Too hot to handle: Diner forks out $26 for mala bowl at Food Republic

Like bubble tea, mala dishes are one of those food trends that many Singaporeans gravitate to. 

But how much are people willing to fork out for a piping hot bowl of mala hotpot? One man, who goes by the name Chen Weijian, decided that $26 was just way too much. 

The 36-year-old man had purchased his meal from a Food Republic food court in City Square Mall and ordered just seven ingredients, reported Shin Min Daily News. 

This included luncheon meat, fish cakes, shrimp, sausage, cauliflower, spinach and instant noodles. 

To substantiate his claim of the food being too expensive, he compared the $26 mala bowl to those he had previously ordered at a coffee shop in Jurong East and Boon Lay hawker centre, which had only cost slightly more than $10 each.

Upset, he confronted the stall's employees, who allegedly told him that "mala hotpot is usually this expensive". 

Speaking to the Chinese daily, an employee, who goes by the surname Huang, shared that the stall has been in operation in City Square Mall for a year and this is the first time a customer has ever complained about their prices.

He also added that Chen had chosen expensive ingredients like cheese sausages, which cost $1 each. 

Apart from that, Huang explained that food costs has been rising and the cost of shipping for some imported ingredients has increased as well, so charging more for food is reasonable.

Rising food prices

In general, food prices in Singapore have been rising over the last few months.  

Our core inflation recently, which excludes costs of private transport and accommodation and reflects the expenses of Singaporean households more accurately, recently hit a 13-year high. 

Data from the Monetary Authority of Singapore and Ministry of Trade and Industry also showed that food inflation came in at 6.1 per cent in July, lifted by higher prices for food services and non-cooked food.

With regards to the rising prices, Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong shared then that inflation is projected to peak in the coming months before easing. 

However, he also cautioned that the extent of the easing as well as where the new inflation rates will stabilise at are big uncertainties.

Another person who isn't very happy with the rising food prices is TikTok user Vikeeganesan, who lamented about her expensive economic noodles last month. 

She had purchased her food from Healthy Kopitiam food court at KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH) and forked out $7.50 for it.

Vikeeganesan was especially unhappy with the sliver of luncheon meat that came along with it as that alone cost $2. 

"I think if you're going to charge $2 per item, you should give more worth it [sic]," she had said. 

ALSO READ: 'Economic noodles selling at non-economical price': Singapore diners complain of high food prices, shrinking portions

melissateo@asiaone.com