic “follow-up to the Yangguofu Malatang mouse incident” (#杨国福麻辣烫老鼠事件后续#) shot to the top of the Hot Search list with 43.87 million views. Many netizens condemn the lack of hygiene standards but are not surprised as a lot of them find the chain lacking in both quality and service. Meanwhile, some who had recently had the chain’s malatang, did so out of desperation and swore not to have it again.
Yangguofu is perceived by Chinese consumers as comparable to Yang’s Braised Chicken Rice, another common high street chain and takeaway option. Although some online feel that Yangguofu is priced too high for its standards and both have a strong impact on everyday people’s choices in ordering. With food security continuing to be one of the top issues for Chinese people, quality control should be of paramount importance for any food and beverage chain in China. This is with the exception of maybe Mixue, which will hopefully not squander the goodwill of consumers.
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