Act Like A Vietnamese Prostitute, Get Free Edamame

A California sushi restaurant has been offering free edamame — as long as you’re willing to say “Me love you long time” to the waitstaff. And apparently the idea worked so wonderfully that it’s spreading!

The Huntington Beach branch of chain RA Sushi seems to have launched the promotion in early April, according to a Facebook post. The company’s Facebook wall also included the lovely image above. Of course, saying “Me love you long time” (a line originally uttered by a Vietnamese prostitute in Full Metal Jacket) requires patrons to a) copy a racist caricature, b) copy a racist caricature of a person from Vietnam, a country not necessarily known for its sushi, and c) totally humiliate themselves. All these problems notwithstanding, RA Sushi customers — at least those who posted on the restaurant’s Facebook wall — seem totally into it:

No doubt buoyed by their Huntington Beach success, RA Sushi apparently expanded the promotion to its Chicago location yesterday, according to a tweet by PR firm Zapwater. Zapwater removed the tweet after other users pointed out that it was offensive, but an eagle-eyed reader took a screenshot for us:

Interestingly, the Chicago promotion reverses the wording — “You luv me long time” — so that patrons now have to talk to waitstaff like they’re prostitutes. Luckily, the response to Zapwater’s tweet hasn’t been as positive as the Huntington Beach Facebook lovefest. Says user ellafay, “Any worries tht this promo is offensive to people?” User newood’s rejoinder is simpler: “Fuck you.”