$404 CNY dinner at basketball court versus housewife's cheap and tasty homemade dishes

A restaurant drew flak following complaints about their Chinese New Year dinner package, which was said to be pricey and unappetising on top of being accompanied by poor service and a lousy atmosphere.

In an article on Feb 10, Stomper P shared how her family of five had paid $404 for a reunion dinner at Ban Heng Restaurant at Boon Keng Road on January 31.

The family likened the dinner, which was set up at a basketball court, to a funeral wake. The food also left them disappointed.

P said: "To sum this up, we will AWARD the meal a 0.5/5 stars rating."

Many netizens were equally shocked, with some saying that the garoupa in the meal resembled a "steamed rat".

The restaurant received similarly negative reviews on Google about their reunion dinner package. One customer even said, "My mother can cook better than you."

Stomper Foodie said she was just as appalled when she read about the hoo-ha and saw photos of P's meal.

She shared pictures of several dishes that her mother had cooked for her family of four in the past few months which she described as both delicious and cost-efficient.

According to Foodie, her 57-year-old mother is a housewife who has been cooking for decades. The homemaker does not have any professional training, but hones her culinary skills through practice and watching videos.

(Images on the left show P's meal at Ban Heng Restaurant, while those on the right show food prepared by Foodie's mother)

(P previously pointed out that there were only four "puny" pieces of abalone for her family of five)

Other dishes by Foodie's mum:

Foodie told Stomp: "My mother can also cook local delights such as laksa and chicken rice. She bakes too. Her specialty is cheese cake and she makes her own Chinese New Year goodies every year.

"Most of our groceries are from supermarkets. My mother is the typical Singaporean auntie so she is always looking for good deals and snagging sale items. Some meals cost less than $10, while those with prawns are less than $20. We had our own hotpot at home for Chinese New Year.

"Definitely no need for $404 and everything is super delicious. Of course, it is time-consuming and takes a lot of effort on my mother's part.

"I would award my mother 100 stars for taste, 100 stars for quality, 100 stars for quantity, 100 stars for effort and 100 stars for cost-efficiency.

"And yes, I think my mother can cook better than Ban Heng! Maybe all our mothers should show them how it's done."