if you want things done, send your emails to the mayor’s email address. this ensures that that pressure is applied to the right people at city hall.
-chris
I’ve been out of town for a few weeks and missed a bit. Just want to say thanks to Flicka for having the balls to register a complaint and for (hopefully) getting results. Cheers to you mate!
Off topic a bit but related. Yesterday we were awoken (at the crack of 10:00 a.m.) by a persistent knock on the door. It was an EPA inspector. Seems one of our neighbors complained someone’s air conditioner was dripping all night outside their window or on their awning or something. Anyway the guy was very thorough in checking our system, practically climbing out the window to do so (wasn’t ours). It seems you can get results by registering complaints these days.
Read the post more carefully. The first email address is the person who sent the email to Flicka. The others are the people to whom the first person, not Flicka, cc’d the email.
Can you sue restaurants for this if they give you food poisoning or you end up with a dead rat’s head in your salad?
I don’t know, but I remember about 10 years ago a rat was accidentally (horizontally) baked into a loaf of bread, sliced, and then discovered by some unlucky person.
If anyone cares, this was mentioned on the news last night.
Flicka, I am very “sorry” about your experience at this restaurant. However, I have no idea where you are from or whether you know the local custom or not? If you really watched the news reporting the day before and know the Chinese language that well, you should know that according to the DOH’s inspecting, there is no violation of the code of sanitation, but only a defect of handling the rice. I have been in Taiwan for so many years and most of the restaurants in Taiwan serving the rice more or less like that and I really enjoy the food the people here, as long as they don’t recycle from the eating plate of the customers, I think there is no problem for that. I admit that from the customers’ point of view, it doesn’t feel that comfortable for seeing that, but this is the way here in Taiwan. Besides, if I am right, I remember after the inspection and visited, the DOH suggested the restaurant not to practice this way of serving the rice, instead, to serve a small portion of the rice to each customer in order to avoid the misunderstanding between the customers and the restaurant for “recycling” thing you mentioned. Remember, “when we are in Rome, do as Rom do” If you don’t like this way, probably you need to complain 99% of the restaurants or food vendors and you shouldn’t eat at any restaurant in Taiwan. Don’t use your “elegant eating habit” to judge the people or food in different places where you don’t really know the culture and custom and I think this is unfair for them.
My god, first littlebuddha gets satisfaction from his Kenting ordeal and now flicka. Has customer service at last come to Taiwan? No. But retribution has! That’s a start.
do u work for the DOH? The restaurant was indeed found to be in violation of sanitation laws. just cuz the media says things one way doesn’t mean thats the official word…reporters ‘make’ mistakes too
flicka: the restaurant is under supervision…take the DOH’s letter as the truth, not some overly edited copy-turned-tv report
where’s blueface666 to say, “You Furriners don’t/cannot understand Chinese Culture??”
-chris
Like what ??eat food that could have been in someone else’s mouth?? I did not know this was a local custom. I know they provided chopsticks before to prevent the spread of hepatitis, but I did not know that the local custom here is to eat second hand food
So there was still a violation
A defect is a physical problem
You think this , I don’t , I am the customer, I pay not to have second hand food, so as do others…
Did the restaurant tell the customers they were eating second hand rice… I think not
[quote=“cpcrewmw”] I admit that from the customers’ point of view, it doesn’t feel that comfortable for seeing that, but this is the way here in Taiwan. Besides, if I am right, I remember after the inspection and visited, the DOH suggested the restaurant not to practice this way of serving the rice, instead, to serve a small portion of the rice to each customer in order to avoid the misunderstanding between the customers and the restaurant for “recycling” thing you mentioned.
Remember, “when we are in Rome, do as Rom do” If you don’t like this way, probably you need to complain 99% of the restaurants or food vendors and you shouldn’t eat at any restaurant in Taiwan.[/quote]
suggested or told the restaurant… if the DOH suggested that means nothing… so did they suggest or order them to???
So 99% percent of restaurants do this… can you please give the source of that statistic?
Elegant eating habit… you mean not wanting to eat food that was on someother table, that could have been spat on, coughed on, or touched. Most people don’t like this… perhaps you enjoy this experience… sort of like sloppy seconds
“Hi, could I have a bowl of rice with some saliva and spit from the fat guy that just left”
I bet cpcrew doesn’t have anything to do with Crystal Spoon, right? 
I think I’ll go with the letter from the DOH stating that other violations were found at the Crystal Spoon, thanks, rather than the TV report.
And there was no “suggestion” that they change their disgusting practice (which also shocked EVERY Taiwanese person I have spoken to about this).
They were TOLD by the Taipei DOH to stop and they were TOLD to rectify the many other violations at the restaurant.
I don’t give a flying fuck about what the reporter said. Reporters in Taiwan are totally worthless and cannot be trusted.
