Told a dish has no meat...but it does?

Question

I went to a Chinese place today and ordered my usual veggie fried rice and eggrolls. The waitress asked me if I was a vegetarian and I said yes. She then told me that the egg rolls have a little bit of pork in it.

This really upset me because the last time I was here, I asked if the egg rolls had any meat in it and the waiter said no. I didn't taste anything unusual and since he said they were meat-free, I thought nothing of it.

Well, now I know that it did have meat in it and I was upset.

Fellow vegetarians, how would you react?

This is the only Chinese place I've ever been to that had meat in the egg/spring rolls.

Real Chinese place.

This isn't the first time I've accidently eaten meat because of a mistake at a restaurant. I don't make a big scene (I didn't make a scene at all today, just let it slide).

I just want to know how everyone else would or have reacted.

Answer 1

Don't over-react. I am a vegetarian too, but if this was a mistake, it is not your fault you ate it. And if this is mainly not a meat dish, so you didn't really order meat so you didn't promote the consumation of animals. And the waitor probably made a mistake, so it is not very nice to make him lose his job. So it is best to complain to the restaurant, without saying who did it or what day it was and so on.

Answer 2

Initially I guess I would be upset. But then I would have to ask the waiter or waitress if they recently changed the recipe or if they have more than one type of eggroll. Some will have meat and others may have vegetables only (it all depends on how they are prepared). It is possible that one chef prepared vegetarian eggrolls before and that a different chef prepares his or hers differently. As a customer who would like to know exactly what I am ordering, I would always be sure to ask up front if the item contains any meat in it (and if you discover that they lied then you may not want to return to the restaurant).

Answer 3

I'd be upset also!

Be wary of *anything* you get in a restaurant with the exception of well known vegetarian/vegan joints. I spent a bunch of time in many kitchen backrooms (servicing control systems) and you just can't trust 'em! A few examples of this are mexican restaurants that 'cut' guacamole with lard (upon query manager said it adds a "beefy taste that customers love"), the 'notorious' McD's fries, asian places tend to put oyster or fish sauce in *everything* including Buddha delight platters! Most important thing is that many places will *ADD* animal garbage just because you let them know you're vege!!!!! Look at some of the troll comments here and think about that person being on the staff of where you're eating...

Finally... After being Vegetarian/Vegan for (too many) decades I get violently ill immediately upon being 'poisoned' with animal ingredients! The last time was 'bout two years ago when a store brand BBQ sauce changed their formula.

Answer 4

You should be upset, but it's possible he didn't understand your question. the Chinese place I go to they NEVER understand what I'm saying or asking. Most egg rolls contain some kind of meat, usually pork. Spring rolls are generally meat free.

Answer 5

Maybe they didn't have pork the previous times you ate it. But even if you did, be cool about it. It happens to all vegetarians at some point. If you go back to them and get all aggro, it makes vegetarians look bad. Were you at one of those $1 chinese food places, or a real Chinese food place? (not Panda Express)

Answer 6

I have always known eggrolls have pork in them. If you want a subsitute ask for spring rolls...they are purely veggie. And tasty.
As to how I would react...Uhm..well Im not sure..I wouldnt complain to them. Because it was probably a mistake on their part. And who knows..maybe the waiter was new? It was just a silly mistake..Dont over react.
=]

Answer 7

Yeah egg rolls do have pork in them, and crab ragoon has crab or imitation crab in them. I've had similar experiences as well. I've asked if an item had crab in it and was told it did not only to find that it had imitation crab in it, which is still fish.
As for your question, yeah I would have been upset by it. If I had asked beforehand, and they said no then find out that it did, I would have asked for a refund and written a letter to the manager.
Best of Luck! :)

Answer 8

I would be a little upset but you did not intentionally eat meat so don't feel guilty. Also, now that you know, you will remember to order something different so as to avoid that again. Or preferably find a new place to go.

Answer 9

As far as I know, all eggrolls have always had meat in them. As far as most foods in Chinese restaurants, they add chicken broth to many dishes as well. Your fried rice probably had it as well. Many folks at chinese restaurants dont consider chicken/beef broth as meat.

The 2 places near me use broth in all their noodle and fried rice dishes.

Answer 10

I would be furious. Speak with the manager and let them know that you are not happy about it. If they don't seem to be concerned I wouldn't go back there again.