Serangoon BBQ & Curry AI image incident — Oct 2026

What happened

In an effort to reduce operational costs, the nasi padang chain Serangoon BBQ & Curry began using AI-generated imagery to market its menu items in 2025. Owner Eugene Tan transitioned to this method to avoid the labor and expense of professional food photography, which previously required hiring stylists and scheduling dedicated shoots. By using his phone to photograph dish components and feeding them into ChatGPT alongside reference images, Tan was able to generate marketing materials for approximately $25 a month, significantly reducing the time required to launch new products.

However, the reliance on synthetic imagery led to negative feedback from patrons who found the advertisements misleading. Customers reported that the AI-generated photos did not accurately reflect the actual food served, with one individual leaving a Google review stating the images did not do justice to the real-life dish. Another customer contacted the restaurant via email to complain about the discrepancy between the promotional material and the physical product. In response to these incidents, the restaurant provided vouchers as an apology and attempted to refine its output by training the AI model to produce more realistic representations. As of late 2026, the chain has continued to use AI for its marketing, currently utilizing a third iteration of its generated photos.