SINGAPORE: The stall owners selling prawn vadai for more than 20 years have said they pay thousands on top of the hefty rental fees charged for operating their stall at the Geylang Serai Ramadan bazaar.
The popular night market is in the news after Makansutra founder KF Seetoh publicly called out the expensive rental charges vendors have to pay in a Facebook post this week. Pointing out that some sellers are charged a whopping $18,000 monthly rent, Mr Seetoh said this makes the bazaar “easily the world’s most expensive pasar malam stall”.
The internationally recognized food guru said, “Even top pop-up markets in prime time New York or LA cannot hold a candle to this.”
He commented, “A vendor told me he is down $31k even before he opens. Rental, utilities, maintenance, set up, shelving n 4 staff to cook, wash serve, open n close up. And that 31k excludes food costs. Imagine, he has to clear 1k day just to break even…oops, I forgot taxes.”
Mr Wadeh, a family-run stall selling prawn vadai since 2002, is in a similar situation. Run by the children of the couple that opened it, Mr Wadeh sells the cheapest vadai at the Geylang Serai market, with one piece of prawn vadai selling for just $1.
The family is insistent on sticking to their low prices out of love for their loyal customers and because they see their business as a form of giving back to society during the Ramadan period. But skyrocketing costs have put a strain on the family, and they are now absorbing the costs to serve their regulars instead of turning a profit.
Revealing that they pay $3,500 for other costs like electricity, on top of the high rental fees, the stall owners said in a Facebook comment: “We have absorb most of the cost as we have long time regular customers whom we are serving since 2002. We sell the cheapest in the whole of Bazaar at $1 each of our Prawn Wadeh for our customers.”
As to why they have decided to keep their prices low, the owners added, “My parents always say ‘Hari Raya is giving back to the society and we shouldn’t sell expensive.'”
As the stall owners that have set up shop at the Geylang pasar malam grapple with escalating costs, several lots at the popular night market remain vacant. Even though the bazaar started on March 17, around a fifth of the 900 stall spaces remain empty, likely due to high rental costs.
The organizers, who spent $2.5 million to set up the Geylang Serai bazaar this year, are allowing businesses to pay a percentage of their sales after the event has ended in a bid to fill spots.