A S$2 meal in this economy is hard to come by.
One Toa Payoh hawker, however, has been serving authentic Ipoh curry noodles at that price point.
Zheng Xiaomi (transliteration from Mandarin), who runs the stall at Block 206 Toa Payoh North, told Shin Min Daily News that she has been offering this option to keep meals affordable for elderly residents in the area.
New stall in the area
Zheng, who grew up in Ipoh, Malaysia, has been working in Singapore for more than 10 years.
In May, she opened a chee cheong fun (steamed rice roll) stall in Bedok but business did not take off.
She decided to close the stall after about half a year, due to insufficient customers.
Last month, Zheng decided to try again at a different location, and opened 蒸有米 (Steam Rice Kitchen) in Toa Payoh.
S$2 no-frills option catering to elderly customers
Zheng soon noticed that many of the Toa Payoh customers she was serving were elderly.
To keep things affordable for them, she came up with a S$2 economical option for her Ipoh curry mee.
This "kosong" version comes with a generous portion of either noodles or beehoon, topped with bean sprouts and the traditional Ipoh curry gravy.
The stall also sells the regular Ipoh curry mee — with the full set of toppings — for S$4.80.
Zheng told Shin Min that she starts preparing the handmade curry gravy fresh at the stall from 6am daily, from a recipe handed down by a relative.
The S$2 curry mee has been a popular choice among many elderly customers, as well as some of the working crowd, she noted.
Some customers, for instance, might opt to top up S$0.80 for a fried snack to complement the noodles.
"I [just] hope that everyone can have a simple and affordable meal," Zheng shared.
Varied options on the menu
Zheng's stall offers Ipoh curry noodles, Ipoh curry chee cheong fun, yam cake and fried yong tau foo, as part of its breakfast menu from 7am to 11am.
It also specialises in lotus leaf steamed rice and Chinese soups during lunch and dinner hours.
Two of her best sellers are the coconut chicken soup and lotus steamed rice with braised pork and preserved vegetables.
蒸有米 Steam Rice Kitchen - Toa Payoh
Address: 206 Toa Payoh N, #01-1197, Singapore 310206
Operating hours: 7am to 8pm daily
Other economical meals:
Top image from CP on Google.