Buying food these days can be an adventurous experience, but in a bad way.
The last thing you’d want to see in your food after taking a bite is a nasty insect that got there first.
Unfortunately, this happened to a woman enjoying army stew in Clementi Mall, as she was shocked to find a cockroach among the meat in her piping hot bowl of noodles.
Source: Shin Min Daily News
The staff offered to make another bowl of army stew for her, but the customer no longer wished to dine at the outlet and left.
According to Shin Min Daily News, who received a tip-off regarding the incident, research student Ms Lee, 30, said she was at a Korean restaurant in Clementi Mall on Friday (26 May) enjoying a single portion of army stew.
After having a few slurps, she noticed something that looked like a strand of hair on the beef slices, so she moved the pieces around to inspect it further.
Shockingly, she realised it was a cockroach.
She told Shin Min Daily News that she was disgusted by the sight and immediately lost her appetite.
“I complained about the cockroach to the staff, and I was reimbursed S$10,” she said.
Ms Lee pointed out that the staff’s attitude wasn’t the best as they seemed apathetic towards the situation. They also allegedly did not apologise right away.
The manager eventually attended to her and told her that if she started feeling unwell, she could see the doctor, and the restaurant would bear the cost.
“But when I asked them to put down their statement in writing, they weren’t willing to do it, so I left,” she said.
Ms Lee added that the manager had also offered to make a fresh bowl of army stew for her, but she didn’t dare to eat anything from their kitchen anymore.
“Even though the manager said they disinfect their premises regularly, I am still worried about food safety issues,” she said.
When Shin Min Daily News went down to interview the restaurant staff, one of the outlet’s managers, identified as Ms Chan, 32, admitted that the cockroach incident was due to the restaurant’s negligence.
They refunded her money right away and even offered to serve her another bowl of noodles. However, as with Ms Lee’s statement above, she had declined.
Ms Chan also noted that they had asked Ms Lee to go to the doctor first, and they will bear the medical expenses regardless of whether something was wrong.
“But the customer wanted our staff to issue a certificate, and the staff can only send text messages to the customer through WhatsApp as a record,” she said, adding that another manager was on shift at the time.
Ms Chan gave her assurance that the store was cleaned before it opened and closed and underwent regular pest control cleaning procedures.
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Featured image adapted from Shin Min Daily News and Google Maps. Right image is for illustration purposes only.
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