SINGAPORE: A woman took to social media to express her shock after the two orders of Nasi Lemak she bought from a stall in Yishun cost her S$18.20. She posted a photo of one of the orders on the COMPLAINT SINGAPORE Facebook page on Saturday (Dec 2).
Ms Azureen Mohd Zailan wrote, “Bought 2pkts of the exact same one. Guess how much this cost me? Its $18.20! Im not even joking!”
To make matters worse for Ms Azureen, she was also dissatisfied with the taste of the dish she had bought. “The taste of the Nasi Lemak is as good as eating a plain rice. The Sambal is tasteless. Pls avoid going to this Universal nasi lemak shop in Yishun Vista. I am super pi**ed. Never going there again.”
The picture she added with her post showed a takeaway container with a piece of chicken, a fried egg, a slice of cucumber, fish, sauce, peanuts and sauce.
The Independent Singapore has contacted Ms Azureen, and Universal Nasi Lemak, for further comment. Her post has generated much interest online, with many comments and shares.
Some netizens endeavoured to help her understand why her dish may have cost so much, guessing that additional ingredients may have contributed to the high price of the dish. One pointed out that nasi lemak at hawker stalls, prepared with coconut milk and homemade sambal, has a special taste that can’t be replicated in more commercial establishments.
When one commenter suggested that she ask for the price before ordering, Ms Azureen said that the order had been “a la carte”, which meant that the final price was determined by what the consumer asked to be put into the dish.
Another wrote, “Standard nasi lemak will have egg, ikan bilis n chicken wing (average $4).. add on kambong or silat fish (average $5).. total $9/pack that’s probably how they charge.”
However, many agreed that the price had been too high for what Ms Azureen got—even if she had both chicken and fish and that she could have asked for a price breakdown upon getting her bill. Some even said that the dish could have been priced at just S$4, S$5, or even S$7, although others said they’ve also seen the price of meals in hawker stalls increase.
Ms Azure also commented, “If the taste is there i don’t mind paying that much. The thing is its like eating plain rice.”
Read also: Customer stunned after being charged S$12.50 for two cups of tea /TISG