Dear readers, I am a regular and experienced buyer of mixed vegetables rice meals for my meals. So, I have more true mixed vegetables rice stories for you!
In a related recent post, I shared how I unexpectedly paid more than $20 for 3 packets of mixed vegetables rice! And while price not meeting expectations is the common gripe of many purchasing mixed vegetables rices, cheaper mixed vegetables rice is not always the best from what I have observed, as what I have shared with you later.
Before I get into the main contents for today’s post, let me just share with you a recent visit to a famous hawker centre. I ordered roasted duck noodles there for $5 and when the food came, I was shocked! The portion was very little and served on a Styrofoam plate and disposable cutlery! I recall reading about the reply a hawker gave to a customer when asked why food portion served was little. The hawker replied that they cater mainly to the elderly and the elderly don’t eat much. Yes, the story happened in Whampoa. Considering my roasted duck noodles were bought in an estate with a large proportion of seniors, I would not be surprised if the hawker who sold me the noodles replied me in the same answer!
Anyway, lets get back to our main story for today’s post. Ok, a stall in my neighborhood sells cheap mixed vegetables rice and always attract longer queues. In fact, it is the one in about 3 mixed vegetables stalls in the vicinity which is the most popular.
Despites paying decent prices for the mixed vegetables rice bought there, I am always puzzled as to why I feel hungry just one or two hours after each meal. I do not recall feeling the same for the mixed vegetables rice bought elsewhere.
Also, what’s more, I always feel that the vegetables are soggy and meat dishes not that fresh. Many times, I notice that the fried eggs have some greyish areas.
This lead me to deducing that this stall uses low quality vegetables and meat so as to save costs. Possibly, some of the food used may be close to expiry as could be seen from the greyish areas in the egg dishes as mentioned. With low quality vegetables, it is not hard to explain why I always feel hungry right after the meal.
I believe we pay what we get but if the stall really uses low quality ingredients, then customers pay lower prices, at the expense of health.