S$17.20 for Nasi Padang; customer says, “i just got scammed”

SINGAPORE: A man who paid an astonishing S$17.20 for Nasi Padang took to social media to say he felt “like i just got scammed.” Posting a laugh-cry emoji, he added that he could have a “nice big mala hotpot for” two people for the price he paid.

On Thursday (Jan 4), Mr Jon Lum Uchiha wrote about his pricey dining experience on the Complaint Singapore Facebook page. He also posted a photo of his meal, which looks like a sizable one, and a receipt as evidence of what he paid.

The meal consisted of a fried chicken thigh, two kinds of vegetables, a sunny-side-up egg, peanuts, and anchovies over a bed of rice. The receipt showed that the meal had been purchased at Cantine at Paya Lebar Square.

Nasi Padang is rice served with a number of pre-cooked traditional Pandang dishes. While the price Mr Uchiha paid wasn’t nearly as high as the S$24 another person paid at Bedok Corner Food Centre in December 2022, S$17.20 would still be considered expensive by many, even with today’s inflated prices.

Read also: Customer shocked after being charged $24 for nasi padang at Bedok Corner, Netizens call the pricing a scam

The Independent Singapore has reached out to Cantine, as well as to Mr Uchiha, for additional comments or updates. The netizen told us, “I won’t go back to that Nasi Padang shop anymore.” Neither will he get any Nasi Padang in Singapore “ever,” he told us.

Many people have agreed that the price he was charged for the meal he received is rather high, with one asking, “$10 for one piece of chicken?”

Mr Uchiha answered that he saw the cashier keying in the price of the chicken at S$6.50 and peanuts at S$2.

Others advised him to have cai png or economy rice instead, as it’s less expensive than Nasi Padang, and some commenters told him that the food served at Paya Lebar Square tends to be more pricey than at other places.

Early last month, a woman also posted on social media that the Nasi Padang at a stall at Singapore General Hospital costing S$11.80 was “unbelievable.”

“Koufu unbelievable price at your SGH outlet which you have more public than any other outlets. $11.80 for a plate of nasi Padang. $5 for a seafood dish item!” wrote Ms Eleanor Tan on the COMPLAINT SINGAPORE Facebook page on Dec 5.

She added that for the stall’s Sayur Lodeh, an Indonesian vegetable soup made with coconut milk, added tofu costs an additional S$1. /TISG

Read related: S$11.80 for a plate of Nasi Padang at SGH: ‘Unbelievable price’ says diner