He said, she said: Hawker calls out unjust 1-star rating, says “lying is never a good thing”

If you’ve ever wanted to check out a new eatery or restaurant, chances are you’ve probably Googled them, and looked at their rating and reviews. In some instances, F&B establishments live and die by these ratings and maintaining a good score is important. Unfortunately, sometimes these reviews are not all they seem – as one hawker highlighted in a social media post. 

On 4 Mar 2025, Aaron Wong, former Masterchef finalist and owner of the Jiak Song Mee Hoon Kway chain, took to Facebook to call out a 1-star review that one of his stalls had just received. 

The stall in question was Guo Jin Hotpot, his latest venture that he set up in 2023, located at an industrial area in Bukit Merah. 

In his post, he explains that the review was from “Rachel Lim”. The review said, “Went on Sunday and was told closed, around 830pm.” Wong went on to explain that staff members were still present at the shop at that time, and they had not met anyone who came up to them to ask if they were closed or not. 

He concluded that “This is 100% a fake post” and uploaded photos with time stamps as proof. Continuing, he said that hawkers toil for long hours doing back-breaking work, and what seems like “simple words behind a keyboard” undermines the hard work of people in F&B. 

He finished off with “Lying, no matter who you are, is never a good thing. You are the kind of people the F&B industry doesn’t need”. 

Commenters were generally supportive, with some voicing suspicion that it could have been an attempt to sabotage Wong’s business. Others offered him encouragement, with one even mentioning that they had helped report the review. 

Checking Guo Jin Hotpot’s reviews does reveal multiple 1-star reviews, with several highlighting service as a pain point. The owner has responded to several of these, refuting certain claims from the reviewers.

In some instances, an establishment may deserve a 1-star review, be it for poor or unhygienic food, or terrible customer service. However, I feel it is incredibly dishonest to leave a poor rating without ever visiting the establishment, or to “review-bomb” a place just to harm its business. 

In this instance, it is Wong’s words against those of Rachel Lim’s, and none of us can say definitively who is in the right.

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