PUBLISHED ONSeptember 25, 2023 4:15 AMByClaudia TanMost hawkers wouldn't think twice about providing an extra bowl to customers.
However, a diner recently found her request rebuffed by a Penang laksa hawker at People's Park Food Centre in Chinatown.
The diner's daughter, Evelyn Tan, took to Complaint Singapore on Sept 19 to recount her mother's less-than-satisfactory experience with the hawker from the Super Star original famous Penang laksa stall.
Tan shared that her mother ordered two bowls of laksa from the stall, which cost $20 — an amount Tan deemed "too much".
As she wanted to share the food with her friends, Tan's mother asked the stall owner for an extra bowl.
"This lady refused to give them an empty bowl and showing attitude to my mum saying that their stall does not provide empty bowls to customers," wrote a frustrated Tan in her post.
Tan also claimed that the hawker allegedly shouted at her mother: "If you think you are so good, you come and cook yourself."
"My mum did not even complain about the price even after knowing that it’s a bit overpriced already, she went to ask for an empty bowl nicely but this lady gives such an attitude and expect to have sales and customers patronising your stall?" questioned Tan.
AsiaOne has contacted Tan for comment.
When a reporter from Shin Min Daily News visited the Penang laksa stall, the stall owner surnamed Pan explained that she has been running her stall for the past five years, and has never provided extra bowls to customers.
It's because her stall is halal-certified, and she's worried that customers might use them for non-halal food, she explained.
"One bowl of Penang laksa means customers only get one bowl, even if they're regular customers. I have a lot of Muslim customers, if someone sees customers putting pork in my bowls it wouldn't be good.
"I wash my bowls on my own, if everyone took an extra bowl, wouldn't it be very tiring for me?" explained the 56-year-old.
Addressing Tan's claims about the price of her food, Pan, who hails from Penang, said it's because she uses the freshest ingredients available.
Before the pandemic, a bowl of Penang laksa used to cost $7.50, but the price has since been increased to $10.
She imports the flour for the noodles directly from Penang, uses fresh fish and spends about three hours deboning the fish.
The broth used for her laksa also takes six hours to boil.
"I just hope that people get to taste authentic Penang laksa," she told Shin Min.
Back in 2020, Pan's stall made headlines after a customer was told she would have to pay $2.50 for 'exclusive' packaging - consisting of one container for noodles, one container for soup, one container for vegetables, one container for prawn paste, reported Stomp.
This meant that the diner would fork out $10 to takeaway a bowl of Penang laksa from Pan's stall.
Explaining the situation to Shin Min then, Pan said that the $2.50 exclusive packaging is meant for customers who wish to eat her Penang laksa at a later time. The portion size is also bigger.
Her regular takeaway orders don't come with an extra charge, she added.
READ ALSO: Dessert stall at Marine Parade charges $2.60 for empty bowl, diner finds it unreasonable
claudiatan@asiaone.com
