A reader's search for some cheap hawker fare last Friday turned out to be a shock after he was charged $20.50 for a plate of Ngoh Hiang dishes.
The contributor to Stomp, who goes by the nickname Hawker Fan, said that he had ordered seven items from a Ngor Hiong stall at Lavendar Food Centre.
Two items alone, sotong and pink sausage, cost $6 and $4 respectively, making up half the total cost of the bill.
In comparison, another popular sotong dish served barbeque-style and with sambal chilli at another stall at the food centre only costs $4.50 a plate, according to the contributor.
"We were shocked by the steep price and everyone was puzzled as to how each item could possibly cost $3 on average," said Hawker Fan in an email to the citizen journalism website.
He said that he does not have the habit of checking the price of each food item, but this incident has caused him to think twice. "We usually eat without checking each and every food item prices, but I guess now we will after this incident."
"We are not asking patrons to boycott this stall, but we are hoping to bring awareness to all food fanatics in Singapore to enjoy local delights without getting into such situations," he added.
Hawker Fan also advised foodies to avoid getting sotong and pink sausage when picking out their dishes as they were over-priced.
Ngoh Hiang is Hokkien or Teochew dish made up of a composition of various meat and vegetables, with a fried roll stuffed with minced pork or prawn seasoned with five-spice power being the main highlight.
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