Tanglin Crispy Curry Puff Original stall gets bombarded with 1-star reviews, while rival next door gets 5 stars

The Tanglin Crispy Curry Puff Original stall in Hong Lim Market & Food Centre in Chinatown appears to have been on the receiving end of a barrage of unfair one-star reviews recently.

Reviews appeared within a "very short timeframe"

In a Facebook post on Dec. 8, the stall called out the online review bombing after it noticed that a number of them were all posted within a "very short timeframe".

Some of the reviews took issue with the filling and texture of the curry puffs.

One review also claimed the curry puffs were "soggy".

Screenshots of the reviews also showed that some of them did not leave any comments except a one-star rating.

Some of these reviews appeared to have been removed.

The stall said in its post that it has reported the unfair reviews to Google.

The business also highlighted several of the reviewers who posted the one-star reviews appeared to have given a five-star review for Tanglin Crispy Curry Puff Since 1952, which is located one stall away from the Tanglin Crispy Curry Puff Original stall in the same hawker centre.

In the comments section, Tanglin Crispy Puff Original clarified that all ingredients are freshly prepared and sold on the same day.

As for the "sogginess" issue, the stall said it had not such received such feedback directly from customers at their stall.

The stall added: "If this were a common issue, it would be easily noticed on-site and addressed immediately. However, these concerns have only appeared in online reviews, not during in-person visits."

The stall also shared multiple links and screenshots related to the history between the two curry puff stalls in subsequent comments.

What is the deal between the two stalls?

Both Tanglin Crispy Curry Puff Original and Tanglin Crispy Curry Puff Since 1952 are managed separately by two brothers, Peter Ng and Ray Ng.

Tanglin Crispy Curry Puff Original (#02-36) is operated by Peter, while Tanglin Crispy Curry Puff Since 1952 (#02-34) is operated by Ray.

Peter currently operates from the original store, while Ray took over the nearby unit after falling out.

Both stalls are at the centre of a long-running dispute between the two brothers, with their father and original founder of the stall, Ng Yong Cheong, accusing the elder brother, Peter, of distorting the stalls' history.

Ng, who is in his 80s now, started hawking curry puffs from a tricycle in 1952 before moving to the food centre.

Top left image via Google Maps/Tanglin Crispy Curry Puff Original, right image via Tanglin Crispy Curry Puff Original/Facebook