China woman spent Rs 32 lakh ordering her favourite dish 627 times over 9 years

A hotpot is one of the most popular meals in China. It consists of a simmering metal pot with broth at the center of a table with all the required raw ingredients. (Image credit: Unsplash)

A woman in China has spent a total of 270,000 yuan (about Rs 32 lakh) to eat her favourite dish 627 times over the last nine years. Identified only by her surname, Kong, the woman has gone viral on Chinese social media for her obsession with hotpot meals from a popular mainland restaurant chain, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported.

A hotpot is one of the most popular meals in China and it consists of a simmering metal pot with broth at the center of a table with all the required raw ingredients placed surrounding the pot so that people can cook whatever they like in the broth. And Kong prefers her hotpot only from Haidilao -- a household hotpot brand in China famous for its spicy Sichuan food.

“I don’t cook. I don’t have other hobbies and I am not interested in clothes or makeup like other girls. My only hobby is eating, especially eating Haidilao,” SCMP quoted Kong as saying.

Recalling her first tryst with the brand's hotpot, Kong, who is a hotel manager said she sampled Haidilao hotpot about nine years ago after being recommended by many.

“My initial impression was that its raw ingredients were fresh and the taste was super. Since then, my affection for Haidilao has been out of control,” she told the Yangtze Evening News, adding that she was also impressed by their service.

Kong then recalled a time when she went on a business trip to a different city and a Haidilao outlet there let her sleep at the restaurant because she needed to catch a flight the next morning.  They even gave her a blanket and pillow.

But her consumption of hotpot has not only made her spend Rs 32 lakhs but has also made her put on 13.5kg in weight. Even her family and relatives have been concerned about her eating habits.

“I am aware that eating a lot of hotpot is likely to increase the level of lithic acid in our bodies, a cause of gout,” Kong said. “My physical checkups have shown some indexes are not as good as they were before, so I will restrain my enthusiasm for hotpot a bit.”

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