I vomited thrice, says diner who found cockroach in half-eaten ramen

While tucking into his bowl of ramen, a man spotted an extra "ingredient" — a dead insect.

The shocked diner, surnamed Lin, told Shin Min Daily News that he was having a meal with his friends at Sanpoutei Ramen at Shaw House on Nov 24 when he made the stomach-churning discovery.

At first, he thought it was a worm. But he took a closer look and realised that it was a dead cockroach.

"I had eaten half of the ramen by then, the discovery made me lose my appetite," said the 26-year-old student.

"When I told a staff member there was a cockroach in my noodles, he hurried to take the dish away," he added.

"The staff also revealed that there was a number of cockroaches spotted in the restaurant lately, which made me even more concerned about their food hygiene."

A regular patron of the ramen restaurant, Lin said that it was the first time he encountered a situation like this.

The restaurant later waived his bill, which had cost over $40.

"I vomited thrice after reaching home. I didn't eat anything until the next afternoon and even went to see a doctor," said Lin.

The customer had wanted the restaurant to reimburse his medical fees but said he was unable to contact them via phone or email.

Sanpoutei Ramen apologises

A spokesperson for Sanpoutei Ramen told Shin Min that they apologised to Lin and waived his bill.

The restaurant also immediately disposed of the same batch of ingredients and broth used that day.

"We will put in additional measures to make up for the customer's bad experience and help him regain confidence in our store," said the spokesperson.

While regular pest inspections are conducted at the restaurant's premises, Sanpoutei Ramen requested for the pest control firm to carry out another comprehensive inspection to prevent similar incidents.

"We would like to assure everyone that we take food safety and quality seriously and we are deeply sorry for any inconvenience caused to our customers," the spokesperson added.

ALSO READ: Woman discovers cockroach in Ichiban Boshi bento only when finishing it

lim.kewei@asiaone.com