Restaurant owner claims customer staged insect photo in dim sum, but netizens call this ‘ridiculous’

A woman stirred controversy online after posting a photo of an insect she claimed to have found in her dim sum order at House of Seafood in Punggol. Kristine Giam, who shared the image on the COMPLAINT SINGAPORE Facebook page on Oct 19, described the insect as a “cockroach,” adding, “Disgusting, almost bit into it already. Not a full-grown size (I might be wrong cos I’m not a roach expert).”

In her post, Giam tagged the restaurant, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA), and the National Environment Agency (NEA), stating that she had already lodged a formal complaint with the SFA.

While the restaurant’s owner, Francis Ng, apologized for the incident, he suggested the insect may not have originated from his establishment. “Our kitchens are very clean. The dim sum is placed in the steaming baskets and served, no problem at all,” Ng told 8world.

He proposed that the insect might have flown in from outside and landed on Giam’s plate. Ng also claimed that security footage showed Giam had already eaten one of the three siu mai in her order before discovering the insect. According to Ng, Giam allegedly repositioned the remaining dim sum on a plate, ensuring the restaurant’s signage was visible in the background before taking a photo.

Ng further claimed that Giam had refused the restaurant’s offer to remove the dim sum from the bill and instead requested for the entire meal to be waived. Giam’s final bill came to $42.60 after deducting four dim sum items, she shared in a post on her personal Facebook page.

“The staff offered a $50 voucher instead of waiving the meal. I didn’t accept it because I already have those vouchers, and I’ve never used them. I don’t think I’ll go back again after this episode,” Giam wrote. She also expressed disappointment in the restaurant’s response, saying, “You should at least have a manager or someone who can make decisions in such situations.”

The SFA conducted an investigation and discovered food safety lapses at the restaurant, confirming that action would be taken, according to 8world.

Netizens, reacting to the situation, largely sided with Giam, criticizing the restaurant’s handling of the incident. While some acknowledged that scams do happen, many found the owner’s claims “ridiculous.”

/TISG