It would be a massive understatement to say that the pandemic has been rough on the hospitality industry, especially for Asian businesses. One such restaurant that has experienced the brunt of it is Hong Shing. The Chinese restaurant in Toronto recently received enormous backlash after a misleading video went viral across social media and now, people have shown up to support them, with the restaurant seeing an increase in takeout orders.
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Hong Shing Chinese Restaurant In Toronto
While some people reacted to the video with baseless accusations, others came to the restaurant’s defence. Following this, Hong Shing put out a statement on their page and spoke to media publications to clear the air. The restaurant has seen a noticeable uptick in their takeout orders this week, with many loyal customers displaying support.
While they’re currently closed in line with provincial regulations, Hong Shing is hoping to be well up and running much before their 25th anniversary on March 10. In the meantime, you can continue to support the restaurant via takeout or delivery. Orders can be placed directly through their website here.
They’re also in the middle of renovating their dining space, following a kitchen fire last year in November. In addition, customers can later look forward to themed dinners and DJ nights once the establishment’s indoor dining is open again.
As for the video in question, it showed a Hong Shing employee cleaning up a sauce spill on the sidewalk, putting it into a bucket and taking it back inside. A user then posted the video saying, “Please don’t support Hong Shing anymore this is disgusting.” Things further escalated when 6ixbuzz shared the video and it went viral with no context or information from the media outlet’s side, leading people to believe that the restaurant intended to reuse or resell the sauce.
The incident has bought into the question the seriousness of consuming content from unverifiable outlets like 6ixbuzz, causing the rapid spread of false news and leaving places like Hong Shing to suffer.