Like clockwork, the price of wan tan mee and other delicacies goes up by 50 sen or more, a week or so before Chinese New Year.
Soon after, the new price becomes permanent. A small plate of wan tan mee costs RM8 and a big one RM10.
I recently paid RM9 for a plate of wan tan mee, but as I had add-ons, it was reasonable. More importantly, it was delicious.
Of course, some hawkers drastically increase their prices during Chinese New Year. Once, a cousin told me she paid RM11 for a plate of char kway teow in Subang Jaya. It was RM5.50 before the holidays.
That was the last time she went to the stall.
As she said: “Many other people are selling the dish in Subang Jaya, and it tastes the same. So, I did not mind going to a new hawker centre.
“Sadly, there is no one that can replicate the awesome char kway teow from Seremban. I have been to Penang, but the one I had while growing up is the best in the world.”
While I am not a fan of char kway teow, the home minister recently ordered a plate at The Cantina@USJ, and it was simply delicious. Hats off to the chef, Lim Soon Keat.
I recommended the place to my cousin, and she said she would visit it soon. Hopefully, it will remind her of Seremban.
Speaking of char kway teow, recently on Twitter, there was another battle about the Malay version that is ‘basah’ or wet, as it has gravy.
To purists, char means fried and should not have gravy.
But I digress. The point of this article was to say it is getting more and more expensive to eat out.
Hawkers are struggling to survive due to inflation, as are other people. To charge double during the holiday period is taking advantage.
Most people can probably accept a temporary increase of RM2 or even RM3 during the period – as they will not eat out every day – as long as the price goes down after that.
We always have the option of cooking at home.
CASES BACK ON THE RISE
For the first time since Dec 18, new Covid-19 cases exceeded 4,000 on a single day when there were 4,046 infections yesterday.
The 22,710 cases in the past week brought the total to 2,824,973.
In the past seven days, 20,318 patients were cured of the coronavirus, making it 2,750,261 people who have beaten the disease.
Sadly, there were 107 deaths, bringing the total fatalities to 31,869.
Worldwide there are 346.7 million cases and 5.6 million fatalities.
OOPS!
After Australia deported Novak Djokovic and banned him from the Australian Open for not taking the Covid-19 vaccine, many shared the following picture on social media.
NEW ZERO WASTE STORE IN SUBANG JAYA
If you want to do your part in saving the environment, why not go to the new Minimize Zero Waste Store in Subang Jaya.
To learn more, please visit its website.
TRUE STORY
I felt the burn after receiving this via WhatsApp.
GET IT SORTED OUT
Motorists were up in arms over the delays caused by new the RFID (radio frequency identification) lanes along the Plus Highway.
Many were stuck and had to change to the Touch ‘n Go (TnG) and SmartTag lanes.
I was among the lucky ones not to experience any difficulties with RFID lanes – apart from yesterday while going past the Damansara toll.
Other motorists had difficulties in the TnG and SmartTag lanes.
Hopefully, TnG can sort out the problems ahead of the Chinese New Year exodus.
15 CNY FOODS FOR THE YEAR OF THE TIGER
Chinese New Year is around the corner. Here are 15 traditional recipes you can try during the celebration.
GOODBYE, MEAT LOAF
The man who would do anything for love, expect ‘that’, is no more.
The Grammy-award winner, real name Marvin Lee Aday, died on Jan 20. He was 74.
Below is a number from the Dallas-born rocker.
Until next week, stay safe.
https://youtu.be/9X_ViIPA-Gc