That seemed to be the reaction from customers visiting PrimaDeli outlets yesterday.

The recent food poisoning outbreak forced all 39 of its outlets to close for nearly a month.

Yesterday, the company marked the new year by resuming operations.

And while sales have not completely recovered, it appears Singaporeans are quite a forgiving lot.

Take Juliana Tay, 13, a Sec 2 student from CHIJ St Theresa's Convent, who was spotted at one of PrimaDeli's outlets along Bishan St 13.

Despite the negative reports about the salmonella-contaminated ingredients found in the bakery's cakes, she confidently forked out $18.80 for a chocolate truffle cake.

Juliana, who confesses to be 'quite a fan' of the shop, said she believed the incident would not repeat itself.

She said: 'Every year my aunt buys me cream cakes from PrimaDeli for my birthday and I have never once suffered from a stomach ache.

'The cakes here are really nice and they are better priced than some of the other shops.'

The cake she bought yesterday was for a friend's birthday tomorrow, she added.

STAUNCH SUPPORTER

The staunch supporter said she would continue to buy its cakes for special occasions.

Others such as Madam Suriati Saini, 34, a teacher, were confident that the hygiene checks would prevent something similar from happening again.

She said: 'I think they've done their part in ensuring cleanliness and complied with checks by AVA. So I think it's safe, I wouldn't feel afraid eating one of their cakes.'

Madam Suriati bought $11.50 worth of assorted cakes yesterday from the Bishan outlet.

Like Juliana, she intends to patronise the store every fortnight, just as she used to before the food poisoning scare.

STEADY STREAM

The New Paper visited the bakeries in Bishan and Toa Payoh yesterday, which saw a steady stream of customers.

But Mr Anthony Quek, 41, head of a Bishan outlet noted that cake sales have dropped by 15 per cent.

The outlet previously made about $2,000 each day. Of this, 50 percent of the day's takings came from cakes.

Predicting slow sales, Mr Quek only ordered about 80 per cent of his usual goods yesterday.

Nevertheless, he remained optimistic and said: 'It's not as bad as I expected, so it's encouraging. It could have been worse.'

Miss CL Yeo, 38, a saleswoman at an outlet in Toa Payoh, admitted profits have fallen.

She declined to reveal any figures.

She noted, however, that of the 13cream cakes at her outlet, nine were sold by yesterday evening.

Echoing Mr Quek, she said: 'It's been better than expected, but this is only the first day, so it's very hard to say.

REGULAR CUSTOMERS

'We do have regular customers who come and support us, so that helps.'

The bakery outlets are counting on support from faithful customers like Mr Mohamed Jamalludin, 39, who is self-employed, to see them through.

He patronises the bakery once or twice a week.

'I've been waiting for them to open,' said Mr Jamalludin.

'I think it's a one-off incident and I'm confident that their standards have improved after what they have gone through.

'They deserve a second chance.'

But there are also former customers like teacher Michelle Chin, 27, who aren't likely to visit their outlets any time soon.

The mother of a one-year-old son said: 'It shows that their standards have dropped and I would never put anything from their stores into my son's mouth.'

For now, Mr Quek, who has been running the business for the past three years, is keeping his fingers crossed that business will pick up.

He said: 'I intend to continue if things go smoothly.

'I really hope business will pick up, I'm just not sure how long it will take.'

This article was first published by The New Paper on Jan 2, 2008.

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