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A noodle stall located at Timbre+ One North at Ayer Rajah Crescent gave away 45 packets of noodles for free -- but not because it had planned to do charity.

The free food giveaway was the result of a customer placing an order for 45 packets of noodles -- and then cancelling it apparently because it took 60 minutes to prepare, which was considered too long.

What happened

On Oct. 20, the noodle store, Shuang Kou Mian, took to the Hawkers United Facebook group to announce it was giving away 45 packets of noodles to "anyone who wants it".

According to the noodle stall owner, the food was cooked during lunchtime, packed, and ready to be served, as it was originally for a large GrabFood order.

Some of packed items included laksa.

However, the order was eventually cancelled in its entirety by the customer as the stall took 60 minutes to cook and pack the 45 packets of noodles.

The post reassured takers that even though the noodles in some of the packets had toppled in the takeaway container, they did not fall out, and it was "all clean".

How and why did the food end up out of sorts was also explained.

The post said the delivery personnel, who was tasked with bringing the food to the customer, failed to complete the order as it got cancelled, and ended up returning to the merchant.

The delivery personnel allegedly "threw" the noodles back at the stall, the stall owner claimed.

Complained to GrabFood

On Oct. 20, the stall owner lodged a complaint and shared the incident and its circumstances with GrabFood.

The stall owner told Mothership that a GrabFood spokesperson initially said compensation will be provided to the merchant and that the refund will take a few days.

GrabFood apologised to the owner

A day later on Oct. 21, GrabFood reached out to the stall owner and apologised, sharing that it will look into the issue and the compensation refund would take a few days.

Cooked food in 60 minutes

The stall owner also explained to Mothership that it is only reasonable to take an hour to cook the food and fulfil the large order.

He added that the stall needs to "cook and pack the noodles properly" to ensure quality is maintained and there is little chance of spillage.

He also revealed that he was initially taken aback by the delivery personnel's actions when the food was returned, but was glad to be able to help people in need when he distributed the noodles for free without strings attached.

The stall owner also urged customers to be more understanding as each bowl of noodles is made-to-order, "unlike a cai fan (economy rice) stall" where dishes have already been prepared beforehand.

All the noodles were given out after the giveaway appeal was put up on social media.

Belanja Eat initiative

This is not the first time that the stall is giving food to those in need.

Shuang Kou Mian also participates in Belenja Eat, an initiative encouraging patrons to donate money to buy meals for strangers at participating food stalls.

Those who would like a free meal can simply inform the participating food stalls about redeeming one.

Top image via Pohboon Yeo/Google Reviews, Shuang Kou Mian/Facebook