Some people will go to great lengths for the best meals, but this one really takes the cake.
According to Agence France-Presse in Taipei, news outlets across Asia this week reported that about 150 insatiable sushi fans in Taiwan have legally changed their name to “Salmon” as part of a restaurant promotion.
Causing a frenzy dubbed ‘salmon chaos’ by local media, a marketing campaign promising virtually unlimited sushi to every customer at Akindo Sushiro with the Chinese characters for ‘salmon’ on their ID cards has led dozens of young people rushing government offices for this. week to change the name.
The promotion, which could accommodate up to six guests per “salmon” reference, ended Thursday, leaving a deluge of paperwork for local government officials.
“This kind of name change is not only a waste of time but also causes unnecessary paperwork,” Deputy Interior Minister Chen Tsung-yen said, according to local reports. The country allows its citizens to legally change their name up to three times – meaning some can choose to change the name again – but discourages it frivolously.
“Please take good care of your good name,” reads the Ministry of the Interior on Facebook on Wednesday.
“Five people filed for a name change today and another six yesterday,” said the official at the local registry office Ou Minxin in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, the Washington Post reported. “We’ve seen names changed, such as ‘Hotness Salmon’, ‘Dip Wasabi and Eat Salmon’ and ‘Can’t Help but Wanna Eat Free Salmon.’
In just one day on Wednesday, some 200 customers with names containing “salmon,” said Dory Wang, Akindo Sushiro’s marketing manager.
A university student nicknamed Ma told TVBS news channel in Kaohsiung that they had changed their name to “bao cheng gui yu,” which, according to the Guardian, means something close to “Explosive handsome salmon.”
Other newly minted monikers were ‘Salmon Prince’, ‘Meteor Salmon King’ and ‘Salmon Fried Rice’. An over-the-top marine devil added a record 36 new characters to their name, most of which related to seafood, including the abalone, crab, and lobster symbols.