Doctors in China were left dumbfounded when they discovered a hole in a man's stomach wall after he ate a notoriously spicy bowl of soup.

The 26-year-old unnamed male had consumed a mala soup, meaning 'numbing hot', a traditional Chinese dish.
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The traditional Chinese dish is prepared using Sichuan pepper, a local spice, and chilli pepper/
The combination is known to cause a numbing sensation when consumed.

Most restaurants serving the dish offer it with varying degrees of spiciness.

According to local reports, many Chinese restaurants have begun to replace the natural, more expensive ingredients in hot pot dishes for cheaper, synthetic additives that replicate the spiciness.