An Aussie diner recently treated himself to a Chinese takeaway meal – but was bitterly disappointed when his dishes arrived looking very different to the pictures.
The Perth local had ordered two dishes via an app: Garlic Sauce Fried Noodle, priced at $24.80, and Garlic Mixed Vegetables, which cost $19.80.
He later took to a Reddit thread to share a screenshot of how the two dishes were pictured in their listing – followed by a photo of what actually turned up at his door.
‘Is this false advertising?’ he asked.
‘Am I overreacting by being frustrated by this?’ he continued. ‘It’s been a terrible week and I can’t tell.’
He included a final note, saying the exact ingredients for each meal were ‘not listed’ in the online menu description, and that there was ‘no mention of veg being seasonal’.
The post quickly sparked heated online debate, with many Aussies replying that they agreed the order was a ‘complete dud’.
‘Not overreacting. Very annoying. Leave an honest review and never order from there again,’ read one reply.
The Perth resident shared the menu example picture of the Garlic Sauce Fried Noodle dish displayed on the app
But when the meal was delivered, it looked starkly different
‘I would be very disappointed if I paid anywhere close to $45 for that,’ wrote another.
‘I would be absolutely pissed if I was served this food,’ a third added.
‘It looks terrible,’ a fourth agreed.
‘Heck, that’s rough. Needs a strongly-worded Google review to let others know about their deficiencies,’ one response said.
Another reply wittily referenced a well-known Aussie saying, observing that this was ‘decidedly NOT a succulent Chinese meal’.
Others took issue with the amount of money forked over for such a tiny and lacklustre-looking meal.
‘You paid nearly $45 for that,’ one incredulous reply pointed out.
‘I’d be pissed just for paying that much for so little,’ another added.
The WA man also ordered a Garlic Mixed Vegetables dish, noting that the online menu order image featured broccoli, snow peas, corn, mushrooms, capsicum and carrots
The veggie dish the man received contained broccoli, carrots, capsicum, bok choy and thick slices of onions
‘Please tell me you got a refund,’ wrote another.
The original poster confirmed he had complained to the restaurant about the disappointing meal – although it doesn’t appear he was offered a refund.
Several replies honed in on specific shortcomings in the appearance of each dish.
As far as the noodle dish, one person described it as ‘an almost comically bad insult’.
‘Surely something that is advertised in a dark sauce should come with some sauce,’ another person observed.
‘They gave you like 10 noodles,’ quipped another.
Responses were more forgiving on the mixed vegetable dish – even though the exact veggies weren’t the same as in the example photo.
‘[The vegetable dish] is a disappointment, but it’s within the bell curve of what one might expect from a restaurant,’ one reply noted.
However, one person explained that ‘food will never look 100 per cent the same as the photo’, citing reasons like camera angles, different ratios of ingredients, or the fact that stock images are sometimes used for marketing.
The original poster clarified in the comments that his main gripe was ‘not about the appearance’ of the dishes, but instead the stark difference in ‘the ingredients’ of the image versus the final product.
On this point, one insightful reply noted that there could be valid grounds for complaint in this instance because ‘the ingredients in the images aren’t in your received product’. Furthermore, if ‘certain ingredients are subject to seasonal availability, then this needs to be communicated in a clear manner’.
‘It doesn’t matter if the received food doesn’t match the image, as long as the ingredients advertised in the image are present and in the same form,’ they elaborated.
The person who kickstarted the discussion confirmed that he had lodged a complaint with the app service and had received a reply from them, saying they were sorry the dishes ‘did not meet your expectations’.
The complaint receipt message added: ‘We understand how important it is for the food to match what is advertised. Your feedback is valuable to us, and we will share it with the restaurant to help improve their service.’
