$3 meal under threat
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The deepening trend of price increases in Singapore appears to be laying siege to the remaining bastion of cheap eating – the small food stall.
I am referring to the thousands of small eating places in neighbourhood coffee shops and hawker centres that traditionally provide cheap meals for the masses.
It is an institution that makes life in one of the most expensive cities in the world more livable.
Mostly run by families or individuals, these stalls dish out, for only a few dollars, some of the most exotic Asian dishes, with diversity unmatched in many other countries.
Even as the cost of living soars, the Singaporean’s daily meal remains within reach of most workers and students – thanks to these hawkers and a system.
For as little as S$3-S$5 a dish, the average Singaporean can have a simple meal quickly every day – and at prices less than in most advanced Western cities.
Recently, a spate of reports indicated that this last bastion of cheap food is under siege by forces trying to push prices higher.
So far, the wall has largely stood firm – and Singaporeans can still have a meal for S$5 or S$6 – but parts of it may have been breached.
The first threat is the growing number of corporate-run air-conditioned food courts that sell higher quality food at S$7-$10, and eating into the hawkers’ profits.
These are pulling away professionals and white-collar workers so successfully that a few vendors are tempted to be a little too ambitious – selling food at restaurant prices.
A great deal of anger recently arose following reports that one stall was charging S$17 for a bowl of laksa that normally costs S$3.
In exuberant mood, some other stalls have joined in – selling nasi padang at S$13 and prawn noodle at S$11, all unheard of until now.
The practice is being pushed in a few cases into the heartland hawker centres.
A Bedok stall reportedly charges S$6.60 for a packet of nasi lemak, something that Bangladeshi workers perfunctorily pick up for S$1-S$1.20 to bring to the worksite.
“I hope this is not trend-setting,” exclaimed a nurse, who almost has all her meals out.
“The day our hawkers start charging S$10 for chicken rice, I’m done for!”
So far, not too many are following suit.
Most are level-headedly holding to their charges for fear of losing customers.
In perspective, most suburban food-stalls and coffee-shops are still selling chicken rice or laksa for around S$3, and a cup of coffee for S$1.
This battle to draw the line is being watched with concern by Singaporeans.
The food stalls have been a government triumph from many years ago, when started to replace an army of street vendors selling food house to house.
That Singapore could provide a worker’s meal for S$5 is really a bit of a wonder – considering the country imports 90% of its food needs.
But with the government’s preoccupation of maximising gross domestic product (GDP) growth, few are prepared to predict the future direction of the hawker stall and cheap meals.
At last count, some 13,500 licences had been granted to run shop-stalls (at privately-owned coffee-shops) and a further 14,100 given out to food stalls at 30 government-operated food centres.
A general fear is that, given the government’s corporate-mindedness, it may one day transfer the whole food business to the private sector, and that could spell an end to the era of the S$3-S$5 meal.
One major threat is imported inflation.
In recent weeks, a cup of coffee had risen by 10 to 20 cents, thanks to the global price hikes of sugar and coffee as well as oil.
Vendors, however, complain their woes are also largely caused by high rentals due to government policies.
Take my estate, where I have lived for 26 years.
In six months’ time, it will lose the third of its five coffee-shops, to make way for more profitable ventures, displacing their food outlets.
Two others had closed their doors in as many years, one replaced by a bank and the other by a mini-mart, both of which had offered the owners higher rentals.
There has been little survey, and so it is not known how many of the 2,000 coffee shops in the republic have shared – or will share – this fate.
In the corporate world, few people see these places as an important way of Singapore life.
A national institution
To me, the coffee-shop is a Singapore institution for social bonding of residents – especially for retirees to meet and chat without costing an arm and a leg.
I don’t think it will ever become extinct, but what will disappear will be the simple creatures that offer cheap food for people with a modest income.
Many of these smaller food stalls, which have helped keep costs down for residents, are being ousted by bigger, stronger competitors who are not too shy about raising prices.
It is not just the slow passing of an era but the start of another – of a more lavish, materialistic lifestyle that has fuelled America’s financial woes.
A financially well-off friend told me this could not be avoided because higher prices are an indication of progress.
But, I am not sure many Singaporeans judge things this way – definitely not for their daily meals, anyway.
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ok lah.
sometimes my cai png still within $3
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Bo bian. actually poor people eat cheap cos the place very dirty and no aircon to blow. but now no budget liao. The government always want to keep the money for rainy day. So just keep our ah gong siao. kEEP AND KEEP. make us a tough life
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depend where u eat lo. if goverment siao siao raise something to landlord...landlord will raise everyone stall lo.
they need to raise more pay lah. easier for us HEHEHE
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wanting low cost and high standard of living is a contradiction
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Hey All start raising already. Today i eat 3.50. I feel like eating 2.50 like this. FUck PAP
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ai pee you ai qee ...aiyo dua liap neez...
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Thats f--ked up.
The key is not to cave in and buy from these idiotic stores.
Singaporeans are such a complacent lot you do something as fad-ish as sprinkle green tea powder on chicken rice and charge $13 for it, they'll chomp it up and then whinge about the days of the $2 chicken rice.
