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Food fight: Plates fly as Halloween brawl breaks out at Toronto Vietnamese restaurant

Never get in the way of costumed revelers and their late-night meal.

That's the lesson patrons at Pho Xe Lua in Toronto's Chinatown learned early Saturday morning after a massive, plate-throwing fight broke out in the crowded Vietnamese restaurant.

A two-minute cell phone video [warning: contains violence and profanity] shows a group of bedecked partygoers reduced to 3 a.m. blows while other diners look on enthusiastically.

The Toronto Star notes that the big trouble in the little restaurant started over limited seating capacity.

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"I came in and we saw people arguing. Apparently they were arguing about space and seating because the restaurant was pretty packed and small. They were shouting at each other to move out of the way," an unnamed witness told the paper. "A guy in a green shirt threw a menu across the table and that's how it started."

The situation escalated when a waitress wearing a red shirt did her best to separate the brawlers.

For her efforts, she received a broken plate to the head, thrown by a man disguised as a productive member of society.

Though another restaurant employee told the paper that no one was injured, police say a woman in her 20s "sustained cuts to her face and required medical attention."

As for their sideline hooting and hollering, a witness named Eric explained to the National Post why people appeared unwilling to get involved.

"But I think the main reason people didn't want to stop the fight is some people got a plate thrown at their face, so nobody wanted to get involved. That girl was clearly trying to break up the fight, and she got a plate thrown at her," he told the paper.

Police are currently on the lookout for the plate-throwing suspect. He's described as an Asian male with a muscular build and was wearing a vest with the word "SWAT" on the back.

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And somewhere in Toronto there's a very brave young woman who deserves a Halloween party thrown in her honour.