House of Seafood customer says she found insect in dim sum, restaurant claims she staged photo

Finding an insect in your food definitely makes for an unpleasant dining experience, as Facebook user Kristine Giam would attest. But is there more to this case than meets the eye? 

Giam took to social media last Wednesday (Oct 19) to air her frustrations after reportedly finding what looked like a cockroach in her dim sum at House of Seafood's Punggol outlet, but the local restaurant chain has pushed back against her claims. 

Her Facebook post in the group Complaint Singapore read: "Cockroach found in dim sum at House of Seafood, Punggol. Disgusting, almost bite into it already [sic]."

She also posted two photographs which showed the food she had ordered and the insect on her plate.

Restaurant's response to incident

Speaking to 8world, the owner of the business Francis Ng apologised for the incident. He suggested however, that the insect did not come from the restaurant's kitchen.

"Our kitchens are very clean. The dim sum is placed in the steaming baskets and served, no problem at all."

Instead, he speculated that the insect could have flown into the restaurant when the door was open and landed on the diner's plate when she wasn't paying attention.

Ng also told the Chinese news website: "The surveillance video in the main area showed that there were three siu mai (pork dumplings) in the basket, and she ate one.

"After finding the insect on her plate, she took out two siu mai from the basket, placed them on a plate, and found a good angle, making sure to place it in front of the restaurant's signage before taking a picture of it."

Giam, however, shared in another Facebook post that she was "lucky" she had taken photographs in time to prove that she was indeed dining at the restaurant.

She said she was dissatisfied with the way the restaurant had handled the incident, and claimed that the restaurant staff were "fast to take away [her] plate".

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Even though the diner did not touch almost half of her food after discovering the insect, she said she still had to pay for most of it. Her bill came up to $42.60 after the cost of the affected food items was deducted. 

An employee had initially offered her a $50 voucher, which she declined as she did not think she would patronise the restaurant again.

Ng told 8world that though the restaurant's employee had proposed to waive the bill for the siu mai, Giam wanted the whole bill to be waived.

"The employee also said that if she (Giam) went to the doctor, she could be compensated for the medical expenses, but she did not agree. She also asked for more compensation, a very large number.

"I couldn't accept it. Then she said she was going to complain, and we finally waived the cost of four dim sum items including the siu mai."

Ng also shared that the restaurant is doing all they can to prevent similar incidents from happening again. It has cleaned its kitchen thoroughly and has sent its employees for food hygiene courses. It will also up the frequency of its pest extermination sessions from once to twice a month and try its best to keep its door shut to prevent insects from flying in.

According to 8world, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) confirmed it had looked into the matter and found food safety lapses at the restaurant. SFA also said it would be taking action against the restaurant and added that it has reminded it to adhere to food hygiene standards.

ALSO READ: Healthy greens with a side of 'protein': SFA investigating dead lizard found in salad bought from supermarket

aishahm@asiaone.com