Met up with Lin, Jes and Jas yesterday afternoon at Antoinette, Mandarin Gallery for brunch and tea. All of us ordered a pot of tea each. My pot of Osthmanthus tea was quite fragrant. But heard the Petite Rose and Himalayan tea were forgettable. I also ordered Eggs Benedict at S$12. A thing to note that they charge extra S$3 for poached and scrambled eggs. Requested for margarine to go with my toast and I love the creamy but non-oily margarine.
That being said, there's almost nothing special nor outstanding with my brunch.....until this caught my sight.....and my gall.....
Actually.....I finished almost 80% of my food already...and just wanna finish up the salad too because the dish wasnt filling. I did note that the salad wasnt fresh but really didnt expect find a HUGEEEEEEE GARBAGE FLY amongst the leaves. Immediately, I threw up the food already in my mouth as I pushed all leaves aside to reveal the creature.
Seriously, it's so BIGGGGG that the 2 girls at our neighbor table exclaimed "OH MY GOD!" in an even louder tone than me. They could see it that clearly. I think I was too disgusted to produce alot of noise...I was actually finding my voice. We then signaled a waiter to come and address and the boy said "We're very sorry" and tried to clear the plate. I stopped him, took a picture and said, "No, that wont do. I want to see your manager."
And I complained to him in a disturbed but polite tone. To which he replied, "I'm so sorry...we'll waive off this dish." with an expression which clearly said, "That's too bad...but seriously I dont care if you ate the fly." And when I said it's not about the price of the food but the whole gruesome experience as well as the topic of hygiencics of the restaurant at hand, especially it's kitchen. He then said it's got nothing to do with them as the salad came in pre-washed packet and it's too bad that there's flies in it. But shouldnt you also washed all your vegetables and ensure that they're clean before you place them on the plate?
And then he said "I'm so sorry" then he walked away. His name is Zul(pronounced as "zoo). I think he is an FT? But I'm just wondering if he is and if he is, is it because he's not a local, thus he cant feel for me? At all.
Actually, I dont wish to make a big hoo-haa of this whole episode but it's bothering more than I can ever imagine. After the sight of that creature, I simply felt nauseous and had no appetite for the entire day/night. It might be psychological as I felt butterflies in my stomach. Still, I tried to forget the incident and continued to chat with my girls because it's so difficult that we can meet up and I dont wish to be a wet blanket. They were very comforting and said encouragingly that I should complain and stomp it or comment on their facebook page or things like that. But I just dont wish to blow up the matter and thought I'm just unlucky.....and I should be able to feel better after awhile...
But I didnt. I also ordered the strawberry shortcake, hoping to relieve the nausea...but it didnt help at all. I simply got more irritated as it really spoils my day despite how much I wish to make it better. So when we're leaving, I asked for the manager again and said in a very emotionless tone, "We're leaving. With that huge garbage fly in my food, I would assume that our meal should be complimentary?" To which the manager replied, "Of course, the meal will be on me." I was really internally rolling my eyes because it sounded as if he footed the bill instead of simply striking off the cashier chit with a comment "Bill waived because of complaint of garbage fly in food".
I dont remember if he did apologised again(frankly speaking, I dont have good impression of him at all) and I stalked away after saying "Ok." instead of "Thanks". Which is really unlike me.
We ate again for dinner at Robert Timms....and I simply ate because I know I need to eat.....but basically I really feel like throwing up at the sight of food...or leaves.....I dont suppose I should do a review of their food when I felt nauseous and stomach discomfort at that point in time. I had diarrhea twice when I reached home and the nausea and butterflies-in-stomach-feeling continued for the rest of the night...right until this afternoon And so I went to see the doctor today. All my friends were feeling indignant and righteous for me...although I said the nausea might be because of psychological reasons(心理作用) but my friend said, "Even if it's psychological, it's also because it's caused by them what." I realized that makes alot of sense. Haha. And my dear Lin, commented on Antoinette's facebook page, today, because she felt Antoinette should compensate for any medical costs on my part.
Hi Antoinette, here's the picture of the HUGEEEE garbage fly in my food yesterday with my compliments. Even the girls at my neighbor table were able to see it clearly and exclaimed loudly in awe; truly an "Olympic size" champion. Extremely disgusting! My dear girlfriends were concerned as I felt nauseous and had stomach discomfort for the whole night and even suffered diarrhea. So she posted in your facebook page, asking if Antoinette should compensate in any way. In fact, all my friends felt indignant and righteous about your manager's offhanded attitude and insincere apology. Is it because he's not a local and therefore cannot feel for me? Hmmm........ I've seen the doctor and can well afford my medical bills. And if Antoinette has any decency or sincerity, you should message me for my contact instead of asking me to email YOU at sweets@sugardaddy.com.sg , as if I'm asking for allowances from my sugar daddy. My friend and I used to have a somewhat similar experience at a restaurant at a hotel. Other than waiving the bill, the manager took his number, called the next day to check if he's okie, offered to pay for any medical bills and re-invite us back for another complimentary visit. But of course if you feel that yours cant be compared to a restaurant in a hotel then so be it(not that I wishhhhh to dine in your restaurant ever again, please dont get me wrong) Count me unlucky. I just wish my shared post can warn my friends whom I care. For people who are adventurous, I wish you luck. — at Antoinette Mandarin Gallery.
In any case, I just checked and they replied, and I had replied since they sounded sincere enough.
I will update if there's any followups.
My review on hungrygowhere.com on Antoinette
I'm Kaori by the way....., if you're interested in my hungrygowhere reviews.
My review on hungrygowhere.com on Antoinette
Enough said. Pictures tell a thousand words isnt it....
That is one huge Olympic size garbage fly...I wonder what kind of kitchen can breed it so well......
If you're interested in the details of the whole nauseating experience...sigh....then it's here, http://littlechillipadi89.blogspot.sg/2013/02/giant-garbage-fly-in-food-at-antoinette.html
I'm being very fair and impartial here....judging on my experience, I think I absolutely have the right to rate 1 star for 1st 3 criterias(food/drink/service/value). And I thought I can give more stars for the ambience but thinking back....on the sunday afternoon which we're there, it was as noisy as a market. I dont mind queuing but the place was very cramped too. My 2 friends dont have a proper chair. One was sitting on a small backless lounge chair(her poor back for that few hours...) which is probably meant for bags. And the other friend was sitting on a very low chair which made her too short for the table.
Until then.....for any adventurous beings...I applaud your courage...
I felt so much better after my doctor's medicine(for nausea) and even while writing this entry together with the pictures, I did not feel nauseous again. I guess, it wasnt entirely psychological too. Thanks for your concern, if any. =) It's funny just now while I was trying to catch my lunch at a kopitiam near my doctor's clinic. Looking at all the pictures of the food on the banners, I just feel like throwing up. And suddenly I caught sight at 2 guys staring at me with horror in their eyes, I then realized with my hand instinctively and unknowingly clamped onto my mouth and with my horrible nauseated facial expression, they probably thought I was going to throw up there and then. Lol.
**Update**
Just few minutes after this entry, I realized in order to file an investigation or complaint or whatsoever, one needs to have a so-call record or something(instead of simply asking them to read this entry). So I emailed them an excerpt of this entry and wrote:,
"I'm glad that despite the offhanded attitude your manager Zul has, the personnel managing your facebook page undoubtedly has more EQ and at least, I can feel some sincerity.
I do wish that this wont happen again and for all the ordeal you had put me through, I do hope you're sincere in making compensations to me and hear from you soon.
Regards
*Updated* Their email reply here.
*Updated* The compensation brunch here.
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