Diner confused by Admiralty stall’s CNY surcharge in Jan 2026, stall responds that it’s for extra curry

Admiralty nasi lemak stall claims that S$1 CNY surcharge on receipt is actually for extra curry

A customer purchasing some food from a stall in Admiralty Place on 5 Jan questioned being given a Chinese New Year (CNY) surcharge a month in advance.

The incident first came to light when a netizen uploaded a photo of the receipt to the Complaint Singapore Facebook group on 6 Jan.

cny surcharge admiralty

Source: Facebook

The original poster (OP), who wished to remain anonymous, told MS News that he received the photo from a friend.

In the receipt dated 5 Jan, it states that the eatery charged S$1 for a “CNY Surcharge”.

“Honestly, I’m crashing out. CNY surcharge for food? It’s only January 2026,” the caption read, alluding to the fact that this year, Chinese New Year starts on 17 Feb.

“Is it right for them to charge CNY fees so early?” questioned the OP.

Commenters expressed outrage at the surcharge due to CNY being more than a month away, even saying that the stall should be boycotted.

Source: Facebook

CNY surcharge on receipt actually for extra curry

However, it was reported on 7 Jan that the S$1 surcharge was for extra curry sauce.

Due to an alleged error with the stall’s point-of-sale system, it was labelled as a CNY surcharge on the receipt.

The stall claimed that the error had been corrected, and that it did not collect a CNY surcharge in advance.

cny surcharge admiralty

Source: Chen Zhen Hao on Google Maps

Additionally, Lianhe Zaobao reported that CCTV footage showed the diner being informed of the extra curry sauce charge.

Diner alleges that they did not receive extra curry

MS News received confirmation through the post’s OP that the diner had asked for extra curry.

However, they claimed to have only received the regular amount despite paying extra.

They said that the stall used to give the extra curry in a small container, but not on this occasion.

Additionally, upon asking about the additional charge, the diner was allegedly told that the CNY surcharge listed on the receipt was due to material costs.

Also read: Customer in S’pore slams restaurant for S$2 CNY price hike on bee hoon, surcharge revealed only at payment

Customer in S’pore slams restaurant for S$2 CNY price hike on bee hoon, surcharge revealed only at payment

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Featured image adapted from Facebook and Chen Zhen Hao on Google Maps.

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