Owner and staff of Food Republic stall at Causeway Point warned over cockroach in rice

Submitted by Stomper Anonymous

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A diner was horrified when what felt like crunchy cabbage in her mouth turned out to be a baby cockroach.

Stomper Anonymous said she visited Food Republic at Causeway Point last Thursday (Nov 26), at around 1pm.

She made a takeaway order of Soya Sauce Chicken Rice from You Men Hong Kong Roast, a stall that she has been patronising "for months".

The Stomper 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."

According to Anonymous, no apology was offered and she had to request for a refund.

In response to a Stomp query, a spokesman for Food Republic said it was informed of the incident via an email from the customer on November 28.

"We immediately contacted her to apologise and checked on her well-being," he added.

"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.

"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."