$7.40 for kaya toast set deemed “ridiculous” by Singaporeans online

SINGAPORE: Yet another incident of higher food prices caught netizens’ eyes unfavorably recently, with Reddit users calling S$7.40 for a kaya toast set “ridiculous.”

On Thursday (Aug 22), u/Alex10019 posted a photo of a menu purportedly from Toast Box on r/Singapore. He captioned it “Toast Box set now costs $7.40. Ridiculous.”

The post has gotten much attention from commenters, many of whom agreed that the price listed for a traditional kaya toast set appears to be unreasonably high.

“$7.40 for some small bread, eggs, and a kopi/teh is crazy,” wrote one, while another pointed out that the prices listed on the menu are more expensive than McDonald’s prices.

“All these toast shops are just cheapest, lowest effort dish and they want to charge $7 for it??,” wrote another, adding that people would be better off buying kaya toast at Koufu or Kopitiam, where they’re “$3, $4, or $5 at the very most.”

“Siao lah, this is getting out of hand. For that price, I can buy one small loaf of bread, one budget-priced peanut butter/kaya bottle, and a small tray of eggs. DIY at home and eat more quantities,” commented another.

Others wondered whether the menu that had been posted was from Marina Bay Sands or some equally costly venue, with one saying that when they recently ate at Toast Box at Woodlands, the kaya toast set did not cost S$7.40.

The Independent Singapore has reached out to Toast Box for further comment or clarification.

In January, a report from 8days quoted a Toast Box staff as saying that the Traditional Kaya Toast Set had gone up from $6 to $6.20, although as kaya toast goes, this was already considered a high price. In the same month, a Reddit user posted a photo of the new prices at Toast Box, showing this as well.

In December 2023, a shocked Reddit user showed how the prices at Ya Kun Kaya Toast had gone up by a whopping 31 per cent from January 2021.

At that time, Ya Kun Kaya Toast Set A, the chain’s simplest set meal composed of two slices of Kaya Toast with butter, two soft-boiled eggs, and a choice of a regular hot beverage, either a kopi or teh, cost S$4.80. As of April 2022, the price of Set A had gone up to S$5.60, and by December 2023, to S$6.30.

8days pointed out in an article comparing kaya butter toast sets in five cafes in Jurong in January of this year that Toast Box and Ya Kun Kaya Toast were the only eateries that offered kaya butter toast sets priced more than S$6. /TISG

Read also: Yakun Kaya Toast Set A price up by 31%?