Dessert stall at Marine Parade charges $2.60 for empty bowl, diner finds it unreasonable

To keep up with inflation, some hawkers in Singapore are charging extra for items such as additional chilli sauce, and even iced water, perplexing diners. 

Yet another customer has been left baffled by these charges.  

Last Saturday (May 27), a customer wrote in to Lianhe Zaobao, sharing his unusual experience at Marine Parade Food Centre.

The man and his friends were having dessert there and wanted to share some cheng tng dessert with an elderly diner, so he asked the stall holder for an empty bowl. 

To his surprise, he was told he had to pay $2.60 for it. 

"That was the first time I'd encountered something like this. I'd understand if [the extra charge] was for takeaways, but for an empty bowl, it's unreasonable," he wrote.

In his letter to the Chinese daily, the man acknowledged that inflation affects people from all walks of life, and it is inevitable that the cost of living would rise. 

"We [as consumers] can understand the pressures caused by inflation, but some of these price increases and surcharges are frustrating, and it seems like some [hawkers] are taking advantage [of us]," he wrote. 

Used bowls used to calculate sales: Stall employee

To find out why the stall is charging $2.60 for an empty bowl, a reporter from Shin Min Daily News visited the dessert stall on Monday. 

An employee surnamed Lin told the Chinese daily that the stall stopped offering empty bowls to customers about a year ago. 

"We calculate our daily sales by looking at the number of used bowls," she explained. 

Lin also revealed that the stall used to give extra bowls upon request, but it was losing two to three bowls every day because some customers did not return the bowls to the stall after finishing their desserts. 

READ ALSO: 50 cents for cutlery set? Woman shocked by surcharge on utensils including 'special' chopsticks at Prinsep Street restaurant

claudiatan@asiaone.com