It’s official, from the Taipei DOH –
[color=red]Crystal Spoon is a dirty shithole [/color]
and is on very shaky ground indeed.
Is this post a joke?
This is an important part of the letter from the DOH and in case you missed it I’ll put here again: The restaurant admitted to serving recycled rice to customers. Additionally, the restaurant was found to be in violation of several other sanitation codes.
That sentence suggests that there actually was a violation–see the part that reads, “was found to be in violation of several other sanitation codes”.
In this day and age of SARS and hepatitus and God knows what else, my concern goes beyond my “elegant eating habits”. Apparently the DOH and the other kind people that contacted me (bless their hearts) feel the same way too, or they would not have addressed my complaint. As I said before, I am very impressed with their actions and these government officials deserve gold medals.
How do you know people weren’t using their own forks, spoons and hands to take rice out of the bowl?
Where do you get this “Don’t use your “elegant eating habit” to judge the people or food in different places where you don’t really know the culture and custom” crap? For your information, I was with four other 100% Taiwanese people who were equally grossed out. And I do know the culture and custom–I happen to be a part of it.
And once again, I’d like to say hats off to the Taipei gov’t and health officials for their swift response in this matter. 
Cpcrewmw wrote:
Note Cpcrewmw’s Forumosa history:
Ink Still Wet in Passport
Joined: 13 Aug 2004
Posts: 1
Isn’t it interesting that posts like these are very often from first-timers? Do you smell an axe to grind? Chances are it will be a one and only from this poster.
Mucha Man wrote:
What was the incident with littlebuddha? Can you provide a link to that thread?
Cpcrewmw is a betelnut chewing peasant … how can you expect him to know any better?
Flick, I thought you were very nice to our new friend. Hit him with too much logic at once, and his head is likely to explode.
I loved the '‘elegant" eating habits’ line. What do you expect, disease free food 
?
Hi Dear Flicka, the ways you guys talking here, just an approvemet of self-centered mind. You have the right to express what you thought, and I have my points as well. I don’t think my points are jokes and I do believe that the ways you guys attacking my points of view, just have shown you guys are so arrogance. You guys have no privilege to attack the people like this and it is too bad that you had this “terrible” experience. If you don’t like the ways people handling the food here, and nobody asks you to dine out. I might suggest you that the better way is to avoid eating in all the Asian countries, or even going back to where you are 100% sure of safe dinning place where it is your hometown I guess. You guys just don’t know when we are in other countries, we need to at least respect the local behaviors, just like when we visit our friend’s house, we need to obey his/her house-rules. In Thailand or Malaysia, people use hands to grab the rice and this is their tradition. Are you going to complain this? So far as I know and have been to the Crystal Spoon, it didn’t recycle used rice , it recycles clean unused rice on the silver bowl where no customer directly touched by their hands or eating utensils and this is the ways almost all the restaurants handling their rice if they serve the rice by this ways. I have no idea how well you are educated, but from the discussing here, I saw all of you guys are so self-centered and like a bunch of gossiping old ladies. I am just educating you guys don’t make a fool of yourself, and you guys don’t even bother to write back cause I will not see you guys’ junks and response. you can save your time to gossip other things if you guys have nothing else important to do. I am so so sorry to bother you guys and so sorry for me for wasting my time writing this to a bunch of narrow-minded people here. What am I doing here? I should be shame of myself educating those who cannot be educated . Good night and have a nice chat with all your sisters, and please please remember don’t even bother to eat out, or if you do, check their kitchen every time you visit to make sure your food is safe and all follow your sanitation demand. :bravo: 
[quote=“sandman”]I bet cpcrew doesn’t have anything to do with Crystal Spoon, right? I think I’ll go with the letter from the DOH stating that other violations were found at the Crystal Spoon, thanks, rather than the TV report. And there was no “suggestion” that they change their disgusting practice (which also shocked EVERY Taiwanese person I have spoken to about this). They were TOLD by the Taipei DOH to stop and they were TOLD to rectify the many other violations at the restaurant.
I don’t give a flying fuck about what the reporter said. Reporters in Taiwan are totally worthless and cannot be trusted. It’s official, from the Taipei DOH –
[color=red]Crystal Spoon is a dirty shithole [/color]
and is on very shaky ground indeed.[/quote]
I have no idea what kind of retired president you are. I am very sorry for your title and found that you have no education at all. Only you can be trusted? or all other people have to listen to you? If you don’t like here and so hateful, please go back to where you are happy and please don’t shit on this beautiful land. Taiwan has has a lot of garbage already, and I don’t think it needs more. :bravo:
All.
My tuppence worth:
Clearly, Mr. I can’t-think-of-a-sensiible on-line name, is a small-minded borderline [color=red]racist bigot[/color]. He should be ignored.
He gets my vote for being [color=red]"
Knob Of The Week
"[/color]
Unreal…
BroonSalmonella