“New fear unlocked” — Diner finds mould in dim sum basket

SINGAPORE: A man was disgusted when he found leftover food scraps in the dim sum basket in the restaurant where he ate. And there was also mould at the bottom of the basket.

Mr Eerik Tan wrote on the popular COMPLAINT SINGAPORE Facebook page on Monday morning (Oct 2) that the sight made him feel so sick he almost lost his meal. What appeared to be worse yet was the wait staff’s uncaring, almost casual attitude.

 “*NEW FEAR UNLOCKED* always check the basket if dimsum!!!!!!,” wrote Mr Tan, who also tagged 89.7 Supper Club Paya Lebar in his post.

“Just had lunch at here. Ordered 1 basket of Hao kow. Only when I finished the food that I noticed the basket has left over scraps of siew mai skin and what I believe to be chicken feet skin.”

What he saw was even more unpleasant when he lifted the paper that lined the bottom of the basket.

“And upon taking up the paper, I saw that the basket have Mould. Omg I nearly puked. I asked if they actually clean the basket and showed the only Chinese waitress and she just took the basket. And just said ya we got wash.  I’m still gagging now. Freaking disgusting.”

The Independent Singapore has reached out to Mr Eerik Tan and 89.7 Supper Club Paya Lebar for further updates and comments.

Other netizens commenting on the post appeared to be equally disgusted.

“Unbelievable!! The hygiene standard is like this when it’s only the start of the day?” wrote one. “If report they kena..hygiene bad,” contributed another. Some encouraged Mr Tan Liliang to report the matter to the Singapore Food Agency (SFA). Others say they no longer patronize the establishment.

“Once i dine in there, i had food poisoning the same night but i cldnt pin point the place because i ate 2 diff restaurants the same day. But now i know where i got my vomiting from. I stop going there,” one chimed in. “I stopped eating there long time back,” wrote another.

Bamboo steamers are essential in cooking authentic dim sum, but because of the material they’re made of, they must be cleaned properly before storing; otherwise, the dampness from the steam and remaining food particles might cause moulds.

They should also be dried before storing for the same reason.

Mould in food can cause a range of stomach issues. Moreover, where mould is, bacteria can often also be found, and food that has bacteria can also cause people to get very sick. /TISG

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