The local food blogger under fire for demanding a free meal
at a upscale restaurant in Joo Chiat says the entire saga has
been a “case of miscommunication”.
On Monday, Yahoo! Singapore reported that the local food blogging
community was upset that Brad Lau, who owns
food blog ladyironchef, initially refused to pay
the full cost of his meal and that of his three friends
after a visit to Private Affairs for their Sunday Brunch
promotion.
But in a post entitled, “The Truth”, written on Tuesday,
Lau said, “An eye for an eye makes the world go blind. I would like
to not point fingers at anyone – it was simply a case of
miscommunication. When I dine out, I pay for my food like any
regular consumer.”
Lau said the miscommunication could have resulted from the fact
that he was simply following up on a food tasting invitation
by the restaurant back in early June.
But because he had a busy schedule, he could only confirm last
Friday on 20th August that he would attending
their Sunday Brunch promotion, along with his partner and two
other friends.
He wrote, “I was invited to a food tasting session by Melanie,
PR Manager for the restaurant. The first invite came June 2nd. I
was unable to make it then and it was not until Friday, August 20th
that I scheduled the Sunday brunch. In the invite, I was told to
bring a guest.”
Although he did not clarify at the time if he and his partner
would be expected to pay, he wrote, ”This was an invitation to
a food-tasting session. There is no hard and fast rule stating a
plus one for a food tasting. However, having attended previous food
tastings before, I assumed that the meal would be, at the very
least, on the house for myself and one dining partner.”
In his post that included several screencaps of mobile and
email messages, he also went to write ”it was an
oversight to assume that no acknowledgement from Melanie about
my 3 accompanying guests would mean that their meals would be on
the house too.”
While Lau denied saying, “I always get free food wherever I
go”, he admitted he was hostile towards the cashier when he
was settling the final bill of $160 for his group of four.
“I must admit the hostility while paying (I had tossed
my credit card on the table) was uncalled for and I sincerely
apologise,” he wrote.
Addressing the issue of his integrity as a food blogger,
he clarified that when he “dine(s) out, I pay for my food
like any regular consumer. When I am invited for food tasting
sessions, it is a mutual understanding between the inviter and
myself, that I would be attending as the identity of media for a
possible food review.”
Lau concluded by asking all parties to “view this
situation objectively. I hope this post clarifies any
misunderstanding that this might have caused.”
Source:
http://sg.yfittopostblog.com/2010/08/24/under-fire-food-blogger-defends-himself/
