Stall prevents wastage by charging $2 for teaspoon of sambal
Thunder Tree, a stall selling vegetarian food at the basement of People's Park Centre, shuttered in November 2023.
On May 28, it reopened under the new name Fire Flies – after Thunder Tree's own organic vegetable farm under the same name that had to close down in 2022 due to changes in land use.
Other than vegetarian noodle dishes and thunder tea rice, one item on the stall's menu has attracted customers' attention: "specialty chilli sauce" at $2 per teaspoon.
Stall owner Cai Youzhao, 37, told Shin Min Daily News that the sambal "does not contain onion, garlic, egg or belacan".
"The main ingredients are chili and a lot of spices, and it’s fried with great care. The preparation process is not easy,” he said, adding that he charges the $2 only for third and subsequent helpings of the sambal.
Mr Cai shared that fans of the sambal did not mind paying for the extra serving, explaining that the $2 charge was not a money-making ploy.
"We just don't want customers to take and waste it," he said.
"There have been customers who insist that it is their right to demand as much chilli as they please, and that it should not matter whether they eat it or not."
The special sambal is mainly prepared by Mr Cai's mother.
“In the past, when we had enough workers, we sold the sambal but we no longer do it to avoid overworking my mother," said Mr Cai.
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