Man Orders Kway Chap Without Meat At Bugis Stall But Gets Rejected, Hawker Says Tough To Fulfil Request

Albert Food Centre Hawker Allegedly Refuses To Sell Kway Chap Without Meat To Customer

Many hawker stall owners have probably seen their fair share of special requests — even very strange ones.

While some endeavour to fulfil these requests to the best of their ability, one boss at a food centre in Bugis allegedly refused to sell kway chap to a customer.

This is because the latter had ordered the dish without meat.

The hawker stands by his decision, saying it would be difficult to cater to every customer’s preference.

Man calls hawker ‘arrogant’ for rejecting kway chap order

Speaking to Shin Min Daily News, the customer, 59-year-old property manager Yang Yuqing (transliterated from Chinese), said he visited Albert Centre Market and Food Centre last Saturday (29 Apr).

At around 2pm, he went to a kway chap stall that he has patronised for years to get lunch.

Since he doesn’t eat meat, including intestines and pig skin, he asked for the dish with four pieces of tau pok, one fish cake, and two servings of kway.

However, the stall owner allegedly refused to sell it to Mr Yang, saying that it was because he did not order meat.

This confused Mr Yang as he had managed to order the dish without meat from the same stall before without incident.

“I’ve eaten kway chap all over Singapore, and this is the first time I’ve encountered such an arrogant [boss],” he said. “The problem isn’t the money. It’s his attitude.”

Stall boss defends actions

When Shin Min Daily News contacted the stall owner, 65-year-old Zhang Xiangsheng (transliterated from Chinese), he confirmed that he did encounter such a customer.

According to Mr Zhang, Mr Yang’s meatless order had come up to S$4. This was cheaper than a single set meal, which costs at least S$5, so he decided not to sell it to him.

Mr Zhang added that Mr Yang had offered to pay the price of a regular set meal, but the former didn’t think it was right.

He’s worried that someone might complain about a kway chap dish without meat being so expensive, and giving in to Mr Yang’s request would make it hard for him to argue back.

In addition, Mr Zhang, who has operated his stall for over 30 years, noted that it would be difficult to customise every plate of kway chap according to each individual’s preference.

That said, he maintains that he never scolded Mr Yang.

“I just told him I couldn’t sell it to him and asked him to eat something else,” Mr Zhang said.

Other kway chap stall owners weigh in

Of course, different stall owners have different rules and practices.

Mr Huang, the owner of A&C Braised Duck & Kway Chap in Yishun, told the Chinese daily that they have a special set for customers who order kway chap without meat.

Called the ‘Four Heavenly Kings’ set, it consists of tau kwa, tau pok, eggs, and fish cake, and costs S$3.50.

He shared that most neighbourhood businesses try their best to honour customers’ requests, but there are still limits.

For instance, they typically won’t sell dishes with ingredients that cost less than S$2 because it might affect the variety of the other set meal items.

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Featured image adapted from Shin Min Daily News and EatBook, for illustration purposes only.