WE have eaten in places that require customers to pay if they want to top-up certain items mainly for drinks or certain gravy items.
But payments for refills are uncommon in restaurants across Malaysia since they are usually free of charge.
Would you justify paying for the top-up fee if the initial dish was expensive to make in the first place?
Recently, an eatery’s response went viral after responding to queries charging for patin tempoyak gravy top-ups.
In the video, a woman explained that the gravy is usually poured into a bowl in large quantities.
ALSO READ: Customer charged RM3 for gravy at Ramadan bazaar, sparks discussion online
Not only that, she said that she has to maintain the gravy quantity to ensure it is enough when she serves it with the fish, emphasising how much money goes out in making the dish considering the expensive ingredients used.
A post on X by @jllmisai, reposting the video, shared his thoughts on the eatery’s charge of RM1 for the gravy top up.
Jalal reasoned that it could be quite expensive to make patin tempoyak considering the price of tempoyak and the fish used, comparing it to plain soup used for other rice dishes which were cheaper.
Netizens mostly sided with his statement, agreeing that the charge reflects the cost in making the dish.
ALSO READ: Chef expresses frustration after Subang chain eatery charges RM5.90 for nasi lemak with no sambal
“One big ladle-ful costs just RM1. 250 grams of tempoyak is already RM35,” a netizen said.
“It is only right that the seller charges for it as some customers order a lot (of gravy) on purpose but waste it since they could not finish it,” a user commented.
“I agree with (the eatery). There are other places out there that charge RM5 (for top-ups),” a user chimed in.
On the other hand, comments under the eatery’s TikTok video also supported the eatery’s decision, understanding how costly the ingredients are.
There were some who opposed the RM1 charge, saying how they can get free gravy refills in other places such as mamak restaurants.
