Black centipede found in ban mian from Seletar Mall stall, diner raises alarm bells
A diner who found a black centipede in her bowl of ban mian said she was worried that the entire pot of soup had been "contaminated".
The restaurant operator, Fei Siong Group, said it has disinfected the outlet and replaced the soup base.
Ms Qiu (transliterated), the 43-year-old diner, told Shin Min Daily News that she visited Let's Eat! — a noodle shop at Seletar Mall — at about 7pm on Jan 14. She ordered a bowl of ban mian, which cost $5.50 for her two children, aged 10 and eight.
"I was about to portion the noodles into two smaller bowls when I noticed a foreign object while scooping the soup," she said.
Photos provided by Ms Qiu show a black centipede measuring about 4cm long in the bowl.
Ms Qiu said she alerted staff members to the discovery and was given a refund. She was also informed that the shop's supervisor was not present at the time, and no further action was taken.
"I thought they would throw away the entire pot of soup, but they didn't. I called the management the next day to report the incident," she said.
Outlet disinfected after report: Fei Siong Group
In response to Shin Min's queries, Fei Siong Group, which operates the noodle stall, said it attended to the matter immediately after receiving the feedback.
"The stall carried out a thorough cleaning and sanitation of the food preparation area, and the batch of soup was fully discarded and replaced," said the spokesperson, adding that an internal review of the outlet's hygiene and food-handling procedures was also conducted.
However, the spokesperson noted that the group was unable to determine how the centipede ended up in the bowl, and noted that it has not received any other reports of food poisoning or similar feedback.
In a separate incident, a customer found a dead fly in a mixed rice dish at a Choa Chu Kang coffee shop stall. Last October, a rat was also spotted in a sauce container at a Farrer Park noodle restaurant.
Stomp has reached out to the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) for comment.
