Several tenants besides the shamed Hotpot Culture have spotted rats in Marina Square since renovation work started.
One told Yahoo! Singapore that the problem, which they'd complained about many times to the management, is out of control.
“I think he’s just very unlucky that it got into (Hotpot Culture's) food," said the tenant.
Meanwhile, Mr. Lim Choon Kok, the owner of Hotpot Culture, has been assisting the National Environment Agency with investigations since operations were suspended.
He's reported to be under tremendous stress, and has removed the salted vegetable dish where Ms. Caron Chan found the dead rat, from the menu. Mr. Lim has also imposed a policy where all food must be cooked and served on the same day, adding that the mistake Hotpot Culture made was not that the restaurant was dirty, but that the chefs had been careless. The vegetable dish, which was served at the restaurant's porridge buffet, had been cooked the day before and its lid was left open to prevent the food from going bad. The next day, a chef had fired up the dish and served it without knowing a rat had entered the stew.
Hotpot Culture, which was ordered to clean up the place after more rats and dried rat droppings were found on its premises during investigation, faces about $2,000 in fines and demerit points from the NEA.
Before the incident, the NEA had granted the restaurant a "B" grade for its cleanliness and hygiene.
According to Yahoo! Singapore, Mr. Lim wants to hold a free all-day buffet for patrons when he reopens "as a way to apologise" to the public.
“I am really sorry that a lapse happened at our restaurant. I hope that the public will please give me a chance, a helping hand to start again,” said the 58-year-old.
Photo: Caron Chan
Several tenants besides the shamed Hotpot Culture have spotted rats in Marina Square since renovation work started.
One told Yahoo! Singapore that the problem, which they'd complained about many times to the management, is out of control.
“I think he’s just very unlucky that it got into (Hotpot Culture's) food," said the tenant.
Meanwhile, Mr. Lim Choon Kok, the owner of Hotpot Culture, has been assisting the National Environment Agency with investigations since operations were suspended.
He's reported to be under tremendous stress, and has removed the salted vegetable dish where Ms. Caron Chan found the dead rat, from the menu. Mr. Lim has also imposed a policy where all food must be cooked and served on the same day, adding that the mistake Hotpot Culture made was not that the restaurant was dirty, but that the chefs had been careless. The vegetable dish, which was served at the restaurant's porridge buffet, had been cooked the day before and its lid was left open to prevent the food from going bad. The next day, a chef had fired up the dish and served it without knowing a rat had entered the stew.
Hotpot Culture, which was ordered to clean up the place after more rats and dried rat droppings were found on its premises during investigation, faces about $2,000 in fines and demerit points from the NEA.
Before the incident, the NEA had granted the restaurant a "B" grade for its cleanliness and hygiene.
According to Yahoo! Singapore, Mr. Lim wants to hold a free all-day buffet for patrons when he reopens "as a way to apologise" to the public.
“I am really sorry that a lapse happened at our restaurant. I hope that the public will please give me a chance, a helping hand to start again,” said the 58-year-old.
Photo: Caron Chan