Diner upset that stall refused to serve him kway chap without meat, but owner has good reason

He wanted meatless, but ended up meal-less.

A man was left 'hangry' after being turned away by a kway chap stall at Albert Food Centre on Saturday (Apr 29) — all because he asked for no meat in his meal.

Mr Yang Yuqing, 57, told Shin Min Daily News that he visited the stall, which he has been patronising for years, at around 2pm.

As he does not eat meat, intestines and pig skin, he ordered four pieces of tau pok, one fishcake, one egg and two sets of kway.

Mr Yang said: "I told the stall owner that the meal was for two pax, but he said he was not selling. I told him I was having the meal by myself, he did not want to sell it too."

He then questioned the stall owner, who told him it was because he did not order meat.

Mr Yang said he had always ordered the same ingredients and paid the price of one set meal with no issues, so he did not understand why things were different this time.

He added: "I've eaten kway chap from all over Singapore and it's the first time I've encountered something so ridiculous. It's not an issue about money, it's the boss's attitude that is the problem."

When contacted by Shin Min, 65-year-old stall owner Zhang Xiangsheng confirmed that the incident took place.

He explained that what Mr Yang had ordered cost $4 in total, which is less than the set meal price of $5. As such, he turned Mr Yang down.

Mr Zhang said: "The customer later said that he was willing to pay the set meal price, but I still think it's not right. I will have a hard time if this leads to people complaining that the price is too expensive for kway chap without meat."

Mr Zhang, who has been operating his stall for over 30 years, said that it is difficult to customise each set of kway chap according to the requirements of different customers.

He also emphasised that doing business is about two-way consent and cannot be forced. He further noted that he did not scold anyone during the incident, adding: "I only told him, I can't sell this, you can eat something else."