A Malaysian woman recently took to social media to express her surprise after being charged RM5 for a humble meal of white rice and a side of green vegetables.

Posting in the Subang Jaya and USJ Food Discovery Facebook group, she shared a photo of her meal and invited members to guess its price.

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When the answers started streaming in, she revealed that the cost was RM5, sparking a conversation about whether such pricing was typical.

She asked out of curiosity, “Is this the normal price? Just wondering cause I rarely tapau mix rice.”

The incident reportedly took place at a restaurant in USJ 1.

Her post quickly gained attention, with netizens offering varied responses, debating whether RM5 was a fair charge for a meal so simple. Some users were shocked, calling the price too steep for such basic fare.

One user called Andrea Lily commented: “Mixed rice is equal to mixed feelings! Everyday different charges depending on staff mood too.”

“That’s crazy. (It should cost) maximum RM4,” Calvin Anderson Rusby wrote.

One user even provided a detailed breakdown to show how the meal should have been priced.

Yuen Wai Loon commented: “Generally, one portion of a dish should be RM3. A dish means vegetable, chicken & pork.

“A portion of beef should be RM4. A portion means one normal scoop. Not a big scoop. The serving size scoop. But not as little as a tablespoon. Use common sense.

“So, in this example, it should have been RM3 + RM1 for the white rice. White rice should not be more than RM1.50 per portion,” the user wrote.

“Therefore, RM4 would be fair. RM5 is already on the high side.

The user further suggested: “Another good comparison is, a plate of white rice with 2 dishes (1 vegetable, 1 chicken) should be about RM7.”