2 Hong Kong diners burned after alcohol poured onto sizzling pork knuckle dish

Two diners at a Hong Kong restaurant were burned when alcohol was poured onto a sizzling pork knuckle dish, causing flames to flare up, with one of the victims left critically injured, police said on Thursday.

The police force said the accident at Cafe Match Box on Causeway Bay’s Paterson Street occurred at around 7pm on Wednesday.

The victims were a 46-year-old woman who suffered burns to her arms, chest and face, and a 17-year-old girl who sustained neck and face burns, police said. The woman had earlier been in a critical condition but was listed as serious on Thursday night. The girl was stable.

The woman and her husband were dining with a group that included the teenager, when they ordered sizzling pork knuckle.

As part of the dish’s preparation, a waiter poured rose cooking wine onto the sizzling hot plate in front of the diners.

The initial flame was weak, but then flared up when the waiter poured the cooking wine a second time.