A NEW Worcester restaurant has insisted that its chicken was not served raw - after customers complained that it was pink.

Kung Fu Oriental Buffet, which opened in Cathedral Square in November, has been forced to defend its satay chicken on skewers after complaints from visitors.

Sarah Walker 23, from Malvern, posted a picture on Facebook saying that the chicken was raw, but the oriental restaurant has said that the pink is caused by its cooking method.

Since posting on Facebook, Miss Walker’s claim has been shared more than 1,100 times – and consequently will have been seen by thousands more people.

Miss Walker, who attended the restaurant with her brother who is a chef, her fiancee and brother’s partner said her brother bit into what he believed was almost raw chicken.

She said: “We informed the waitress and she went over to the manager, pointed at us saying ‘they’re moaning about the food’.

“Manager came over, was not shocked at all, said he’d make us a fresh one, we couldn’t stay and eat after seeing that so we left.

“He did not take the food off the buffet and as we left people were still taking it off the buffet and putting it on their plates.

“We left watching children and other customers stack the same food on their plates. I am so so shocked and terrified.

“People need to be aware of this. I’ve made a Facebook post about it that’s gone viral.

“I couldn’t believe how many people said that they had a similar problem.”

However, a spokesman for the restaurant said the chicken was not raw.

He said: “We would like to express our sincere apology to all the confusions that have been aroused.

“Our chicken is properly and safely cooked, as all the cooking processes are strictly following the standard procedures.

“The chicken would first be marinated with 10+ ingredients and then fried in 138C oil for three minutes. After that, the chicken will be deep fried in 160C oil for another two minutes.

“Customers’ complaints of the pink chicken are because of the special marinating ingredients used for this dish (satay chicken on skewers).

“The chicken is marinated with over 10 different ingredients, including peanut butter, satay sauce, turmeric powder, chilli powder, garlic powder, sugar, curry powder, onion, taro, galangal, eggs, oil, self-raising flour, corn-flour, cheese powder.

“Those ingredients are the causes of the pink colour, therefore, although the chicken looks pink, it is properly cooked and safe to eat.”