Dining out is always a bit of an adventure—sometimes you discover a new favourite dish, sometimes you get a surprise ingredient, and every now and then, you stumble upon a story that’s almost too wild to believe.

Well, that’s exactly what happened to one Adelaide woman, Shraddha, whose recent dinner experience has left the internet both amused and a little bit gobsmacked.

Let’s set the scene: Shraddha, like many of us, decided to treat herself to a delicious hotpot from a local takeaway shop.

She enjoyed most of her meal at the restaurant, but being sensible (and perhaps a little full), she packed up the leftovers to take home for later. Little did she know, her dinner was about to serve up a side of mystery.

An Adelaide woman discovered a working mobile phone at the bottom of her takeaway hotpot after eating most of the meal. Image source: Tiktok / Image by: @shraddyvibes.

Later that evening, as Shraddha was picking through the last bits of her hotpot at home, she noticed something odd. The container felt a bit heavier and, well, 'weird.'

Curiosity piqued, she dug a little deeper—only to discover a working mobile phone submerged at the bottom of her soup! Yes, you read that right: a phone, not a prawn.

In a video that quickly went viral, Shraddha recounted her shock: 'I was picking at the bottom, and the container was feeling a little bit weird. So, I kept digging and at the bottom of the container was a working phone.'

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Well, 'working' might be a stretch—the phone was displaying a temperature warning, no doubt from its unexpected hotpot sauna session.

Shraddha did what any honest Aussie would do: she rang the restaurant to let them know about her bizarre find.

The staff were quick to apologise, explaining that one of their chefs had misplaced their phone. 'What had happened was apparently the chef put the phone down in the takeaway container and because it was black it blended in with the container.'

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To make amends, the restaurant refunded Shraddha $50 (a nice bonus, considering her hotpot originally cost $35) and promised her a free hotpot on her next visit.

The chef even offered a personal apology and an open invitation for another meal. Shraddha, showing true grace, chose not to name the restaurant, saying, ‘Everyone makes mistakes.’

But the story doesn’t end there. Shraddha admitted she’d originally planned to save the meal for the next day. Thankfully, her hunger got the better of her and she ate it while it was still warm.

As some social media users pointed out, if she’d microwaved the leftovers with the phone still inside, things could have taken a much more dangerous turn!

Source: @shraddyvibes / Tiktok.​

The online reaction was a mix of disbelief and cheeky humour. ‘You should have asked for a lifetime of free hotpot,’ one commenter joked. Another added, ‘Thank God you didn’t have to heat it up.’

While this story is certainly one for the books, it also serves as a gentle reminder for both diners and restaurant staff: always double-check your containers before sending them out the door!

And for those of us who love a good leftover, maybe give your takeaway a quick stir before popping it in the microwave—just in case.

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Key Takeaways

• An Adelaide woman discovered a working mobile phone at the bottom of her takeaway hotpot after eating most of the meal.
• The phone belonged to one of the restaurant’s chefs, who had accidentally placed it in the takeaway container, where it blended in due to being black.
• The woman received $50 and a free hotpot from the restaurant as compensation, after returning the phone and accepting the chef’s apology.
• Shraddha was relieved she hadn’t reheated the meal with the phone inside, and chose not to publicly name the restaurant, saying mistakes can happen.

Have you ever found something unexpected in your meal? Or perhaps you’ve had a restaurant experience that left you speechless (for better or worse)? We’d love to hear your stories! Share your wildest dining discoveries in the comments below—let’s see if anyone can top Shraddha’s hotpot surprise!

 

[Littleboy8]

I guess it’s better than finding a half eaten rat

 

[Leenie]

I guess it’s better than finding a half eaten rat

Years ago when KFC first opened here my Aunt and son bought some for dinner and while eating it in the car ( nighttime) thought the piece of chicken felt weird and on checking found it to be a Mouse. She never went back.