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A video of someone supposedly eating new born mice is currently doing the rounds on Facebook etcetera. Here is the video on Youtube. The Daily Mail showing this video states

The footage is believed to have been shot at a restaurant in Guangdong, South China.
It shows a little known speciality in the area called 'San Zhi Er', or three squeaks, where the baby rodents are eaten alive with a plate of sauce.

Another video here. Accompanying text:

Newborn mice (San Zhi Er) are eaten alive with chopsticks and served in a spicy sauce. They are called "three squeaks babies" because they would scream three times: the first time when they are grabbed with the chopsticks, the second time when they are dipped in the sauce and the third final squeak inside the mouth of the customer. Also this dish has been banned in China, but it's possible to find it.

I can understand people making Youtube video pranks based on historical data or urban legends (that first one seems fake), or maybe (older) people still privately eating things they know from their past.

But my specific questions are:

Can 'San Zhi Er' be ordered in Chinese restaurants?

Is 'San Zhi Er' offically banned in China?

Those are not mutually exclusive; it could be that the dish is officially banned but still available.

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    It seems legit, but cutting through all the outrage to find anything official is proving hard.
    – Jamiec
    Oct 6, 2016 at 8:57
  • I recall hearing about this several years ago. Not sure if it is an urban legend or not. Oct 6, 2016 at 13:41
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    I could not find a real reference source in Chinese on what kinds of food are prohibited, but there seems to be a popular consensus that it's banned.
    – Avery
    Oct 6, 2016 at 15:22
  • Search online for "chinese cooking live animals". It's not just mice and there are plenty of videos (that I don't want to watch). Jun 19, 2020 at 14:08

1 Answer 1

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In my opinion it existed in the past and might still exist, but if so it is extremely difficult to find in a restaurant.

According to this entry in Chinese Wikipedia:

三叫鼠,又名三吱儿,求小鼠肉嫩,故以蜜糖餵母鼠,故又叫蜜唧,广东菜名,最早的文字记载来自《清稗类钞》饮食类:

粤人食鼠

粤肴有所谓蜜唧烧烤者,鼠也。豢鼠生子,白毛长分许,浸蜜中。食时,主人斟酒,侍者分送,入口之际,尚唧唧作声。然非上宾,无此盛设也。其大者如猫,则干之以为脯。

Rough translation:

San Jiao Shu (three squeaks mice), also named San Zhi Er, is a Cantonese dish name. To get tender-fleshed newborn mice, the mother mouse is fed with honey, hence the dish is also called Mi Ji (honey squeaks). The earliest written record is from Qingbai leichao/Qing Petty Matters Anthology, chapter on food and drinks:

The Cantonese eating mice

There is a Cantonese mice dish called Mi Ji. Newborn mice are immersed in honey. When it is consumed, the host fills wine cups, and the servants distribute the mice to guests. The mice are still squeaking in the mouth. Such delicacy is only reserved for the most respectable guests. Some mice grow to the size of cat, and are made into dry meat.

Searching 蜜唧 (Mi Ji) returns more historical writings from the Qing Dynasty.

Among all the Internet click baits, I also found a news piece from 2001 in Beijing Morning Post. The reporter heard rumors that this dish had reached Beijing and visited many Cantonese restaurants in search of it, but without success. Many restaurants had no idea what it is. One chef said he had seen people eating it in Guangdong but never dared to try himself; he had never seen it served in any Cantonese restaurants either, possibly because the dish costs too much to prepare.

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  • Wikipedia is not considered good quality evidence on this site. I've slightly edited your answer to reflect the quality of evidence.
    – Sklivvz
    Oct 13, 2016 at 22:18
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    @Sklivvz Thank you for editing. I agree, yet I cannot find any better evidence. The quoted passage can be verified: open-lit.com/…
    – ryhui
    Oct 14, 2016 at 12:49

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