A vegetarian customer was shocked to discover that their prawn toast from a Chinese takeaway contained chicken.
The woman doesn't wish to be identified, but her daughter-in-law Zoey Clifford spoke out to make others aware.
She said: "My mother-in-law was sick. She physically can't eat meat anymore as it make her ill after surgery.
"She thought it tasted funny. I started eating it and pulled it apart and there was great big chunks of meat."
Zoey, 36, rang the restaurant, New Taste in Heanor, and was told they used a mixture of prawns and chicken "because prawns are too expensive" and that "everyone does it."
Zoey, who lives in Sandiacre but was staying with her mother-in-law for a few days, said: "I've never heard of chicken in prawn toast before. Even if it was chicken, it should say shouldn’t it? Fish is fish and meat is meat. Can you imagine how many upset people there are going to be knowing they have been eating 'chicken' toast all this time? If everywhere does it then people should be made aware.
"It's the first time we've used that takeaway - and it will be the last."
Zoey is planning to take her complaint further, contacting the environmental heath department at Amber Valley Borough Council and trading standards.
When contacting New Taste, in Derby Road, Nottinghamshire Live was told that chicken was used in the prawn toast.
The manager, who wouldn't give her name, said: "A lot of shops do it without being slated. King prawns are expensive.
"The prawn toast is made with chicken and prawn mix as it tastes better. If it's pure prawn it's not as good, it tastes horrible.
"Prawn toast is just a name. Seaweed is not seaweed from the sea, it's cabbage.
"We can't put every single ingredient on the menu. The customer needs to ask. We don't think we've done anything wrong. We never marked it as a vegetarian dish.
"All the vegetarian dishes on the menu have a 'V' so don't order anything without that.
"We serve lots of food every day and don't have a problem.
"I did offer a refund and profusely apologised for the inconvenience. We will be taking steps to make sure it doesn't happen anymore. The menu will change."
Nottinghamshire Live called several Chinese takeaways at random and restaurants to ask if it was standard practice.
A spokeswoman at one of Nottingham's top Chinese restaurants, Mr Man's at Wollaton Park, said: "We use 100% prawn paste."
Prawn toast at all-you-can-eat world buffet restaurant Cosmo, in Milton Street, is simply that. No chicken is used. A spokesman said: "The head chef is aware that some takeaways do that."
