Soy products like tau kwa are always a good source of protein, but you probably wouldn’t want to have tau kwa with too much protein.
No, not because the tau kwa’s genetically modified lah. It’s because there’s a bug in it.
Or even worse, a cockroach.
Unfortunately, a family that dined at the Bukit Panjang Hawker Centre and Market recently ended up with what might seem like a worst-case scenario for many: A cockroach right smack in the middle of their tau kwa.
Here’s what happened.
Found “Black Spot” in Tau Kwa After Daughter Took a Bite
When speaking to Shin Min Daily News after the incident, a man named Mr Zhang (Hanyu pinyin) recounted how he and his family headed to the Bukit Panjang Hawker Centre and Market at around 5 pm on Sunday (1 January) for dinner.
At the hawker centre, the family ordered multiple side dishes from a stall selling soup; one was the braised tau kwa dish.
Mr Zhang, the father of the family, recounted how he noticed something wrong with the tau kwa dish after seeing a “black spot” on the tau kwa after his daughter took a bite out of it. He then told his daughter not to eat any more of the dish while the family tried to figure out what the “black spot” was.
Realised that “Black Spot” Was Actually Half of a Dead Cockroach
Upon closer observation, the family found out that there was half of a dead cockroach inside the tau kwa.
He added that his daughter, who has a phobia of cockroaches, probably swallowed the other half of the cockroach when she took the first bite out of the dish.
Mr Zhang’s daughter felt nauseous after realising that she might have swallowed half a cockroach and went to the washroom. However, she was unable to make herself throw it up.
Based on the photos that Mr Zhang took, the tail, feet and a small part of the cockroach’s body could be seen after the family dug it out of the tau kwa.
Hawker Did Not Apologise and Pushed Blame Onto Supplier
After their unpleasant discovery, the Zhang family went home before finishing their dinner as none of them were in the mood for dinner anymore.
He added that his family might not even want to eat tau kwa for the rest of this year.
Apart from that, he also revealed that the hawker did not apologise on the spot when he told the hawker about the cockroach in the tau kwa.
Instead, he blamed the issue on the tau kwa supplier.
Employee Apologised Afterwards, Will Inform Stallholder and Supplier
When Shin Min reporters visited the stall on Sunday (1 January) night, an employee of the stall was getting ready to close the stall for the day.
When speaking to Shin Min, he mentioned that he did indeed hear one of his colleagues talk to a customer about cockroaches being found in the stall’s food.
The employee recounted how he was in the kitchen area at that time and only heard his colleague mention that it might be a problem related to the supplier. He also revealed that the stall’s supplier hands the tau kwa to a factory for processing before shipping it to the stall.
Apart from that, the employee apologised for Mr Zhang’s unpleasant experience at the stall. He added that he would notify both the stallholder and supplier about the incident.
Featured Image: Shin Min Daily News