Woman paid $5.30 for dish of ‘1 meat 1 vegetable 1 noodle’ asks if public hospital foodcourt should charge higher than other places

SINGAPORE: Whether the food at a public hospital should be more expensive than at other places was the subject of one woman’s complaint online, after she paid $5.30 for a dish with ‘1 meat 1 vegetable 1 noodle,’ at the food court of KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital.

Ms Vikki Ang wrote on the COMPLAINT SINGAPORE Facebook page wrote that this “basic nutrition meal recommended by doctors” at the hospital would have cost $3.50 to $4.50 for a similar quantity. She asked, “Should a public hospital food court be charging higher than other places where the hospital is serving the public spanning both low and high-income groups? Are we pricing out the lower income group?”

Netizens commenting on Ms Ang’s post appeared to agree with her, based on their remarks.

The Independent Singapore has reached out to both Ms Ang and KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital.

This is not the first time that netizens have complained about the price of food at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital.

Last August, a member of the public eating at the hospital’s food court critiqued her meal, costing S$7.50 for items that weren’t “worth it” for the price.

A video of the meal from Kopitiam Food Court at the hospital was shared on Complaint Singapore on Aug 16, 2022.

The customer explained that her meal, consisting of a thin slice of luncheon meat, three pieces of chicken nuggets, a fillet, and noodles, cost her S$7.50. She showed the receipt, which listed the items as “add-ons.”

The woman couldn’t believe that the “super thin” slice of luncheon meat was $2.

And in the month before that, a Facebook user named Anna Chai wrote about the tiny food servings at Outram Community Hospital food court.

She ranted that her meal, which initially cost S$6.70, was not worth the price, especially since the pork chop was about the size of a spoon. “When I ordered the potatoes, I saw only left a very small portion, and I ask the staff do they have some more and is it enough for 1 portion? The staff answered yes (sic),” said Ms Chai. /TISG

‘Hospital food court prices are ridiculous!’ — Woman receives thin slice of meat for S$2 at KKH