Man says he waited 35 minutes and paid $29 for Thai food. Then it arrives with an unwanted seasoning: ‘Mould!’

A Reddit user said a Thai food order took 35 minutes and cost $29, then arrived with citrus wedges he described as carrying an unwanted extra: “Mould!” Lonely_Carpenter6048 shared the complaint in r/mildlyinfuriating, along with a photo of wide rice noodles, greens, and two cut wedges on a takeout plate.

In the post caption, he wrote, “Wasted 35 minutes and paid $29 to get Thai food with mould!” The image he attached appeared to show a blue-green patch on one of the wedges, sitting against the noodles.

He said he took the food back to the restaurant. He wrote that staff told him the patch was not mould, and that they said, “It’s paper. no refund!”

The poster said a manager argued before agreeing to an exchange

He said the dispute did not end at the counter. He wrote that he spent the next 15 minutes arguing with the manager just to get the order exchanged. He also wrote that he felt like reporting the restaurant to the health department.

Commenters focused first on the wedges in the photo. One wrote, “Even if it’s not moldy those are some gross looking lemons.” Another wrote, “A few days cut like that in the fridge, that’s for sure.”

One commenter questioned whether the fruit was lime rather than lemon. They wrote, “What’s worse is I think they might even be limes. Limes would make more sense with the dish… but those would be OLD af if they’re that color.” A separate commenter wrote, “Mold. Also real Thai uses limes.”

The paper explanation drew its own replies. One commenter wrote, “Fym it’s paper” and “Report their a– lmao.” Another wrote, “Imagine arguing with someone about whether the mold in their food is actuially mold.” Scrutiny of what goes into a dish plays out in food videos too, as when a food vlogger watches a chef prepare seafood pasta and flags a deadly mistake.

One commenter said the refusal to replace the fruit stood out more than the patch itself. They wrote, “That’s the red flag here. Not immediately replacing the affected item 10c worth of lemon. Arguing with the customer about it.” Another wrote that changing the lemon would not be enough, because it “was already touching the rest of the food and even if it wasn’t spores are released into air.” 

Several people said they would not have taken a replacement plate. One wrote, “There’s no way I’d accept another plate from this place holy s–t.” Another asked why anyone would want another dish from a restaurant that had served what they called a mouldy lemon, and raised the state of the vegetables or meat before cooking.

Other replies treated the paper claim as a problem even if it were true. One wrote, “Why would there be paper on them???” and “Why is there paper on my lemons ?!” Another wrote, “Feel like even if it was paper it should’ve been refunded/exchanged.” A further commenter wrote, “I wouldn’t be eating the exchange anyway. It comes from the same kitchen.”

Not every reply treated the patch as mold. One commenter wrote, “Get a lemon now and put some chopped garlic on it and wait 5 mins. That’s not mould!” A separate commenter joked, “This good penicillin, enjoy your free dose of antibiotics !” Another wrote, “They literally could of just not added the lemons wtf.”