Apologies for the Recent Incident: KhaoLao Restaurant Chain Addresses Soup Scandal, Pledges Fresh Ingredients Moving Forward.

KhaoLao restaurant chain has officially addressed the scandal of selling ‘soup Tomyum with broken noodle bits’ that took place during the National Day holiday.

At around 7:30 PM on September 1, 2024, the KhaoLao restaurant at Pham Ngoc Thach, Hanoi, received feedback from Ms. Ngoc Han, stating that there were noodles in her seafood Tomyum soup.

Ms. Han shared on two food review groups that when the incident occurred, the kitchen gave two different explanations.

“At first, they claimed it was due to using the wrong water for blanching noodles; later, they said it was because they cooked the noodles with the soup, and the noodles got mixed in… The next morning, after reading about the incident online, the restaurant called me and provided a ‘unified’ explanation, attributing it to using the same blanching ladle for seafood in the Tomyum soup and for blanching noodles previously, hence the mix-up,” she quoted.

“Even this explanation didn’t convince me. If it was a mix-up, there should have been just a few strands, but there were a lot of broken bits in the dish,” Ms. Han added.

Ms. Han also felt that KhaoLao’s apology was insincere. The restaurant only called after her post had gone viral, instead of apologizing when she was still at the dining table.

However, she later took down the post upon learning that one of the staff involved in the incident had a challenging personal situation, including a child with autism who required treatment. She mentioned that the employee would have been fired if she hadn’t removed the post.

KhaoLao, a well-known F&B chain, recently posted an official statement on their Fanpage, assuring customers of their commitment to food quality and safety. The chain, with 13 restaurants, apologized to Ms. Han and all their patrons, stating that they had conducted an internal investigation to identify the steps that led to the mistake in serving Ms. Han’s meal.

“We confirm that hủ tíu noodles are not an ingredient in our standard seafood Tomyum soup. The presence of hủ tíu noodles in Ms. Ngoc Han’s soup was due to a staff member’s mistake of using the wrong blanching tool for hủ tíu/mỳ/miến, resulting in the noodles ending up in the Tomyum soup,” the statement read.

“We assure our customers that we do not use leftover food to prepare dishes,” the restaurant emphasized.

They also apologized for the multiple explanations, which unintentionally caused misunderstandings regarding the exploitation of the staff member’s situation and the customer’s empathy.

“This incident is a valuable lesson for us, and we have taken it to heart. We have taken preventive measures by changing the procedures to use distinct tools and separate blanching water for hủ tíu/mỳ/miến and other ingredients, ensuring that a similar incident does not occur again,” KhaoLao assured.

KhaoLao is an F&B brand under Goldsun Food (formerly Redsun ITI), specializing in Laotian cuisine, alongside other renowned brands like ThaiExpress, KingBBQ, and SushiKei. According to their website, KhaoLao currently operates 12 restaurants in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Bac Ninh.