Inflation reaching dizzying heights … fish slice steamboat reduced to pathetic portions

I felt really compelled to share this story.

I was in TPY last Friday and had craving for fish steamboat (Yu Tou Lu). I finally found one after searching several coffee shops and was happily expecting a sumptuous meal.

I had the greatest shock of the week as the dishes were laid out. The fish broth was so-so but I was greatly appalled and affected by the pathetic fish slice portions that came along with it. The portions were miserable to the tune of 10 slices of red grouper (something like the thinly sliced salmon portions you are given for the CNY lou-hei dish).

I lost my cool and signaled for the order-taker to come over. She came over after a while and I told her this is not Yu Tou Lu. The Yu Tou Lu I remember comes with huge portions of fish head-meat, fish slices and cabbages. The order-taker tried to explain but there was no way I could believe her explanation.

After much insistence on my part, she decided to make it up by offering 10 more slices of another fish species–snakefish meat. On hindsight, I should have checked if the fish was poisoned.

In addition, the vegetables they served tasted bitter unlike the sweet chunks of cabbages that typically come with the soup.

The cost of the meal came up to a grand total of $25, $1 for 2 bowls of white rice. It must be relatively the most expensive meal I had for a long time. This is nothing more than clear-cut profiteering under the guise of inflation.

On a related note, I have also heard horror stories of misrepresentation where you are charged separately for the steamboat broth/soup.

In Hokkien, “Mm si lim bei bo lui … si lim bei bei hua hee heng lui”

I have taken some pictures as proof.

My only regret is that I did not take the pictures before cooking the fish meat in the broth.