Hot pot eruption scalds women

The manager of a hot pot restaurant denied Thursday that two female diners were injured by a hot pot soup explosion.

Wawajiao restaurant told the Global Times the diners caused the eruption by dropping a lighter into the pot.

A fellow diner claimed on a microblog Thursday that the hot pot the two women were eating at a neighboring table exploded, sending a soup fountain gushing to the ceiling at around 9 pm. The hot liquid scalded the two diners on the way down, and splattered other diners' clothing, including the microblogger's.

Web user Meng Ziye then posted that as one of the injured customers, she was very angry, and warned diners to boycott the establishment.　

"It's the hot pot restaurant's fault we were injured. The worst thing is that the restaurant had such a bad attitude, saying that we can sue them in court," she posted.

On Thursday, it was business as usual at the branch of Nanjing-based Wawajiao Catering Co Ltd, on the fourth floor of a building along Dongzhimenwai Dajie.

Restaurant manager Zhang Peiqian showed the evidence they had collected and the scene of the soup explosion.　

The evidence includes a broken lighter, a pack of cigarettes, an ashtray with dog-ends and medical certificates. The table and the induction cooker were not damaged, but soup splatters could be seen on the ceiling.　

"We didn't give this lighter to the two girls. The explosion happened 15 minutes after the waiter turned off the induction cooker and was preparing the bill," he said.

"The two girls were smoking and waiting for the bill. I think when one handed the lighter to the other, the lighter was dropped into the hot pot, triggering the explosion," said Zhang.

Zhang alleged the girls were not seriously burnt, and he just saw the soup-covered clothes clinging to their bodies.

"We sent them to hospital immediately. All the necessary physical checks cost less than 100 yuan ($15.7) and they were quickly discharged," he said.

Zhang said the girls had demanded 10,000 yuan in compensation, but said he thinks that is unreasonable.

"But for the other innocent customers who got spills on their clothes, we didn't let them pay the bill," he said.

Zhang said he was not sure if the women would sue, but so far, he has not received any further communication from them.

Those who posted the microblog allegations could not be contacted by press time.