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

Singapore— Everyone loves economy rice. Okay, maybe ‘loves’ is too strong a word here, and “everyone” may be an exaggeration, but unless you’re an Asian of the Crazy Rich variety, chances are you’ve needed to resort to the favorite budget meal of not just Singaporeans, but also of the Malays and Thais as well.

Now, no doubt we all have out favorite tricks to getting the most of a ‘cai fan’ meal, but one Facebook post from Lobang Siah actually gave out their best tips for ordering ‘cai fan’ on June 22, Saturday, a post which has since gone viral, being shared more than 2,000 times.

For the uninitiated, a ‘cai fan’ stall offers around a dozen or so dishes of cooked meats, veggies, bean curd and eggs. The budget conscious but hungry buyer then chooses a number of these dishes, which are served on a plate on a bed of hot white rice, a meal that goes straight to the Asian soul (and stomach.)

Economy rice traces its roots to Chinese heritage, obviously, and is also known as “point point rice” in some areas, since customers use the “point point” system for choosing their dishes. This is why numbers 2 and 3 on the Facebook post included pointing, wherein it said

“2. When ordering, point at the dish as many times or as long as you can. The person will subconsciously give you more.

3. Don’t rush when ordering. Give the person some time to scoop your dish before pointing to the next dish. This is because if you are in a rush, the person will scoop a lesser portion and move on to the next dish.”

Lobang Siah’s post mixed humor with practicality, which probably explains why the post has become so popular.