Eatery threatens to add ‘special ingredient’ to M’sian influencer’s food after slew of negative reviews

We’re not starting a cult but some followers on Instagram would be nice. Thank you.

Gordon Ramsay’s “Kitchen Nightmares”, a series that features notorious restaurants, is set to return to the small screens after almost 10 years.

And this Malaysian eatery, Garden Western Grill, seems like a suitable candidate.

Many negative reviews

Located in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, the eatery serves Western food and has received a slew of negative reviews.

Here’s a look at their offerings:

And here are the reviews:

More negative reviews on TikTok

Among these negative reviews includes one from popular TikTok reviewer Syafiq Rapid Reviews.

In Syafiq’s review which has been seen over 770,000 times, he mentioned he was “treated differently with privileges” after the staff recognised him.

@syafiqrx90 Garden Western Grill in Petaling Jaya, Selangor – A case of quantity over quality #makanlokal #gardenwesterngrill ♬ Cupid – Twin Ver. (FIFTY FIFTY) – Sped Up Version – sped up 8282

However, he said that he didn’t like to be treated any differently from normal customers and paid for his meals anyway.

Here’s what he bought:

• Lamb chop: RM50 (S$14.74)
• Ribeye steak: RM63 (S$18.57)
• Fish and chips: RM28 (S$8.25)

While the eatery is known for its large portions, Syafiq pointed out it only seems that way due to the “overflowing” portion of fries and lettuce.

He also gave each dish an average of  2.6 out of 10.

Ouch.

Owner’s response to negative reviews

While some eateries see negative reviews as a chance to improve themselves, Garden Western Grill takes them differently.

In response to Syafiq’s video, the eatery’s owner, Tom, thanked him for making him “more famous”.

“Let the entire Malaysia know that Tom the owner is the type that will fight,” he wrote on Garden Western Grill’s Facebook page.

In another post from May 16, he posted a screenshot of another TikTok reviewer’s profile, Jason.

With over 134,000 followers on TikTok, Jason is known for giving entertaining and honest food reviews.

The forbidden “special ingredient”

In his post, Tom asked: “When will this influencer come to our shop?”

He also said: “We’ve already added a ‘special ingredient’ into another person’s food… Only hotel employees know what I’m referring to when I say ‘special ingredient’.”

The eatery’s post has raised some eyebrows, with some commenters asking what he meant by “special ingredient”.

Some of the commenters replied that “special ingredient” implies bodily fluids like spit or phlegm.

Garden Western Grill’s admission to adding “special ingredients” to their food has also come to the Ministry of Health’s (KKM) attention.

KKM mengambil maklum dan akan menyusul dengan sewajarnya. https://t.co/vT9IUaEYuc

— KKMalaysia🇲🇾😷 (@KKMPutrajaya) May 18, 2023

The tweet says: “KKM is aware of this information and will follow up accordingly.”

Following Garden Western Grill’s threatening Facebook post, Jason patronised the eatery to find out if he will really be given the “special ingredient”.

@scaredtodie Replying to @sarah🌻 ♬ original sound – Jason

He also bravely asked the server if there was any “special ingredient” in his food.

“Special ingredient” saga for marketing purposes

While smiling, the server said: “No abang (brother), the food’s all ok. Whatever we post online is just a joke, for marketing. Don’t worry.”

Despite the assurance, Jason gave the food a below-average rating reasoning that the food was “bland” and “not worth it”.

In a follow-up Facebook post, Garden Western Grill reiterated that the food that Jason ate was “safe for consumption”.

He said the “special ingredient” saga is just a “marketing strategy” which he knows will “boom”.

“Anyway, sorry for all this drama… Entire Malaysia got pranked by Tom,” the post said.

One thing’s for sure, Garden Western Grill got its moment of fame.

Whether it’s good or bad publicity, however, is debatable.

Top image from @scaredtodie and Garden Western Grill.