For a limited time, residents of Singapore can enjoy S$2 laksa in Chinatown.

This is because a diner who ordered a laksa at Asian Makanstall, a hawker stall located at Chinatown Complex, had donated a sum to the stall asking the owners to sell their laksa for S$2, the stall owners told Shin Min Daily News.

According to the 71-year-old male owner, surnamed Lee, the stall's laksa was priced at S$4 previously.

Donor visited stall weeks ago

Lee recounted that the diner visited his stall three weeks ago and decided to make a donation so that "more individuals could enjoy the affordable and tasty dish, especially the seniors and those in need".

According to Lee, the diner often does charity work, including making donations to temples and nursing homes, but he does not want to publicise his identity or make his donation amount known.

Laksa priced at S$4 despite rising costs

Lee added that the stall introduced its laksa six months ago, and its price has remained at S$4, even though the cost for each bowl has increased by around 30 per cent.

"Even though the cost of ingredients, such as fried shrimp and coconut milk, has increased significantly, we did not dare to increase our price because we were worried that our customers would not accept it," said Lee.

With the launch of S$2 laksa, Lee said his stall had sold twice as many bowls each day.

He could sell around 60 bowls within just one hour after opening his stall for business.

Spent most of the donation by now

While the promotion helped the stall to attract more footfall in general, Lee said it did not raise the stall's profit margin.

"At the price of S$2, our laksa should be the cheapest laksa in Singapore. We did not earn much," shared Lee.

Additionally, Lee said he has spent the majority of the donations now, which has been used to cover part of the ingredient costs.

He estimated that the remaining amount would be gone within a week or two.

If the stall does not receive another donation, the price of laksa at the stall will return to S$4, said Lee.

Lee refuses to close down stall despite difficult year

The female owner of the stall, surnamed Wang (transliteration), revealed that she had once tried to convince Lee, her husband, to close down the stall after a terrible year in business in 2023.

According to Wang, on some days, the stall's daily sales had ranged between S$0 and S$10.

However, Lee refused to shut down the business.

When asked why, Lee said: "I really love cooking. Additionally, I worried that I would not know what to do after retirement, which would make me susceptible to dementia."

Top images via Shin Min Daily News & Google Maps