Show me no money
This tooth right at the back of my mouth is taking its own sweet time to grow out at my expense. Today it feels like someone has delivered a clean upper cut to the right of my jaw. I can't bite, yawn or even smile without grimacing first. Quite pitiful, really.
For lunch, I tried out a foodcourt which I have never ventured to before but my colleagues have raved about. It's at the lower ground of the shopping mall. Tucked away within the shadows of the carpark, it's a secret gastronomic haven targeted at blue collar workers and broke executives.
I walked around the stalls. Considering it was post-lunchtime, there wasn't much variety left but I've always been an advocate of no-frills cuisine. After browsing around, I stopped at the very last stall, got a fried egg & 3 types of veggies on my plate and asked the vendor for the price.
"RM1.50."
"Excuse me?"
"RM1.50."
More than half of what I usually pay for my lunch? Ridiculous. I passed him my RM10 note in hopes that I had misheard. Alas, he plonked back into my grubby hand RM8.50.
To further provoke my state of befuddlement, he mistakenly gave me an extra 10 sen coin.
As I munched on my cauliflower drenched in palm oil, I stared at the change I left next to my plate, blinked hard and opened my eyes again. Yep, still RM8.60.
One ringgit and fifty sen. Forty US cents. Twenty one UK pence. Eleven Dominican Republic pesos. Anyhow you say it, I was performing daylight robbery.
I finished my lunch and walked over to the stall to give the vendor back the additional 10 sen. I walked a few steps away and felt thoroughly stupid, so I whirled around and gave the vendor an extra ringgit.
"The food is good," I frankly told him. He gave me a puzzled smile and nodded.
By this time I was pretty convinced that this homie had never heard of the word 'profit'.
posted by disco-very @ 4:03 PM
6 Comments:
is it possible that u just don't know his cost? ;)
sometimes the food is subsidised by the company/mall to privide cheap food for its workers!
where is this place i must visit and find out for myself!
Hi Sharizal. True, food can be subsidized to a certain extent... But I still feel that the price the dude gave me did not justify the amount of food I heaved on my plate. He was barely making a few sen I think. I already think anything below RM3 is a big deal, let alone RM1.50. Thanks for the thought though! The foodcourt I've mentioned is in Midvalley.
Rei, RM3.80 is a fair price for a meal, that's how much I spend on a plate at my usual place. Maggi Goreng ranges from around RM2.80 - RM3.50 depending on where you go.
The only sense I think RM1.50 can make is if I use it on a basic nasi lemak.
Could you RSS your blog? Your blog is one of the must reads of my day very much like morning coffee ;-) Your is a breath of fresh air in such cynical times.
We must go. I've been there but only after it closed... funny thing is they didn't show the prices so I had no idea.
Oh yeah don't forget the place we went to when we bumped into Az and Shelley!
Colin, I truly appreciate and am honored by your regular visits to my site. But you know, I have yet to understand the concept of RSS, let alone know how to apply it to my blog. Do you have a site of your own btw?
Albert, the place we ate at (Annalakshmi) is only cheap if you want it to be, but I never take it for granted!
Food!!
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