Woman feels S$8.50 salmon pasta from Upper Aljunied Lane stall should have more fish

A woman, who bought a takeaway serving of salmon pasta from a coffee shop stall at Upper Aljunied Lane, was dissatisfied with the portion served.

Her S$8.50 meal consisted of a serving of spaghetti and several sliced pieces of pan-seared salmon on top, she told Shin Min Daily News.

Asked staff about it

The customer said she felt the portion was unusually light upon receiving her food in a takeaway container.

Upon opening the lid, she discovered that the salmon was not a single whole piece of fish and it was not what she expected.

She immediately asked the staff why was she not served a whole piece of salmon instead.

The reply was that she would have to pay extra if she wanted a whole piece of fish.

Menu not detailed

The customer then pointed out that the menu only listed the salmon pasta price as S$8.50 without details, which she considered unreasonable.

The staff apparently did not offer any further explanation, and turned and left, which the customer felt was unacceptable as well.

Portion reasonable: Shin Min

A Shin Min reporter subsequently ordered the same item and reviewed the dish as reasonable, given that there were seven to eight pieces of salmon served with a "standard" portion of pasta.

The 46-year-old stall owner told the reporter that the stall has been operating for about five years and this was the first time a complaint like this has surfaced.

The owner added that the salmon pasta was indeed served with chunks of fish.

If customers wanted to add a whole 150g piece of fish, they needed to pay an additional S$9.50.

He also explained that the pasta portion is weighed beforehand at about 200g per serving, while the seven or eight pieces of salmon should weigh about 70g.

He also said he will instruct staff to pay more attention to the portion size and to control the heat when cooking salmon to improve its appearance and taste.

Top photos via Shin Min Daily News