SINGAPORE — Step aside, Noodle Man.

Known for its impeccable service — which includes free manicures while waiting, attentive employees and noodle performances — Chinese hotpot chain Haidilao has once again raised the bar with a new offering: The "科目三" ("Subject Three") dance.

The Subject Three dance, which transliterates to "ke mu san" and is sometimes referred to as "Guangxi Subject Three", is an online phenomenon that took over China's short-video platform Douyin early this year.

The dance's signature footwork involves turning the ankle outward to rest weight on the side of the foot, creating a loose-limbed appearance. This move is repeated throughout the routine with the dancer alternating their feet alongside a series of exaggerated hand gestures.

As of Friday (Dec 8), the Chinese hashtag has already racked up 447.3 million views on sister platform TikTok, with many videos showing Haidilao employees performing the dance.

Media reports in China said that the dance seemingly originated from a wedding celebration in southern China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, where attendees mass-danced to a remix of of the song Missing Someone by Bai Jiajun and Wang Youxiu.

Following the viral footage, social media users in China jokingly coined a saying: "Guangxi people will go through three exams in their lives. Subject 1 is singing folk songs. Subject 2 is making rice noodles (eating rice noodles). Subject 3 is dancing."

Taiwanese news channel Set News reported last weekend that in June this year, popular Douyin user "God is not in Handan" shared his "improved version" of the dance steps to a remix of the song A Smiling Jianghu by Wen Ren Ting Shu.

This reignited the Subject Three dance trend, which began to attract attention among online users and eventually made its way to Haidilao outlets.

VIRAL DANCE BY WAITER AT SHANGDONG OUTLET

China Daily reported last week that the dance was first introduced to the hotpot chain by a waiter at an outlet in Qingzhou, Shandong province.

Known as Xiao Pang, the waiter told Zhejiang-based Chao News that he had learned the dance on the internet of his own accord because he "enjoys dancing in his free time".

Media reports there stated that he even received a reward of 3,000 yuan (S$565) for kickstarting the trend in Haidilao. The waiter claimed that 70 to 80 per cent of the eatery's customers have been requesting the dance recently.

Following positive feedback, Haidilao began promoting the Subject Three dance across its other outlets, eventually buying the copyright to the A Smiling Jianghu remix and tasking its employees nationwide with learning the dance moves, Hong Kong daily South China Morning Post reported on Wednesday.

Going by videos posted online, to "unlock" the performance, diners simply have to utter the code word "ke mu san".

The dance has even made its way to Singapore, with several TikTok videos of Haidilao customers asking for it.

One such video, taken at the Marina Bay Sands outlet and posted by user "rogersiow" on Nov 24, has received 115,800 views as of Friday.

The video, along with another taken at the Seletar Mall's branch and posted by user "leslie.koh" on Thursday, drew many comments on how employees at Singapore's Haidilao shops have "the worst" dance performances and "no standard compared to overseas outlets".

However, others hit back at the negative comments, saying: "Oi, these guys are just staff, not pro dancers leh, what you all want?"

CONCERNS OVER EMPLOYEE WELFARE, DINING EXPERIENCE

The virality of the dance has drawn criticism from many people who were concerned about employee welfare and dining experience.

On the video of the Haidilao employees dancing at the Marina Bay Sands branch, one TikTok user commented: "Worked as a Haidilao waiter before and really, just one day of working is really exhausting. Really don't get why (they) still have to dance to entertain (customers)."

Under a separate video explaining the trend, someone complained: "I work at Haidilao in (the United States) and they're teaching us this dance. I wanna quit, oh my god."

Some people argued that performing the dance may put the waiters' health at risk. In Huzhou, Zhejiang province, a young man was apparently hospitalised for knee pain after trying the dance.

Medical experts have warned that improper movement in carrying out the dance can lead to ligament injuries or even fractures around the knee and ankle joints, China Daily reported.

Similar discussions have also popped up on China's microblogging site Weibo, where one popular post read: "Does everyone really like Subject Three? Why do I feel that diners and waiters are just making things difficult for each other?

"I go to a hotpot restaurant just to eat, why must I watch this? Plus, waiters are working hard to earn money. I don't believe every waiter is willing to learn this and dance.

"I said, 'I just feel very embarrassed', but my friend said, 'Who doesn't like to watch free performances?' I didn't dare to speak (after that)."

Several incidents related to the trend have gone viral on social media in China.

One online user in Hangzhou, for instance, raised complaints on a forum about the "loud music" and "twisting" dance moves of the Haidilao employees, as shown by short-form video platform Pear Video last Monday.

The complainant reportedly wrote in Chinese: "I took my child (and saw) the waiters twisting here and there, grazing, and felt that (it was) really disgusting..."

In another incident, a customer in Huai'an, Jiangsu had requested a Subject Three performance to celebrate his birthday. However, a customer at the next table felt that the music was too loud, and the conflict escalated until the police were called in to intervene.

The hashtags "Customer complains that taking baby to Haidilao and watching Subject Three is very uncomfortable" and "Haidilao dance Subject Three, customers get quarrel and call the police" both made it to the top of Weibo's Hot Search List, with a combined total of 630 million views and 592,000 discussions.

Haidilao employees across multiple outlets said that they had indeed encountered many reports from customers that the dance performance was too noisy and disruptive to the dining experience.