'Rabbit head?!' Edmond Leung shocked by Chinese rappers' dinner in Call Me By Fire

Rabbit meat isn't that common in Singapore restaurants but if you look for it, you'll find it. But would you try the head of a rabbit?

Hong Kong veteran singer Edmond Leung recently had a big culture shock when he joined Chinese rappers Gai and Bridge for dinner. The trio are part of 32 performers taking part in the reality show Call Me By Fire, the hottest reality TV show right now.

In a video clip that Edmond, 49, posted on his Weibo account on Sept 2, he had just finished his dinner when he saw a packet of stew on the table. He turned to Gai and asked what it was.

He couldn't contain his astonishment when he was told it was rabbit head, turning to look at the two young men seemingly to check if they were pulling his leg. "Rabbit head?" he repeated several times.

"It's very delicious," Gai, 27, added.

"You've never tried this before? You don't have this in Hong Kong?" Bridge, 27 asked. "Then have you tried rabbit meat before?"

Edmond, still in disbelief, shook his head in reply: "I've never thought of eating rabbit."

Though he turned down their offer to try the 'delicacy', he asked his teammates, Hong Kong actors Michael Tse and Jerry Lamb, if they wanted to eat it when they entered the dining hall. Both declined.

Call Me By Fire originally featured 33 male celebrities — all past the peak of their careers — vying to become members of a new 17-member boy band.

Contestants come from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, US, and Australia, and they range from veteran pop singers such as Terry Lin and Edmond; actors Julian Cheung and Jordan Chan; martial artists Vincent Zhao and Max Zhang; dancers Li Xiang and Liu Jia; to rappers MC HotDog and MC Jin.

The show premiered on Aug 12 and was hit with a scandal just two days later when the ex-girlfriend of Chinese contestant Huo Zun, 30, accused him of cheating on her. Text messages reportedly from the singer were also leaked, in which he showed his contempt for the show. He announced his withdrawal soon after, leaving 32 participants in the show.

ALSO READ: Jerry Yan, Terry Lin: Which other 'brothers' in hit Chinese show Call Me By Fire are voted the top 5 most dislikeable?

kwokkarpeng@asiaone.com