Cai fan stall charges boy $17 for 1-meat-1-veg meal; mother says son is too shy to ask why it is too much

SINGAPORE: A mother has expressed outrage on social media after a cai fan stall near Yew Tee MRT station charged her son a hefty $17 for a simple meal.

Taking to the Friends of Yew Tee Facebook group, Wendy Ng said her son patronised the stall on Monday (June 2). She shared, “This cai fan stall next to the MRT station sold my son this afternoon a fish tail and some toufu and rice and charged him $17.”

Ms Ng added, “My son is shy and didn’t find out the price before paying and dared not ask why so much. This is too much. I hope all of you don’t buy – ask before paying and reject if too expensive.”

Some netizens reacting to the post online felt that the meal could have been expensive because of the kind of fish the boy had ordered.

One netizen said, “Red snapper tail ranges from $15 onwards, depending on size. Haven’t added cooking and gross profit margin. Could be cheaper at wholesale and whole fish. Better advise your kid not to think fish is cheap.

“Sometimes kids are used to home-cooked food, and never realise it could be so expensive. Wait till kena cod fish, then can really cry.”

Others, however, asserted that the price was too high, with some calling the incident “daylight robbery”. Some netizens also said that the same cai fan stall had been flagged in the past for charging high prices.

In March 2024, the stall was featured in a Shin Min Daily News after a diner expressed dissatisfaction about being charged $8.20 for a meal consisting of two meat dishes and one vegetable dish.