Bedok Chwee Kueh's response to why it recently doubled prices: 'So we can wash 5,000 fewer bowls daily'
When this chwee kueh stall doubled the price of their signature dish last Sunday (Feb 19), its owner observed that several customers in the queue left upon noticing the price change.
While the piece of chwee kueh now cost $1.20, the boss of Bedok Chwee Kueh told Shin Min Daily News that he has also doubled its size.
Chen, whose stall in Bedok Interchange Hawker Centre once made the Michelin Bib Gourmand list, said: "This is not the first time I changed the size of my chwee kueh. I changed it once about seven years ago.
"I decided to change it again after careful consideration".
By combining "two small kuehs into one", Chen hopes that this will halve the numbers of bowls needed to be cleaned across his seven stalls - from more than 10,000 to 5,000 every day.
He did not mention in the report how much he'll save in cleaning costs.
Describing the difficulties of cleaning the bowls, the hawker shared that ordinary tableware can be cleaned with a dishwashing machine.
But for his thousands of metallic bowls used to make the chwee kuehs, Chen said that they have to be scrubbed by hand, while pointing out that he's also facing a shortage of manpower.
For these reasons, the hawker shared that he has spent thousands of dollars to purchase bigger bowls for his outlets.
Bigger is better?
The price increase at his chwee kueh stalls have caught several customers off guard, Chen shared.
Some of them, who were in the queue, chose to leave after seeing the new prices, according to the hawker's observations.
"Notices have been put up to inform customers that only large kuehs will be sold," Chen said, adding that he has also included a photo of the bowls in front of the stall.
Reactions to the bigger portions are mixed, Shin Min Daily News reported.
A customer, surnamed Zhang, shared that he has no issues with the price hike.
But the 56-year-old feels that elderly folks might not be able to finish a chwee kueh by themselves.
According to a notice in front of the stall, customers ordering takeaway have to purchase at least two chwee kuehs.
Another customer, 44-year-old He, shared that she will buy fewer chwee kuehs.
While several customers left after realising the price hike, the Bedok Chwee Kueh boss remains undeterred.
Pointing out that his stall is an established brand, Chen said that he believes customers will come back a few weeks of getting used to the adjusted prices.
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chingshijie@asiaone.com
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