We took a pass on reviewing/skewering this video when we first saw it in May, even though journalists from other media outlets we spoke to agreed that it’s a wee bit eerie. Let’s blame it on the #TrumpKimSummit madness that consumed us. But two months later, we remain haunted. Folks, it’s time to exorcise these demons.
Since uploading what might be their most viral video ever, media outlet SingaporeBeauty’s promo for live seafood hotpot buffet joint New Thai Tanic Hotpot has garnered more than 2 million views on Facebook. The video itself was produced in the classic style the kids call basic. Young, photogenic models? Check. Ample close-ups of food? Check. Exaggerated faces of surprise and delight? Check. Quirky soundtrack? Check.
Don’t get us wrong, we’re not knocking the tiresome food video format that has earned so many other publications their clicks, shares and views. There’s just something a little disturbing about watching these ladies with smiles permanently plastered on their faces doing some corny dancing in the midst of live animals being caught and cooked table side.
That is how it works at the restaurant, though. You pay the price of the buffet, catch some live crustaceans and fish from the tanks, dunk them in ice to (we desperately HOPE) render them unconscious, and toss them in the hot pot for cooking.
Trust us, we love meat as much as the next carnivore. But even we don’t have the stomach to bop and gyrate for the camera right next to animals within minutes of killing them for our sustenance.
Let’s break it down.
“Gasp, I got a crab you guys! Oopsy, it’s going to sleep in the ice bath… So cute right.”
Showering some love on soon-to-be-eaten crabs with a little awkward dancing.
Some circles would term this the “fish torture dance.”
Unexplained (and unnecessary) shot of these models and their duplicates. Strange video gets even stranger.
You mean it’s not normal to dance after breaking apart the shells of crustaceans that were alive seconds ago?
Please tell us that we’re not the only ones being slightly weirded out by the video. There’s just something about all the cringe-worthy elements combined that makes it feel a little… off.
The thing is, SingaporeBeauty proved that they could actually make a classy video about the same restaurant when they did another version of it for Bucket List Insider.
Perhaps our worries are for naught — judging from the comments section, thousands of folks were more concerned about the restaurant’s operating hours and tagging their friends to arrange a meal there, though we’re pretty sure that part of the substantial view count includes some pretty dumbfounded folks trying to figure out what the hell was going on.
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