Eat for $2 or less - new website tells you where

Eat for $2 or less - new website tells you where By Maria Almenoar

Many stalls at the hawker centre at Block 216, Bedok North Street 1 sell meals for $2 or less.

WHILE the prices of rice and other staples are skyrocketing, it is still possible to find a cheap meal.
For example, more than half the stalls at the Block 216, Bedok North Street 1 hawker centre sell meals for $2 or less.

Some of the stalls are among the more than 20 eateries listed on a new website which tells people where they can find cheap, tasty food.

Minister of State for Trade and Industry Lee Yi Shyan, who is also an MP for East Coast GRC, yesterday launched the website after tucking into a $2 economy rice lunch with 20 senior citizens.

Many of the stalls on the list have not raised their prices, despite rising global food costs.

Speaking to reporters after the event, Mr Lee said it was important to support stalls that decided to absorb rising costs.

'Why is it they can keep their prices low for so many years? It's because they have the volume and people come to patronise them from near and far,' he said.

The list will come in handy for Singaporeans who are in the midst of battling rising costs.

Government figures show Singapore's annual inflation reached 6.7 per cent in March, the highest since 1982. The increase was boosted by higher costs of food, transport, communications and housing.

Stallholder Lim Kim Chwee, who sells vegetarian bee hoon in the Bedok hawker centre, said he had not raised prices because he was afraid of losing his regular customers.

'How can we deprive people of eating something because they can't afford it? Anyway, the costs are still manageable for me,' said the 53-year-old, who charges between $1.50 and $2 for a meal.

The public can also offer suggestions on stalls to be listed on the new website.

Mr Lee added that since many senior residents in his area may not be Internet savvy, information on this website would also be disseminated at grassroots events.

In addition, his constituency - Kampong Chai Chee - is providing information to the Consumers Association of Singapore which is in the midst of compiling a list of cheap eateries around Singapore. It is likely to launch this list in June.

Mr Lee said it was important to keep in mind that consumers can always turn to cheaper alternatives like opting for house brands and frozen foods.

'There are always choices. We are sometimes a victim of our own habits and believe we cannot change these habits,' he said.

source: www.straitstimes.com/Free/Story/STIStory_231814.html