‘He dodged a bullet’ – Controversy erupts as Singaporean girl rejects date who wanted to go to Lau Pa Sat

SINGAPORE: A Singaporean woman has landed in the eye of controversy after she revealed on social media that she rejected a man for suggesting that they dine at Lau Pa Sat for their first date.

Naomi, who goes by @naomiblackk on Instagram, wrote in a story, “Anyone who invites me to Lau Pa Sat is getting cancelled, it’s just plain rude lol. I don’t care how handsome you are. I don’t give chances, this is not charity.”

Naomi also shared screenshots of her conversation with her prospective date. The man had asked, “You want to meet at Lau Pa Sat tomorrow?” She responded, “Not really lol. Out of all places, you picked that place for a date? Omg.”

She said in another message, “I’ve been reflecting, and I don’t feel the alignment I’m looking for. I think it’s best to call it here. You seem nice, but I know what I want, and I’d rather be honest about it.”

To this, the man replied, “Oh damn. My restaurant picks were that bad, huh lol?”

As her comments went viral and began to get cross-posted across the internet, Naomi said in another Instagram story, “Apparently, I broke the internet because I said no Lau Pa Sat for a first date. Didn’t know my dating standards were this controversial. Anyway, thanks for the free publicity – I’m still not eating satay on a first date.”

She said in another story that she doesn’t mind visiting Lau Pa Sat with tourist friends once in a while. She added that she doesn’t even like eating at hawker centres on normal days, not because she looks down on people who do so, but because “the food is just unhealthy in general.”

Commenting on the criticism she has received, she said, “I don’t get these online trolls and men who are just so insecure and trying to be so defensive and stuff. Like, no one said I am going to date you. You can just stick within your tax bracket.”

Naomi quipped that perhaps Lau Pa Sat and Singapore Tourism Board should collaborate with her to release a guide on first date dos and don’ts.

While some netizens lauded Naomi for sticking to her guns, many others were surprised by her standards, with some even commenting that her date had “dodged a bullet.”

Mimicking Naomi’s own style of writing, one commenter said, “Anyone who reacts this way to a 1st date at Lau Pa Sat is getting cancelled. It’s just plain rude lol 😂. Idc how chio u r. I don’t give chances. This is not a charity.”

Another commenter wrote, “I don’t understand women sometimes…Want to be treated as equal, but at the same time want to be pampered like a princess, want people to spend money on them, but splitting the bill or asking them to pay is ungentlemanly to them. Oh well…”