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In an age of inflation, it is a godsend for many to still be able to find cheap and highly palatable food at hawker centres.
Which is why, an 82-year-old hawker at Commonwealth Crescent Market & Food Centre, who runs the Xi Le Ting stall that sells traditional Chinese desserts for S$1, has won praise and respect because she has got everyone covered -- for a long time now.
More than 50 years
According to a TikTok by food channel JioBo, she has been making and selling her desserts for more than 50 years.
@jioboofficial 🇸🇬只要一块钱!卖了50年!超古早味糖水天花板!😋 #陈晰晰探店 #jiobo探店 #新加坡美食 #新加坡生活 #新加坡旅游 #新加坡探店 ♬ 原聲 - 吃吃玩玩不 JioBo?
She has not raised her prices for more than one-and-a-half decades already.
Previously, one bowl was S$0.70 in the late 2000s.
These days, even though she is getting on in years, she runs the stall on her own, saying that her children are busy with their own jobs.
One interesting observation made in the TikTok: Even though she runs a dessert shop, she takes her coffee black and sugarless -- i.e. kopi O kosong.
4 types of dessert, all for S$1
Xi Le Ting offers a limited menu with only four items on it – all for the low, low price of S$1 -- or S$1.20 for takeaway.
There’s red bean soup, cheng tng, green bean soup, and sweet wheat porridge.
Less sweet and less syrup versions are also available.
Shin Min Daily News article from 2013. Photo from YouTube
They are only served hot, and come in traditional ceramic bowls.
Reviews: Still hits the spot
But does it still have the traditional taste?
According to the 4.7-star Google Reviews rating, the taste has consistently hit the spot.
In the TikTok, one loyal customer in the queue said the hawker wants to quit, but the long line of customers everyday is testament they don’t want her to.
Some of the customers in the video claim they have been eating the desserts for about 40 years.
Be prepared when you go there though.
A few online reviews revealed that the auntie can be impatient with indecisive customers, so it might be best to rehearse your order while you’re waiting in line.
But don’t let that deter you.
One review said “the dessert is so good it is worth getting scolded for”.
The stall usually runs out of dessert after lunch.
Top photos from Google