Nicola, who wished to keep her surname anonymous, ordered dinner from Chinese takeaway Ho Lee in Porters Avenue on Friday, June 27.
The order was delivered by Just Eat at 6.40pm and Nicola dished out for her two sons and one of their girlfriends.
She said that she was not hungry due to the heat so came back to eat her food later in the evening – this is when she said she found a black beetle amongst her vermicelli noodles.
Nicola found a dead beetle in her vermicelli noodles (Image: Nicola) She said: “I left the lid on from the moment I dished out to my kids so it wouldn’t have crawled in at home.
“It was dead – it looked like it had been cooked.
“It’s disgusting – how do I know that there was nothing else in the food that someone has eaten?
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“I’ll never eat from that place again.”
Nicola claimed she had to go through Just Eat to make a complaint and subsequently received a refund for the noodle dish only.
But Lisa Niroula, owner of Ho Lee, told this paper: “I can 100 per cent tell you that we are pest free.
“I am sure we don’t have any bugs in our shop.”
Nicola also made a complaint to the environmental health sector of Barking and Dagenham Council but received no reply.
“As part of our investigation, we intend to visit the premises over the next few days.
“We aim to respond to complaints of this nature within five working days and the health and safety of our residents is of upmost priority.”
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Nicola said: “Just Eat refunded me for the noodles only but I had no apology and I feel I should have had the whole order refunded.
“The beetle and food is in my freezer now in case it’s needed for proof.
“I’m not ok with this – I think it’s disgusting.”
“We have clear standards of operation for our restaurant partners to ensure we’re delivering the best possible service for our customers with robust hygiene standards.”
Nicola spoke to Ho Lee yesterday (July 2) and claimed they denied responsibility for the beetle ending up in her food.
Lisa Niroula, owner of Ho Lee, said: “We only have a food hygiene rating of two but we are under new management and we are waiting for a new visit.
“I welcome the food hygiene people to visit us because I am sure we don’t have any bugs in our shop.
“I took over the business a couple of months ago and we are trying our best to settle here – it is upsetting for me as well.”
