S$6.80 but “food portion is like kindergarten meal” — Diner complains

SINGAPORE: An unhappy customer, Roi Roi, took to an online group on Friday (Feb 2) to share his disappointment over a meal set which he compared to a kindergartener’s meal.

“Is this a loophole for food stalls or restaurants to cheat customers?” he asked. “I ordered this from SGH near Blk 4 food court. Japanese & Korean food stall. Food portion is like (a) kindergartener’s meal portion.” He also called out the food and beverage establishment’s food sign: “’Picture is for illustration only’”.

In addition, the customer mentioned the miso soup in his complaint, claiming, “(The) miso soup (doesn’t) have miso.” And in the post’s comments section, Mr Roi said he paid S$6.80 for the meal.

A handful of people responded to the customer’s complaint. A few shared his sentiments and advised him to give feedback to the management.

“Two things you can do later logically,” said one. “First one is to (give) feedback to the stall owners, and second is to avoid them again.”

“All eateries put this disclaimer precisely to inform customers that the real thing may not resemble the photo illustration,” wrote another, sharing their two cents. “It’s nothing new.”

Read related: S$2.20 economic rice: Singaporeans shocked at “crazy good price”

Mr Roi responded, “In Japan, they won’t use this to cheat customers. What you see is what you get.”

“‘Picture is for illustration only’ just tells you it’s a decoration,” a third wrote.

“As long as the food matches the name, nothing is wrong legally. Like if they said salmon with rice, but the salmon with rice came out totally different from the picture, still nothing wrong. That phrase literally tells you the picture is a decoration, don’t use the picture to choose the dish.”

There were also a handful of people who disagreed with Mr Roi, arguing that the serving size and price were acceptable based on the picture of his food.

“Price is reasonable… two slices of salmon,” said one.

Another was more straightforward, commenting, “How is this a kid’s portion? Two slices of salmon! Come on!”

Mr Roi replied to another, claiming that there was a “90 per cent difference” between the picture shown and the real food.

Still, one suggested that Mr Roi check out the price of salmon at a grocery. “I think S$6.80 (is) ok leh. Salmon (is) very expensive. Go to NTUC (and) check.”

Read related: Diners suffer food poisoning after eating ramen “roach” meal