Rat chews on instant noodles at popular Vietnamese stall in Ang Mo Kio, stall apologises

One of the biggest appetite killers is seeing unwelcome pests in the vicinity of our favourite eateries. Unfortunately, for a customer of Bánh Mì Saigon, this fear came into fruition.

On 19 May 2023 at 8.45pm, TikTok user @vinnography visited the popular Vietnamese stall, Bánh Mì Saigon, which is known for its Vietnamese baguettes and dishes. While eating, the user heard sounds coming from the plastic packaging on the shelves behind them and to their horror, spotted a “medium-sized” rat “rampaging” through the instant noodle packets for sale.

The diner also stated that “at least one packet” of the instant noodles had been bitten and torn open by the rat.

Upon discovering the rat, the diner alerted the staff at Bánh Mì Saigon, who said that they would check later. However, 15 minutes passed, and nobody came to check on the rat. The diner then left the premises and reported the incident to the Singapore Food Agency (SFA).

Afterwards, the diner posted a TikTok detailing their experience, even including brightened videos of the rat in question.

Bánh Mì Saigon: Hidden spot in Ang Mo Kio with the best bánh mì in Singapore

Netizens respond

After the TikTok was posted, several netizens shared their thoughts on the incident. Some expressed their gratitude towards @vinnography for sharing about the incident, while others, who were fans of Bánh Mì Saigon, showed their disappointment at the discovery of the rodent.

However, some other netizens criticised the diner’s decision to post a TikTok about the rat, accusing them of ruining the stall owners’ livelihoods by publicising the incident.

Bánh Mì Saigon’s apology

As the incident garnered more and more attention from the media, Bánh Mì Saigon put out a statement on Facebook apologising for the incident.

In the statement, the establishment states that when the rat was discovered, the staff “immediately informed the management”, and that pest control had also been alerted to perform an inspection. The stall also reassured diners that the shop and food preparation area was “not affected” by the incident. Furthermore, they added that on the day of the discovery, they had engaged cleaning and sanitising services on top of their usual cleaning.

Customer finds rusty fishhook in fish soup from Amoy Street Food Centre