Restaurant In Shanghai Charges Rs 5,500 For Half A Chicken, Says It Was Raised On Music And Milk
A Shanghai restaurant faces backlash for selling a half-chicken dish for 480 yuan approx Rs 5,550, claiming it was raised on classical music.
A Shanghai restaurant has sparked controversy for selling a half-chicken dish at an eye-watering price of 480 yuan (₹5500). The restaurant defended the steep cost by claiming the chicken was raised on classical music and fed milk, as reported by the South China Morning Post.
The incident gained attention after a businessman and influencer with 270,000 followers visited the Shanghai Club restaurant on March 14. Shocked by the price, he questioned the staff about the chicken’s background, humorously asking if it was raised "listening to music and drinking milk." To his surprise, the restaurant staff confirmed his assumption, claiming that the dish featured a rare breed called "sunflower chicken," sourced exclusively from a farm in Guangdong province.
A Premium Breed with a Unique Diet
According to the farm’s online description, sunflower chickens are fed a diet including juice extracted from sunflower stems and faded flower heads. The breed is a variety of the three-yellow chicken, also known as "emperor chicken," prized by Michelin-starred chefs for its tender texture and rich flavor. However, sunflower chicken is regarded as even more premium, reportedly costing over 200 yuan (₹2300) per kilogram, with a whole bird priced at more than 1,000 yuan (₹11,500) in restaurants.
When questioned further by local media, a staff member from the Sunflower chicken farm clarified that while the chickens are exposed to classical music, they are not fed milk.
Public Backlash and Online Mockery
Despite being willing to pay the 480-yuan price, the influencer expressed frustration at what he saw as misleading marketing. “I could accept the price, but not the fabricated stories,” he told the staff.
The incident quickly went viral, drawing mockery online. One user sarcastically commented, "Amazing the bizarre stories one can make up to sell products." Another suggested that such pricing tactics exploit Shanghai’s wealthier clientele: "One can grab a small share of a dish from less-developed areas in China and easily sell it to Shanghai people at a much higher price."
Others joined in on the joke, playfully suggesting their own pricing strategies. “Can my chicken be priced at 1,888 yuan (₹22,000) a dish? They were raised listening to Shanxi music,” quipped a user from central China’s Shanxi province.
Debate Over Shanghai's High Prices
The controversy has reignited discussions on the so-called "Shanghai currency," a term that gained popularity last year to describe the city’s soaring prices and high spending power. A widely cited example is the 800g Japanese toast that sold for 98 yuan (₹1100) in Shanghai—double its price in Japan—despite regular supermarket bread costing around 20 yuan (₹230).
Government data shows that the per capita disposable income of Shanghai residents in 2024 was 88,366 yuan (₹10.1 lakh), nearly twice the national average. This further fuels debates on the city's expensive lifestyle and whether such high-priced products are justified or simply capitalizing on the affluence of its residents.
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