Customer says paying S$5 for sugarcane juice at Holland Village Food Centre is ‘ridiculous’

Sugarcane juice at Holland Village Food Centre with less ice & more lemon cost S$5

A customer who ordered sugarcane juice at Holland Village Market & Food Centre was left with a sour taste in his mouth after he had to pay what he thought was an unreasonable amount for the beverage.

Source: Shin Min Daily News

In response, the stallholder explained his charges, saying that she clearly marked them.

Sugarcane juice with less ice & extra lemon cost S$5

The customer, 60-year-old Mr Liu (name transliterated from Mandarin), visited the hawker centre in Holland Village at 6pm on Wednesday (21 Feb).

He told Shin Min Daily News that he ordered a medium-sized sugarcane juice with less ice and extra lemon from a drink stall there.

Source: Google Maps

To his surprise, the order cost him S$5.

Initially thinking the stallholder was joking, he asked her why it was so expensive. In response, he claimed that she said costs had gone up.

Customer claims it’s the most expensive sugarcane juice he has bought

Mr Liu, who works in the media industry, explained that it was his first time patronising that drink stall.

He claimed that he never had sugarcane juice that cost that much.

According to Mr Liu, the same drink with similar modification would usually cost him no more than S$3.

Having also bought beef rice from the stall next door at S$6 for a tasty and plentiful portion, he thought that S$5 for the drink was “ridiculous”.

Holland Village stallholder says sugarcane prices are clearly marked

When Shin Min visited the drink stall in question, its owner — Michael — said he clearly marked the prices of his products.

Shin Min reporters spotted a pricelist for sugarcane juice on display, along with three empty cups representing the three sizes available:

• Regular
• Large
• ‘Limited Edition’ (largest)

Since Mr Liu said he ordered a “medium” cup, he could have actually bought the large drink.

Source: Shin Min Daily News

The sign indicated that a regular cup costs S$2.50, while a large one costs S$3.50. A limited-edition cup retails at S$4.50.

Since Mr Liu requested less ice and more lemon — which cost S$4.50 and S$0.50 respectively for a large cup — the final S$5 charge meant he likely bought a drink this size.

Michael said he charged S$0.30 extra on the first and second days of Chinese New Year but switched back to his original prices after that.

These prices have been maintained for the past year, he added.

Stallholder says he has not received any complaints

Michael, 75, told Shin Min that he had not received any complaints regarding his prices in the last two days.

In fact, he’s been in business for 15 years and has never received complaints, he claimed.

If customers were unhappy about his prices, they could tell him directly, he added.

Checks by the paper at Adam Road Food Centre showed that the most expensive cup of sugarcane juice was S$3, even with less ice and added lemon.

However, the cups used by all four drink stalls at the food centre were smaller than those used by the Holland Village stall.

Also read: Eunos Kopitiam Reportedly Sells Iced Water For S$0.70, Stall Owner Claims Prices Already Reduced

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Featured image adapted from Shin Min Daily News and Google Maps.