A bamboo rat (left) and a koala. (Source: China Daily/File photo)

The "Koala meat" that shocked an Australian tourist who saw it on a menu in Guangzhou last week turned out to be bamboo rat mislabeled for a promotion, according to the restaurant managers.

One of the tourists even phoned a radio station in Australia to report his discovery, as well as the fact that a live koala was being exhibited in an iron cage in front of the restaurant in Hotel Fisher, according to the Guangzhou-based New Express Daily.

Hotel Fisher is known for its seafood and wildlife cuisine in Guangzhou, a city celebrated for its delicious dishes.

According to the menu, 500 grams of koala meat sold at 139 yuan ($20).

"Koala meat can be fried, stewed and steamed," read the restaurant menu, the Australian tourist was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

But Lin Aizhen, deputy general manager of the restaurant, denied the restaurant sold koala meat dishes and other cuisines cooked with wildlife that is under State protection.

"The Australian tourist was actually the victim of a false alarm, as the restaurant never sells koala," Lin said.

Huang Ritong, manager of the restaurant's purchasing department, said the animal displayed in front of the restaurant was actually a bamboo rat, which was purchased from the bordering Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region the previous month.

The restaurant purchased two bamboo rats weighing 5 to 6 kilograms each, and a kilogram of the bamboo rat changed hands at 80 yuan, Huang said.