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<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR>Chinatown foodstall charged tourists $74 for simple meal
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->ON TUESDAY, I took my three cousins from Indonesia to Chinatown for some sightseeing, and we had lunch at an eatery in Trengganu Street that sold chicken rice. As we were used to the hawker centre way of ordering food - the place did not look any fancier than a hawker stall - we went straight to the counter to order some chicken rice and drinks. I told my cousins that the last time I ate there, it had cost me no more than $4 a plate.
When the bill arrived, we were shocked to see that the cost came up to $74. Each plate of chicken rice cost us $12, and a plate of char siew cost $18. This was double the price we would have paid in the foodcourts of Ngee Ann City and Wisma Atria.
It is simply unthinkable that a simple eatery with outdoor plastic chairs and no air-conditioning could charge double what fancy foodcourts in Orchard Road charge.
We complained about the bill to the staff and the owner, who curtly said that everything was on the menu, that each plate of chicken rice was either $8, $10 or $12.
However, we were never shown this menu before or while we ordered, and the staff never asked us if we wanted the $8, $10 or $12 plate. Billboards displaying the menu also did not indicate the price. And it was not as if the staff could not explain the menu or prices to us earlier: At least one employee could speak English.
I wanted to show my cousins, who have not visited Singapore in nine years, that the country does not tolerate tourist scams. I was very disappointed that this practice still exists, even after widespread publicity of overcharging at Newton Circus.
I hope the Singapore Tourism Board takes notice of this issue and encourages food sellers to display prices on their menus to avoid such incidents in future. After all, we do not want people to stop coming to Singapore just because they have an unpleasant experience like this.
Elina Ciptadi (Ms)
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->ON TUESDAY, I took my three cousins from Indonesia to Chinatown for some sightseeing, and we had lunch at an eatery in Trengganu Street that sold chicken rice. As we were used to the hawker centre way of ordering food - the place did not look any fancier than a hawker stall - we went straight to the counter to order some chicken rice and drinks. I told my cousins that the last time I ate there, it had cost me no more than $4 a plate.
When the bill arrived, we were shocked to see that the cost came up to $74. Each plate of chicken rice cost us $12, and a plate of char siew cost $18. This was double the price we would have paid in the foodcourts of Ngee Ann City and Wisma Atria.
It is simply unthinkable that a simple eatery with outdoor plastic chairs and no air-conditioning could charge double what fancy foodcourts in Orchard Road charge.
We complained about the bill to the staff and the owner, who curtly said that everything was on the menu, that each plate of chicken rice was either $8, $10 or $12.
However, we were never shown this menu before or while we ordered, and the staff never asked us if we wanted the $8, $10 or $12 plate. Billboards displaying the menu also did not indicate the price. And it was not as if the staff could not explain the menu or prices to us earlier: At least one employee could speak English.
I wanted to show my cousins, who have not visited Singapore in nine years, that the country does not tolerate tourist scams. I was very disappointed that this practice still exists, even after widespread publicity of overcharging at Newton Circus.
I hope the Singapore Tourism Board takes notice of this issue and encourages food sellers to display prices on their menus to avoid such incidents in future. After all, we do not want people to stop coming to Singapore just because they have an unpleasant experience like this.
Elina Ciptadi (Ms)
