This is the hilarious moment a restaurant waitress accidentally kicks a customer's phone into a steaming bowl of hot pot while trying to take their picture.

CCTV cameras captured the mishap at an outdoor eatery in Chongqing, in southwest-central China, on the night of November 6. The video shows a woman holding up a customer's phone while a table of three pose for the camera.

As she apparently tried to find the best angle for the requested photo, a waiter came by and offered to help her adjust the camera. But as he tried to take the phone, it accidentally escaped his grip.

In an apparent attempt to prevent the falling phone from hitting the ground, he inadvertently kicked it into the customers' hot pot.

The employee and the guests immediately jumped up as the device disappeared into the boiling pot amidst a puff of smoke. They immediately tried to retrieve the phone and the footage ends with them trying to fish it out of the food.

The restaurant later said they promptly replaced the hot pot and offered compensation, but the customer declined.