Chap fan vendor fires back at complaints over rising prices: “If it’s too expensive, don’t eat,” sparking strong reactions from netizens.
CHAP FAN, or economy rice, has always been a favourite for Malaysians who want a simple, affordable meal.
But lately, with rising costs of ingredients, labour and rent, some customers have started complaining that chap fan is no longer “economy.”
One chap fan vendor recently addressed the issue in a Facebook post, responding directly to diners frustrated by higher prices.
The vendor started by saying how annoyed he is with negative reviews: “The thing that annoys me the most every day isn’t working in a hot kitchen, sweating it out—it’s scrolling through my phone and seeing people leave comments or 1-star Google reviews saying we’re ‘too expensive.’”
He reminded customers that “chap fan back then cannot be compared to now. It used to be sold in a corner of a kopitiam or at a wet market stall, with one or two staff, cheap rent, simple dishes, and sometimes even cold vegetables. The ‘economy rice’ you’re talking about belongs to that era.”
Today, he explained, chap fan is served in air-conditioned shops with clean tables, bright lights, and hundreds of dishes to choose from. He also highlighted the rising costs he has to cover: “Do you know how much I have to pay every month? Rent, utilities, air-conditioning, nearly 10 staff—and that’s not counting rising food costs, meat price increases, oil price increases, and food wastage. Do you really think I’m ‘printing money’ by selling a plate for more than RM10?”
The vendor also pointed out the double standard of some customers: “When you eat at a shopping mall, a bowl of noodles costs RM20–30 and average spending per person is RM40–50. You don’t complain. My chap fan is one vegetable and two meats for just over RM10, cheaper than mall food, faster than a restaurant, and comes with free soup and Chinese tea.”
He gave clear advice for those who feel it’s too expensive: “If it’s too expensive, don’t eat it. Take fewer vegetables, skip the meat, or don’t eat it at all. No one is holding a knife to your throat. I’m not running a charity. I have a family to support. You have your pressures. I have my bills.”
He ended with a strong reminder: “Chap fan isn’t the ‘economy rice’ you remember. Times have changed. Costs have changed. The world has changed. You can be nostalgic about the past—but don’t stand in the present and use past prices to insult people. I don’t owe you a single plate of rice.”
The vendor’s message has gone viral online since.
One netizen called Christopher Loh snapped back, saying, “If you want to sell chap fan at a higher price, that’s your choice. Whether your business succeeds depends on the customers.
“So when running a business, don’t be arrogant. A vendor telling customers not to eat is wrong. Customers have the right to complain if they feel it’s expensive. There are plenty of places to eat chap fan, so if you sell it pricey, you can expect feedback—but you cannot tell customers not to eat.”
“I sell a plate with two meats and one vegetable for only RM8.50, and it even comes with soup. I’m still in PJ. It’s not that I’m not making a profit—it just depends on how much customers can spend,” Fion Chan opined.
The Sun Malaysia
