Reluctant to trouble her mother-in-law, Li Qiulian (transliteration) turned to a food caterer for her confinement meals after seeing multiple good reviews online.
The 40-year-old accountant paid over $1,800 to Yu Mummy Confinement Meals for a 28-day lunch and dinner package in end-March.
But what she thought would be a fuss-free experience turned out to be a frustrating one, with the second-time mother claiming that she lost her appetite throughout her confinement period.
In a Facebook post on April 18, Li wrote that “90 per cent” of the meals she received did not match the caterer’s online menu, and that the food tasted “real bad”.
“[There were] insects in the food which they said is food ingredients… Now I’m mentally down when I want to eat my food, before even opening the container.”
The mother told Lianhe Zaobao that she had made advance requests for no eggs, chicken, prawn and sambal in her meals for the first two weeks. She also requested no pumpkin, carrots and ginger for a while as her baby had jaundice.
However, Li claimed her requests were ignored by the caterer and the ingredients continued to be in her confinement meals.
She added that the meals would occasionally be delivered late or not arrive at all, forcing her to buy food from the coffee shop downstairs.
“Each confinement meal costs $30 on average, but dishes look worse than the cai fan in coffee shops and there were even insects and other foreign objects [in the dish]. This affected my mood during confinement.”
According to the text messages between Li and the caterer, the latter said the substandard ingredients delivered by their supplier caused their chef to change the menu without advance notice, reported Zaobao.
Regarding the issues of ‘foreign objects’ in the food and the late delivery, the caterer told Li that they would provide an extra meal as compensation.
Li said: “The food is already unappetising, yet the other party offered more meals as compensation and refused to refund me. It really doesn’t make sense.”
Yu Mummy Confinement Meals told Zaobao that the company has sought advice and assistance from celebrity chefs to improve their business processes and menu planning.
As for the presence of prawn and sambal in Li’s confinement meals, the caterer said that both ingredients are suitable for postpartum meals and the sambal had been specially prepared with shredded ginger.
The caterer said it will also improve its customer service training and issue a full refund to Li.
Li, however, claimed the caterer had refused to give her a full refund and said they could only convert the remaining meals into vouchers. She has approached the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) for help.
When contacted by Zaobao, Case confirmed it has received a complaint against Yu Mummy Confinement Meals and is assisting the consumer who is seeking a full refund.
AsiaOne has reached out to Yu Mummy Confinement Meals and Case for more information.
Updates
In response to AsiaOne’s queries, Case said it has received nine complaints against Yu Mummy between Jan 1 and May 7.
According to Case president Melvin Yong, consumers generally complained about late deliveries, discrepancies in orders, poor communication from vendors, concerns about food quality and suitability, and difficulties obtaining refunds.
Case is assisting the affected consumers. Consumers who require assistance can contact Case at 6277-5100 or through its website.
This article was first published in AsiaOne and republished on theAsianparent with permission.
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