Serangoon restaurant sells prawn noodles at S$1.80, wants to support S'poreans amid rising prices

Just a few months after opening, a restaurant in Serangoon decided to introduce a nearly 90 per cent discount on their large prawn noodles, from S$10.80 to S$1.80 a bowl.

The dish includes two large prawns, according to the restaurant Yu Xia Ge.

According to a sign at the restaurant shared online by customers, the offer comes with a few terms and conditions.

To enjoy a bowl at S$1.80, customers have to dine in, and follow Yu Xia Ge's social media accounts on TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram. It is also limited to one redemption per customer.

The restaurant owner told Shin Min Daily News that it costs him S$2.20 to make a bowl of prawn noodles, so he sells every bowl at a loss.

In persisting with the lower price, the restaurant has been absorbing the losses.

To support Singaporeans

Since Yu Xia Ge announced the S$1.80 prawn noodles in early April, the number of diners has nearly doubled.

However, the owner explained that it was not the team's strategy to offset lower profit margins by increasing sales volume.

Rather, the offer was to thank the customers who have been supporting the restaurant since it opened at the end of February.

During this time of rising living costs, the restaurant hopes to show support for the community while also promoting and preserving Singapore's traditional prawn noodles.

The rising costs have also hit the business hard.

The price of ingredients, utilities, and operations have been increasingly going up, the owner shared, making it hard for the team to continue serving food at such low prices.

"But a few of us in the business agree that we hope to try our best to support Singaporeans during this tough time," he said.

"A lot of customers, especially the elderly and those with a lower income, have told us that this promotion has been a big help to them. Some also wished that we can always keep this price."

Limited time?

Shin Min reported that the S$1.80 price is a limited-time offer, but did not state when it will end.

The team hopes to extend the offer until energy and operating costs return to the stable levels they were at before the recent situation in the Middle East, the owner said.

For now, the low price continues to attract customers, even from afar, according to Shin Min.

A woman said that she travelled from the northern part of Singapore to try the prawn noodles after learning about the promotional price.

"I was mainly drawn by this very cheap price, and later I realised that the taste was also not bad," she said.

A man who lived nearby has frequently visited the restaurant with his family since it opened, and shared that he noticed the number of customers increasing recently.