Cooked ‘zombie’ fish jumps off plate in restaurant

Diners were shocked when a cooked fish appeared to ‘come back to life’ when it was caught on camera jumping off a plate in a Chinese restaurant.

The fish flicked its tail first before leaping out of a bowl of vegetables and onto the table. 

A group of shocked diners jumped out of their seats in shock as the fish continued to ‘breathe’. 

The video first appeared on Youku, a Chinese video sharing site equivalent to YouTube, on Wednesday.

Apparently, ‘fish coming back to life’ is not an uncommon occurrence. According to IFL Science, the movement is a result of a chemical reaction that stimulates the fish’s muscle tissue. 

The site said: ‘For some time after death, muscle motor neurons within these tissues still have some membrane potential. The fish’s brains are very much dead, but most of their tissue is very much alive in these viral videos.’

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Charles Grisham, a chemistry professor at the University of Virginia, explained to Discovery News that "most of the tissue… is actually still alive." The professor added: "Cell metabolites are nearly intact, membrane voltages or potentials that exist in nerve cells are probably still close to intact. ‘Even though the brain function is missing, the tissues will still respond to stimuli."

Watch the video below.