Wokon noodle bar

[zombryn]

First off - I hope I'm posting this in the right place.

I've been to the Wokon noodle bar in Leeds a couple of times and bought a noodle dish that the man claimed was vegan each time I went. A friend went there yesterday and asked if the same dish was vegetarian friendly and he told her no (even though the menu says they're veggie friendly).

Apparently the guy who was working there turned out to be a vegeterian (not the man who served me the two times) and told her that they are told to tell any vegetarians/vegans and people with allergies that the food is perfectly safe. He claimed he told her this because he was sick of lying to customers and wanted to warn people whenever they asked such questions.

Thought I'd post this up here incase anyone has been/is planning on going to Wokon at all.

I'm quite annoyed that they lied to me but I guess it's another lesson learnt. Don't trust everything people say to you.

Their website can be found here - http://wokon.co.uk/

[harpy]

That's not on, is it? Maybe you could report them to trading standards, although it would be a shame to get the vegetarian server into trouble.

[zombryn]

That's very true, maybe it could be done without naming names or locations?

I'll talk to my friend and ask her if she's going to lodge a complaint - since she was the one he talked to.

[Spud Addict]

OMG! That's awful, what if someone had an allergy and died as a result!!?

[zombryn]

My friends and my thoughts exactly. I can't see how it makes any sense to lie about something when it could cost someone their life...over a little box of noodles and about 3 pounds.

[Gorilla]

why on earth would they lie and not just make the food veggie, if so many people were asking about it? doesn't make any sense

[harpy]

On their website all the vegetarian noodle dishes seem to be listed as being made with egg noodles

[zombryn]

The guy who served me there twice assured me that the noodles had no eggs in them at all

[harpy]

I suppose you could try writing to the management/owner pointing out that they seem to have a "training issue" and that their staff are giving out information that's inconsistent with what's on their own website? You could also suggest they use some other kind of noodles to make their food acceptable to a wider market.

[Marrers]

A friend . . . asked if the same dish was vegetarian friendly and he told her no (even though the menu says they're veggie friendly).

Did he say why it wasn't okay?

[zombryn]

I just asked my friend to confirm this so here's what she said:

"He asked if I was a proper veggie and if I ate fish which I said no then he said that they are told to lie if anyone asks and that as a vegetarian he couldn't lie to other veggies... he showed me the jar of sauce and it has oaster in it."

[1gentlemaorispirit]

Anyone with a severe allergic reaction to shellfish would go into anaphylactic shock within seconds, which could then be fatal. I'd report them to the trading standards authority, immediately!