Netizen shares tip on how not to pay too much at cai png stalls

SINGAPORE: A social media post from a man who was shocked when his meal at a Novena hawker stall ended up at $15 was widely shared recently, with other commenters weighing in to agree that the meal had indeed been too expensive.

One local Reddit user, however, posted a tip that would help others from experiencing such a “bill shock” in the future, saying that it’s for people who “find themselves over-ordering beyond their budget.”

In a post entitled “How to keep cai png affordable”, u/kloimo wrote on r/SingaporeRaw on Tuesday (Apr 18) that he wanted to share a pretty useful tip he uses when ordering cai png, which is also known as mixed rice or economy rice.

“Just tell the person at the stall you only have $X (however much you’re willing to spend, I usually say $6), and to tell you before you exceed. Emphasise that you ONLY have that amount to spend. If you’re lucky, the store may even choose to cut a few cents off your total so you stay in budget.”

The post author added that he had done this several times and stayed under budget by asking the vendor if he was still under “$X” or whatever budget he had set initially.

Surprisingly, he also wrote that “On one occasion, my friend ordered the exact same thing as me but did not ask about the prices. Her meal ended up being $3+ more than mine, for the exact same portion.”

He also added that this tip works in most service places where they try to upsell you packages with add-ons when you tell the staff that you have a cap on your budget and are unwilling to spend more.

“They’ll give you your money’s worth without pressuring you to buy more or coming up with surprise charges.” /TISG

Diner surprised at $15 charge for meal at mixed vegetable stall, asks for receipt but gets scolded by stallholder instead