A restaurant chef was detained by police in Liaoning Province after he assaulted a customer over an unsavory comment about his cooking, media reported Friday.

Jinzhou police took the feisty cook, surnamed Zhang, into custody for the altercation at the local eatery on September 4. The punched patron, surnamed Zhao, suffered minor injuries, police said.

According to reports, Zhang and another chef were arguing over recipes for stir-fried eggplant when Zhao overheard and chimed in.

Zhao described Zhang's cooking as "too salty to satisfy customers or the restaurant's owner." The unsolicited comment apparently left a bad taste in Zhang's mouth, who rebutted with a punch to Zhao's face.

The story quickly went viral on social media. "This could only happen in China since all Chinese are foodies," wrote a Sina Weibo user.

Others said it reminded of the Chinese saying, "An onlooker should never speak during a chess match."

Liaoning Evening News