'Go home and cook it yourself': Netizens chide man who complained about $1.90 'cai fan', Singapore News

PUBLISHED ONNovember 09, 2022 3:44 AMByMelissa Teo

With the rising cost of living, many have been complaining that the prices of hawker food have been going up, especially with mixed rice or 'cai fan', which is supposed to be a wallet-friendly option.

In one recent instance, one hawker was accused of charging a diner a whopping $15 for their plate of 'cai fan'.

So, many netizens were taken aback after one man, Terence Tay, complained about having to fork out a mere $1.90 for his 'cai fan'.

Tay took to Facebook group Eat Wherever You Are on Sunday (Nov 6) to share an image of his meal, which consisted of rice, sardines and curry vegetables.

"Walao, a piece of sardine, curry vegetables, the boss charged me S$1.90. So expensive," he lamented in the captions.

Tay did not mention at which coffee shop he had purchased his food from.

Unsurprisingly, a couple of netizens were dumbfounded by his complaint.

A man said on the comments thread that after adding up all the various components of Tay's order, it wouldn't be surprising if he was charged $5 for it.

"Rice has to be cooked with an electric rice cooker, vegetables need to be fried with oil, curry powder has to be bought, water has to be boiled, canned sardines have to be bought, all together, even selling the food to you at $5 is not too much. Ah, otherwise, you can try and sell me your rice for $1.90 and see if I buy it or not."
PHOTO: Screengrab/Facebook/Terence Tay

One told Tay that if he wanted to complain so much, he should "go home and cook it yourself".

*"You eat rice without knowing the price of the rice, it's cheap but you still say it's expensive, go home and cook it yourself!"*
PHOTO: Screengrab/Facebook/Terence Tay

Another also shared that if his own meal was as cheap as Tay's, he wouldn't mind eating it all day, every day.

*"If there was such a meal that cost $1.90 here, I would eat it every day with no problems."*
PHOTO: Screengrab/Facebook/Terence Tay

However, there was a netizen who begged to differ and said that a can of sardines would cost just 90 cents.

*"Expensive indeed, a can of sardines only costs 90 cents."*
PHOTO: Screengrab/Facebook/Terence Tay

Singapore 'cai fan' cheaper than Malaysia's?

Amidst the flurry of comment, one Malaysian chimed in to say that even in Johor Bahru, you wouldn't be able to find the same meal for such a price.

*"You can come to JB and see if you can get the same dish for $1.90."*
PHOTO: Screengrab/Facebook/Terence Tay

And he isn't the only one who feels this way.

In September, a Malaysian who travels across the border frequently to work in Singapore shared that he finds the food in Singapore more affordable than in Johor.

So much so that he even has his meals in Singapore every day before heading back home across the Causeway.

To prove his point, he shared an image of one of his meals from a 'cai fan' stall in Singapore, which consisted of a mound of rice paired with meat and tofu dishes.

This only cost him $2.70.

In comparison, he said that if he had purchased the exact same thing in JB, it would have set him back by RM12 ($3.55).

ALSO READ: Singapore diners complain of high food prices, shrinking portions

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