A restaurant in China, known for its provocatively dressed male waiters, has drawn attention of the authorities, resulting in its closure, The South China Morning Post reported Monday.
The self-styled ‘Macho Restaurant’ was in operation from April to July in the popular tourist destination of Xishuangbanna Dai autonomous prefecture, located in Yunnan province in the southwest region of China.
The ‘Macho Restaurant’ came under the eyes of the authorities earlier this month, when videos of the scenes inside the restaurant became viral online. The restaurant itself promoted the Siamese theme, which is evidenced by its name ‘Thai Drum Thai Drum Thai Cuisine’ and a display sign saying ‘Macho Restaurant upstairs’ placed at its entrance.
The report says the restaurant featured tall and muscular men, wearing tank tops or entirely shirtless, performed seductive dance routines to entertain the predominantly female customers.
The South China Morning Post reported that the dance routines at the Macho Restaurant included acts like “rod licking,” something similar to pole dancing, along with suggestive dancing. Some of the “macho men” even fed female customers mouth-to-mouth, went as far as feeding female customers directly from their mouths, wipe their mouths afterward, and even offer shoulder massages as part of the provocative experience. Sometimes children are also the part of the guest list, the report added.
The Yunnan authorities, on Wednesday, took action against the ‘Macho Restaurant’, saying that the performances of male dancers at the restaurant had breached the social ethics and disrespected the region’s cultural traditions.
As a result, the ‘Macho Restaurant’ was asked to stop its operations, and an amount of 10,664 yuan (approximately Rs. 1,22,639) earned through illegal means was confiscated by the authorities. Moreover, the ‘Macho Restaurant’ was issued an additional fine equivalent to ten times the confiscated illegal income.
“Business was not doing well, so to boost customer numbers, the restaurant hired well-built actors to perform.
Initially, there were just six actors offering relatively normal dance performances. When customers filmed at the restaurant and shared the videos online, the restaurant owner saw it as a promotional opportunity, the South China Morning Post reported quoting a staff of the restaurant .
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Updated: 31 Jul 2023, 06:59 PM IST