Geylang eatery apologises after diners allegedly find ‘too many’ maggots in butter chicken
A group of diners were horrified after allegedly finding maggots in their butter chicken at a Geylang eatery.
Stomper Ikaz said he was having lunch with two companions at Al- Sadi Restaurant at 51 Guillemard Road on Sept 1 at around 12.30pm when the incident occurred.
“While eating, we discovered what appeared to be multiple small maggots or insect larvae in our butter chicken,” alleged the Stomper.
According to Ikaz, the discovery was made when one of his friends dipped his naan into the butter chicken.
Asked how many maggots there were, Ikaz told Stomp: “Too many.”
The diners immediately notified restaurant staff and showed them the insects, along with photographs they had taken. However, Ikaz found the staff’s response dismissive.
“Instead of investigating, the staff dismissed our concerns and claimed the insects were part of the ingredients. The guy who served our food also denied it many times and said the same thing,” he said.
“We tried to speak with the manager, but the staff seemed to act blur and said the manager was not in. They pretended nothing happened and didn’t charge us for the food.”
Ikaz, who is unable to recall how much the dish cost, said he found the staff’s response “extremely concerning given the potential health risks”.
“This incident raises serious questions about the restaurant’s food hygiene standards and their handling of customer safety complaints,” added the Stomper, who reported the incident to the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) on Sept 1.
Restaurant apologises, says ‘insect’ fell into curry
When contacted by Stomp, a spokesperson for Al- Sadi Restaurant apologised for the “inconvenience and issue caused”.
“Our restaurant is fully open, so sometimes insects can enter the restaurant,” said the spokesperson on Sept 11. “In this case, an insect accidentally fell into the curry.”
The spokesperson said Ikaz and his friends had ordered three portions of butter chicken and two of them had already been waiting for some time.
“Unfortunately, during this waiting time, the insect fell into the butter chicken,” the spokesperson explained.
When asked to clarify what insect he was referring to, as Ikaz and his photos pointed to several maggots, the spokesperson reiterated that Al- Sadi restaurant is an “open shop” that maintains “a very high standard of cleanliness”.
The spokesperson said: “We clean the restaurant regularly, and pest control comes twice every month. Our team also regularly checks and monitors all areas of the restaurant.
“Our team takes full responsibility for this issue. We immediately apologised to the customer and provided a full refund. The customer understood the situation and accepted the refund.”
According to the spokesperson, Ikaz is a regular customer who visits the restaurant “almost every day”.
He added: “We are very sorry for this incident, and we will take extra care and double-check the food and serving area to prevent this from happening again.”
The spokesperson also said this was the first time the restaurant had received such complaints and it takes the matter very seriously.
“We will take extra precautions and make sure this issue does not happen again. We will do our best to ensure this is the first and last complaint of this kind.”
SFA looking into matter
In response to a Stomp query, SFA said on Sept 8 that it is looking into the matter.
As part of the enquiry and gathering of evidence, SFA may engage the feedback provider for more details and will not hesitate to take enforcement action if sufficient evidence has been obtained.
“Food safety is a joint responsibility,” said the agency.
“While SFA puts in place and enforces the regulatory measures, food operators must play their part by adhering to good food hygiene and preparation practices. Food operators should also ensure their premises are clean and well-maintained.”
Members of the public who have concerns about food safety practices by food operators should report the matter to SFA via its online feedback form.
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