You are the consumer - Don't buy if you don't agree with it!!Vote with your dollar!
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GST is to help the poor but you are taxed on everytin
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juz now ordered teh see peng kosong.
$1.60.
teh peng kosong is 1.40 so +20 cents to see.
sadded.
only way to save money now is buy a bunch of buns den spilt into two meals. lol.
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who create this problem.....?
who else....?
So PLEASE VOTE WISELY, SINGAPORE LANG..................
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i'll ask a simple question:
if the hawkers continue to charge what they have always charged, will they be able to earn enough to feed themselves and their families in the face of increasing commodity prices and mostly, increasing rent?
or are the people being unreasonable saying that the hawker must make a loss in the face of all the increasing costs which just ate the hell out of his take-home pay?
just ask the kopi-tiam stallholder what his rent is and be prepared to have a heart-attack...
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Originally posted by the Bear:
i'll ask a simple question:
if the hawkers continue to charge what they have always charged, will they be able to earn enough to feed themselves and their families in the face of increasing commodity prices and mostly, increasing rent?
or are the people being unreasonable saying that the hawker must make a loss in the face of all the increasing costs which just ate the hell out of his take-home pay?
just ask the kopi-tiam stallholder what his rent is and be prepared to have a heart-attack...
understand your POV Bear....... but ultimately, why the prices increases?
The GST had not even rise to 10% yet leh............???!!!!!
Bcos, our dear prata man had his PAY RISE liao....!!!!!
And we, the $inkapore lang, are the fuckers to pay for his heavenly gang lui to a cho bo lan eh lang.......
li gong tio bo?
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Originally posted by Ä«Õß:¸ïÀë:
understand your POV Bear....... but ultimately, why the prices increases?
The GST had not even rise to 10% yet leh............???!!!!!
Bcos, our dear prata man had his PAY RISE liao....!!!!!
And we, the $inkapore lang, are the fuckers to pay for his heavenly gang lui to a cho bo lan eh lang.......
li gong tio bo?
some of the costs can be attributed to the MIW...
but not all.. to blame everything on the MIW is to lose credibility..
pick your fights.. this fight is best left for after the big ones are won...
there cost of food is going through the roof, and i don't mean the hawker centre food prices.. worldwide, the price of food commodities went up around 3.5% just LAST MONTH!
if you think the MIW can control that, please join the queue behind the guy who went to complain to the MP about Singapore's weather being hot...
whining and whinging about things out of our control gives fuel to the MIW about the people being "childish and immature".. giving them even more excuses to treat us like children...
maybe we do deserve it... seeing how the majority of Singaporeans behave..
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$4 meal under threat soon...
Clementi's new foodfare food court... $5 and up.... for most stalls... -
its all the landlord's fault.
now who is the biggest landlord? and who owns all these big property developers?
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Originally posted by dragg:
its all the landlord's fault.
now who is the biggest landlord? and who owns all these big property developers?
gahmen?
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Originally posted by the Bear:
i'll ask a simple question:
if the hawkers continue to charge what they have always charged, will they be able to earn enough to feed themselves and their families in the face of increasing commodity prices and mostly, increasing rent?
or are the people being unreasonable saying that the hawker must make a loss in the face of all the increasing costs which just ate the hell out of his take-home pay?
just ask the kopi-tiam stallholder what his rent is and be prepared to have a heart-attack...
Don’t get me started on food prices
The prices here and practically every country is kept down artificially
Everyone down the chain from the importer, to the distributers to the retailers and end users are suffering
End of the day, the increase the consumer bears is a fraction of the real price increase
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Increasing prices is good.
Just like increasing GST is to help the poor.
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This fucking PAP.
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Originally posted by the Bear:
some of the costs can be attributed to the MIW...
but not all.. to blame everything on the MIW is to lose credibility..
pick your fights.. this fight is best left for after the big ones are won...
there cost of food is going through the roof, and i don't mean the hawker centre food prices.. worldwide, the price of food commodities went up around 3.5% just LAST MONTH!
if you think the MIW can control that, please join the queue behind the guy who went to complain to the MP about Singapore's weather being hot...
whining and whinging about things out of our control gives fuel to the MIW about the people being "childish and immature".. giving them even more excuses to treat us like children...
maybe we do deserve it... seeing how the majority of Singaporeans behave..
" price of food commodities went up around 3.5% just LAST MONTH!"
price of vegetarian bee hoon was $2.00, now $2.50, chicken rice was $2.00, then $2.50, now $3.00 and so on..........
n these are 3.5% increment?
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my lunch in sg can go up to $7 if on a budget, ironically :). One chicken rice and one laksa or maybe one cha siew rice and one dessert, throw a drink in. Easily right.
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Eat macdonald la,
One double cheese burger and one super small coke for only 3 dollar.
Somemore the food is full of fat and full of preservative, so it will stay in your stomach for a longer period of time and you will feel less hungry for longer.
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Agree with Bear - we certainly need to account for factors other than the Morons In White. Hell, the knock-on effect of fuel-price changes is enough to send everything spinning out of control.
That said, it'll be a pity if the $3 meal disappeared - for me it's always been one of the best things about popping back into Singapore.