‘Finally!’ — Singaporeans are now happy about price labels on all dishes at economy rice stalls at Koufu outlets

SINGAPORE: On Monday (Mar 24), an initiative was launched involving all the dishes at Koufu food courts and coffee shops to have colour-coded price labels. Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) president Melvin Yong and Koufu’s chief financial officer Chua Sher Lin spearheaded the launch, which was held at Hong Le Mixed Veg Rice stall at Plantation Plaza’s Koufu food court.

Seafood, meat, and vegetables will all have their price labels, and the price for premium items will be indicated on handwritten labels. Many Singaporeans have welcomed this, with some saying, “Finally.”

Mr Yong commented that many people buy meals from economy rice stalls, adding that it has been common to hear complaints about the price they were charged after selecting their dishes.

“The dispute often centred on the ambiguity of the prices of the displayed dishes. Having colour-coded labels will allow consumers to make informed choices and prevent any potential disputes over prices,” he added.

All 77 Koufu food courts and coffee shops will have colour-coded pricing by the end of the year.

Read also: “How to order ‘cai fan’ like a pro” goes viral on Facebook

“This initiative will benefit both customers by making it easier to understand pricing and choices and stall operators by promoting fair and clear pricing,” said Koufu’s Ms Chua.

Commenting on the initiative, a Reddit user wrote that it’s a “Great start to having price transparency” and added that it should be extended to other economy rice stalls at kopitiams (coffee shops).

Another agreed, writing, “Time for the makciks at the nasi padang stalls at coffeeshops follow suit. One day, buy this dish (for) S$6. The next day buy the same dish (for) S$7.50.”

Another chimed in that it was “about time” to have “no more secret dish tax.”

Some poked fun at the initiative, with one saying they were “Looking forward to watching the Ah Ma and Ah Kong arguing with the cai fan Ah Bengs why the spinach fried with ikan bilis is Seafood…and also the steamed egg with hae bi…and kailan with sliced fishcake.”

Others similarly wondered if a vegetable dish with ikan bilis would be considered a seafood or vegetable entree.

A Facebook user meanwhile wondered if eggs are considered vegetables or meat, adding that some places charge for them as vegetables while others charge for them as meat. /TISG

Read also: We walked away from cai fan food stall without paying even after ordering since the hawker charged us $11.60 instead of $7.40