I had my breakfast at Hougang Ci Yuan Hawker Center this morning. I ordered a coffee from one of the beverage stalls, which is located behind all the Halal food stores. The queue was pretty short this time, so I didn’t have to wait for a long time to get my beverage.
When it was my turn, I told the lady at the hawker stall that I wanted one cup of Kopi O to drink here. The lady hawker then said, “One cup of Kopi O, number 100…” I was curious about the “100” part and thought she was referring to the price of the Kopi O.
When I received my drink, I realized it wasn’t Kopi O but rather a 100 Plus. I politely informed the lady hawker that I didn’t order the 100 Plus; I had ordered a Kopi O instead.
The lady hawker seemed to get angry and snapped at me, saying, “You said you wanted a 100 Plus? Now that you hear the price is S$2.7, you suddenly want to change it to Kopi O, is it?”
Oh, Jesus! I’m certain that I made the correct order by specifically mentioning that I wanted a cup of Kopi O. I simply told her that I didn’t understand what she meant by “Kopi O 100,” which I thought referred to the price. She responded in a condescending tone, saying, “Is this your first time visiting a hawker center?”
I think next time I’ll either bring my own coffee or order a beverage from the Muslim food store located just behind them when I visit this hawker center again. I can’t believe a soft drink now costs $2.7 at this hawker center. Just last week, when I had a meal at the Hougang 1 food court, the 100 Plus was only $1.50 per can.
I forgot the name of the beverage stall, but it’s located in the second last row after the halal food stores. I’m writing this post to inform everyone here to be cautious when visiting this hawker center. To be honest, I don’t understand the term “Kopi O No. 100.”
However, I’m pretty sure I’ve never heard any food stall seller in Singapore use this kind of term. I’m also certain that none of the food stall sellers purposely misinterpret customers’ orders.
For example, when I ask for Kopi O, they wouldn’t say “Kopi O No. 100.” Perhaps this is part of their tactic to take advantage of customers.
I think I will file a complaint through the OneService app about this incident.
