Some people go to great lengths to get the best meals, but this one really takes the cake.
The media across Asia reported this week that approximately 150 insatiable sushi fans in Taiwan legally changed their names to “Salmon” as part of a restaurant promotion, according to Agence France-Presse in Taipei.
Causing a frenzy that has been dubbed “salmon chaos” by the local media, a marketing campaign promising virtually unlimited sushi to any Akindo Sushiro customer with the Chinese characters for “salmon” appearing on their ID cards has led dozens of young people to run for government positions this week to make the name change.
The promotion, which allowed up to six guests for a “salmon” reference, ended Thursday, leaving a flurry of paperwork for local government officials to sue.
“This kind of name change not only wastes time, but causes unnecessary paperwork,” said Deputy Interior Minister Chen Tsung-yen, according to local reports. The country allows its citizens to legally change its name up to three times – meaning that some may choose to change it back – but discourages doing so lightly.
“Be careful to take care of your good name,” says the interior minister on Wednesday, in a statement, via Facebook.
“Five people requested a name change today and six others yesterday,” said local office official Ou Minxin in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, the Washington Post reported. “We saw changed names, like ‘Hotness Salmon’, ‘Dip Wasabi and Eat Salmon’ and ‘I can’t help wanting to eat salmon for free’. “
In just one day, nearly 200 customers with names that included “salmon” visited on Wednesday, said Akindo Sushiro, marketing manager, Dory Wang.
A college student surnamed Ma told the TVBS news channel in Kaohsiung that they changed their name to “bao cheng gui yu”, which means something close to “Good Looking Explosive Salmon,” according to the Guardian.
Other newly minted names include “Salmon Prince”, “Meteor Salmon King” and “Salmon Fried Rice.” An exaggerated sea demon added a record 36 new characters to his name, most of which involved seafood, including abalone, crab and lobster symbols.