Stomper flags ‘hygiene lapses’ at dim sum stall, boss says one claim ‘impossible’
A coffee shop diner has raised concerns about what he described as a “hygiene lapse” at a steamed bun store after an employee was seen purportedly washing wooden steamers on the floor.
Stomper Anonymous said he was at a coffee shop at 45 Sims Drive on April 29 for lunch. At around 1.10pm he told Stomp he noticed a worker at Zhen Zheng Handmade Pau washing wooden bun steamers “directly” on the floor.
“Scrubbing was also done on the floor and the scrubs placed on floor in between turning the wooden steamers,” claimed the diner.
As he watched, Anonymous said the employee gave the steamer a quick shake to remove excess water. He also claimed to have seen the worker place “newly shaped baos” on the wet steamer.
The Stomper, who said he has purchased from the stall “many times”, found the sight “gross”, and questioned how long the shop had been washing steamers in this manner.
“To be fair the (buns) are very nice. Just sad to see this hygiene lapse from the staff,” he added.
Employee has been reprimanded sternly, says boss
In a call with Stomp on May 4, the owner of Zhen Zheng Handmade Pau, who wanted to be known as Mr Chia, said the employee has been “sternly reprimanded” and warned that there would be more serious repercussions if such an incident happens again.
Mr Chia explained that the employee is relatively new, having joined around Chinese New Year.
He said the worker had been washing the wooden steamers at a sink but was unable to fully remove the water. As a result, the employee shook the steamer and knocked it against the floor to get rid of the excess water.
“He came from a rural village, so maybe they do things differently from Singapore — I’ve reminded him that the standards here are different,” Mr Chia said.
He added that this was the first such complaint he has received in more than a decade of operations at Sims Drive.
To address the issue, he has since procured an additional metal stand for staff to place steamers during washing.
Mr Chia also disputed one of the claims.
“Impossible,” he said in response to the Stomper’s claim that the employee placed buns on wet steamers. “No way, as this would ruin the product.”
In response to Stomp's queries, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) said that it is looking into the matter and emphasised that food safety is a joint responsibility.
"Food operators should also ensure their premises are clean and well-maintained," the SFA added.
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