Each time I see another post on social media about a super-cheap hawker meal, I cringe. Noodles for $2.50; kopi-o kosong for 70 cents, or a plate of economy rice with meat, vegetables and rice for $3. Such posts often attract favourable comments from others, who extol the virtue of the stallholders who keep prices down so that the low-income can afford such budget meals.

The only trouble with such a scenario is that, very often, the ones sharing about the super-cheap hawker meals are not the ones for whom such meals are designed. While some hawkers in low-income neighbourhoods keep prices down for their clientele, the truth is that many Singaporeans think nothing of driving 30 minutes in their fuel-guzzling vehicle in search of a good, cheap hawker meal fix.