mossycheong: June 2008

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Hard Work Paid Off

After 102 hours, stranded on a island north eastern off singapore, with 29 other participants and 2 instructors, this is indeed a hard earned certificate. Never in my life have i done so many outdoor sports in a 5 day period. This will be always in my memory.

Thanks Outward Bound Singapore!

Monday, June 16, 2008

Metal Gear Solid 4

How i wished i own a PS3!

Farewell Makan for me

Today, 2 of my buddy from my unit brought me out for a farewell lunch. Well, in 7 days time, i be going for a 10 week course and after that, chances are that i will be going somewhere else. Mr Patrick Ho and Mr Tony Phoon decided to treat me to Shabu-Shabu at Bugis Xian De Lai steamboat.

After a sumptous shabu-shabu of beef, lamb, pork and chicken, washed down with 3 jugs of Tiger Beer, we went for Gelato and followed by Starbucks Coffee.

Thanks so much to Mr Patrick Ho and Mr Tony Phoon. Their gesture to buy me makan was so heartwarming and also i had one of the best shabu-shabu session ever.

In the next 10 weeks, i will definitely miss the kopi-o sessions, the vegetarian lunch and the "calories" counting jokes!

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Thawed oysters served as Fresh oysters at Kublai Khan Mongolian Barbeque Restaurant (Located at Park Mall).

Open Letter to Kublai Khan Mongolian Barbeque Restaurant (Located at Park Mall)

Good Day to All,

I would like to share an incident which happened at Kublai Khan Mongolian Barbeque Restaurant (Located at Park Mall) on 15th June 2008.

My family and i were celebrating Father's Day at the restaurant. At around 7.15pm, oysters were served and all interested patrons queued up at the counter. My wife and bro-in-law was in the queue and they were given 3 oysters each. 15 minutes later, they went to collect another round. As i was eating, my sis-in-law discovered that her oyster was frozen. When she showed it to me, i was shocked! Not only that, we discovered almost half of the oysters on the table were frozen. My wife then mentioned that's why they were told to wait while the chef washed the oysters and the oysters were soaked in a pail of water. They are actually thawing them.

We requested for the restaurant manager, Mr Alan Pook, to enquire on this. When he arrived, i asked him whether the oysters served were fresh? He answered yes. I then asked why are the oysters frozen if he says they are fresh? After showing him the oysters, he say he will check with his chef.

Few moments later, he came to us with his chef. I asked the chef if the oysters are fresh. He said yes. I then asked if he knows that they are frozen. He answered yes. I asked the manager whether is it alright to serve thawed oysters as fresh oysters? He say no and he acknowledged that it shouldn't happened. Upon further queries, the chef admitted that the oysters were delivered to the restaurants in the afternoon fresh. however, to prevent them from turning bad, they were stored in the freezer. I asked if its the correct way of serving the oysters. The manager said due to a large crowd, they have to bring in more and run out of space in the fridge and says he will ensure that they don't do it again. He asked us to give the restaurant a chance. I said how can a restaurant serve thawed seafood as fresh seafood, especially when the oyster will be eaten raw!

I was very angry with the nonchalant reply. i asked the manager if he know what is salmonella? He says he does. I said that there was a well known bakery closed for a period of time due to salmonella. Its caused by poor hygiene practice. Hygiene is of the top priority in any food business. He says he understand but still says that due to certain reasons, they served the frozen/thawed oyster. (While the conversation was going on, the chef are still serving the thawed oysters.) Even the adjacent table were served thawed oysters and they didn't dare eat it.

I find that this restaurant has no sense of social responsibility. i hope that some agency can do something to audit their hygiene level and code of conduct. A restaurant who can compromise the health and safety of their patrons for it own interest is a no-no. This incident have left my family and me disappointed.

I attach photos of the oysters. However, the frozen part was unable to be captured.