Mother says son paid S$17 for cai png with red snapper tail in Yew Tee, stall owner defends pricing

An economic rice stall in Yew Tee reportedly charged a boy S$17 for a plate with rice, tofu, and fish.

A user by the name of Wendy Ng shared the story on the Friends of Yew Tee Facebook page on Jun. 8, 2025.

In the story, Ng said that her son was too "shy" to find out the price before ordering, and dared not ask why it was so pricey.

"This is too much. I hope all of you don't buy, ask before paying and reject if too expensive," she added. 

Ng shared a photo of the takeaway box, which shows the boy's order, consisting of tofu, rice, and a heap of red snapper tail:

This is not the first time the stall has been in the news.

Back in 2024, a man complained about being charged S$8.20 at the stall for his order of a piece of pork rib, a meat-stuffed tofu puff, and some okra. 

The stall owner then told Shin Min that the high prices were due to high rental costs, due to the stall's location at the MRT station.

Listed at "market price"

The stall owner told a Shin Min who went down recently that the food prices are listed clearly on both the dine-in and takeaway menus at the station.

The price of fish is stated on the menu as varying based on "market price".

The owner said that the red snapper tail the boy had ordered is freshly prepared every day, and its price varies according to size and its original market price, hence the high price tag.

He said that red snapper tail meat typically costs over S$10 at  wet markets.

Cheaper options like dory fish are also available, he told the reporter, at S$3.50.

The stall owner added that he always reminds his workers to highlight the prices to customers who order pork rib, fried drumstick, squid, prawn, or any dish that costs above S$3.

This is so that they are aware that they are ordering pricier items.

Reactions

Some of the comments pointed out that red snapper tail can indeed be quite pricey, and that the boy might not have known how expensive it is.

One of the comments noted that red snapper tails alone can cost upwards of S$15, based on the price of a 500g portion at Ding Xin Seafood.

Meanwhile, a 600g to 700g portion of red snapper tail costs S$16.80 on Catch of the Day.

Some expressed sympathy for the stall owner, with one commenter noting that business is hard these days, making it necessary to charge higher prices.

Others, however, expressed disapproval at the exorbitant cost of the plate and felt that S$17 was too much, even if fish is pricey.

Top photo from Wendy Ng/Facebook & Shin Min Daily News.