Mee rebus for $19: New Yorkers amazed by 'reasonable' price of Singapore food at Urban Hawkers

With the opening of New York's first Singapore-style street food market Urban Hawkers last month, the city is getting a taste of authentic Singapore cuisine.

Singaporeans might initially scoff at the steep prices — a bowl of prawn mee goes for about US$18 (S$26). But New Yorkers don't seem to mind at all.

Just run a search for Urban Hawkers on any social media platform and you are likely to see content that includes an overcrowded food hall, delicious Singapore food and satisfied customers.

In one review posted on YouTube channel Hello New York last Saturday (Oct 8), two customers even described the prices as "very reasonable".

The duo behind the YouTube channel also shared some clips of the bustling food hall and their dining experience at Malay and Indonesian food stall Padi D'NYC. 

The dishes on offer seem familiar enough. But the prices, however, look straight out of a restaurant menu. 

Mee rebus and lontong are both priced at US$13.90, which works out to about S$19, while a beef rendang set goes for a whopping US$17.50, or S$25. 

For perspective, breakfast favourites like mee rebus or lontong are sold for no more than S$3.30 at Coba Coba, a popular nasi padang stall in Singapore.

Unfortunately for the pair, they arrived too late and most of the food was wiped out.

"The only [dish] available is the chicken satay so we will definitely be coming back," they said.

At least the chicken satay did not disappoint as the pair mentioned how "impressed" they were by the juicy meat.

The peanut sauce which came with the satay also a winner. Interestingly enough, the duo did mention that the sauce had a bit of "kick to it".

Yikes, if satay sauce is considered a tad spicy then they'll be in for a ride when it comes to the chillies and sambal in Singapore cuisine.

In the comments section, local netizens were just pleased to see open-minded foreigners willing to give their food a try.

One YouTube user thanked them for featuring Malay food and urged them to try other dishes on their next visit.

While most comments were positive, there was some debate on the price of the food, with one netizen mentioning that as a Singaporean living in Singapore, there's "no way we are paying those prices".

Others responded that portion size and rental cost are factors to consider when it comes to the price of food in New York.

Hello New York got involved in the discussion as well, explaining that people need to "understand the difference in economics between the two areas [Singapore and New York]".

As New York is a pricey city to live in, the prices they saw at Urban Hawkers are generally considered a "steal", they added.

Manpower costs aren't small either — Prawnaholic Collections, a different food stall in Urban Hawkers, recently revealed that it pays its kitchen assistants about S$7,150 every month, and currently has three kitchen assistants on its payroll.

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amierul@asiaone.com