Warning for Causeway Point Food Republic stall owner after diner bites into baby cockroach in rice

Food Republic has issued a strict warning to the You Men Hong Kong Roast stall at its Causeway Point branch after a diner bit into a cockroach that was in the Soya Sauce Chicken Rice dish she ordered from the stall.

The diner told Stomp that she made a takeaway order from the stall around 1pm, last Thursday (26 Nov). She recounted: “As I was on my second bite, I noticed this weird texture in my mouth that felt like cabbage.

“As I’ve eaten from them before, I know that they don’t add cabbage in their chicken rice. I decided to take a look and to my horror, it was a baby cockroach. I had chewed on a baby cockroach.

“I went back to the stall and showed them the evidence. The old uncle took a closer inspection and proceeded to wash the spoon of cockroach down near the pot where they boil noodles.”

The diner said that she was not offered an apology and that she had to request for a refund. Upset, the diner emailed Food Republic and informed the food court chain about the incident.

Revealing that the chain immediately contacted the customer and checked on her wellbeing, a Food Republic spokesman said that it has stepped up hygiene and safety operations at the food court aside from issuing a warning to the stall.

The spokesman said: “Thorough disinfection and sanitisation of this, and all other stalls, have been carried out. Ongoing pest control efforts have also been stepped up. We have also issued a strict warning to the stall owner and staff, and strongly reiterated the importance of food safety and hygiene to all tenants and staff.”

He added: “We will continue to work closely with our tenants to ensure we meet the exacting food safety and hygiene standards that have been set in place, to continue to allow our customers to dine with a peace of mind.”