A fast-food chicken issue

What would you do if you encountered something unusual about the food served in a fast-food restaurant?

- REY ELBO

Maybe, you'll act depending on your persona. If you're still in the mindset of an aliping saguiguilid (a slave in pre-colonial Philippines), you'll probably keep your mouth shut to maintain peace. But we're in the modern world.

Food poisoning is not a small thing, even among us Filipinos who would complain about almost anything including the size and type of pizza toppings and the romantic relationships of people in the entertainment industry. With that, let me tell you about my personal experience with a fast-food joint not frequented by people from a socially prominent class. I was waiting for my wife, who was inside a nearby bank, so I took the opportunity to have a late lunch. The problem became evident after only three small bites of my fried chicken. It had fresh blood oozing out of the chicken bone. It appears like the chicken had just come out of the slaughterhouse, not from a frying pan. I called the attention of the manager who came in five minutes late as if she was in a different time zone. Without saying a word, she agreed there was a problem and attempted to take my plate.

I told her to simply give me the replacement piece in a separate plate, which she did without a hassle, not even a two-faced apology. After completing my meal, I noticed a man at an adjacent table. He went to the counter to complain about something. Being a bit nosy, I asked him about the problem. Same thing. He confirmed that the chicken meal given to him contained several streaks of blood oozing out of the bones.