Diner Complains He Got 3 ‘Tiny’ Prawns In S$7.30 Tom Yum Soup From SGH Food Court

Diner Says Prawns In Tom Yum Soup From SGH Food Court Were ‘Tiny’

UPDATE (5 Sep, 12.28pm): Responding to queries from MS News, Koufu has said that they have reached out to the customer concerned.

Once the investigation is concluded, they will update him accordingly, the food court operator added.

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It’s no secret that Singaporeans have been squeezed by inflation for a few years now, resulting in food court fare becoming pricier.

This has led to customers complaining every so often about their meals’ perceived lack of value for money.

This time round, a diner who ordered tom yum soup from a food court in Singapore General Hospital (SGH) complained that it contained just three prawns and one piece of sotong.

The dish cost S$7.30, he said.

Diner says Thai meal was ‘not worth it’

In a Facebook post in the Complaint Singapore Unrestricted group on Monday (4 Sep), a man wrote that his meal was “absolutely not worth it”.

He said he had eaten at the recently opened Koufu food court in SGH and ordered from a stall called Telur Thai.

According to their website, the stall has three outlets across town and serves food cooked by authentic Thai chefs.

Tom yum from SGH had 3 prawns, says diner

Firstly, the OP raged that he received three pieces of “tiny” prawns and one sotong for S$7.30.

Then, he claimed that the prawns were “not fresh”. Evidently, he knew this because they crumbled and came off with their shells.

He also took issue with the soup, saying the portion didn’t even come up to half the container. One-third of it was also “just oil”, he added.

Describing it as “revolting”, he vowed not to buy from the stall again.

OP says ‘no point’ to complain

When urged to make a complaint, the OP said there was “no point” as the staff wouldn’t have any power to do anything.

He also was of the opinion that the size of the prawns is decided by the main franchise purchaser.

He subsequently told AsiaOne that even if he did make a complaint to Koufu, he didn’t think it would make any difference.

Netizens sympathised with him, with some saying that hospital food courts can be just as expensive as those in Orchard and the airport.

Diners have been complaining about pricey food

Unfortunately, diners have been calling out expensive meals at food courts for quite a while now, with quite a few complaints this year alone.

In March, a customer griped about being charged S$4.50 for quail eggs at a food court in Yishun.

In the same month, a man reportedly said he was charged S$1 extra for a piece of chicken at SGH food court — before it was renovated — as it was the “biggest piece”.

In May, a woman forked out S$13 for nasi padang at the Food Republic in Jewel Changi Airport, and another customer was shocked at being charged S$20 for cai png at Food Republic in Parkway Parade in August.

Finally, a diner who visited the food court at Marina Bay Sands (MBS) in July expressed his discontent at paying S$12.50 for Hokkien mee. However, many pointed out that meals would naturally cost more in MBS.

MS News has reached out to Telur Thai and Koufu for a response to what the customer said. This article will be updated when they reply.

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Featured image adapted from Complaint Singapore Unrestricted on Facebook and Google Maps.