Many reunion dinners going the zi char way - Why Never Ask Why Coffeeshops?

An article in the state propaganda papers today caught my attention. It reported more people are having their chinese new year reunion dinner at coffeeshops. Coffeeshops' zi char stalls business are booming. This state controlled paper is tilted to report news on bigger businesses like restaurants recommendations. How come focus is changed from restaurants to smaller businesses in the heartlands?

Again the fact is simple- Sporeans are increasingly cash-strapped & don't find value in paying for high rentals.

If you are brainwashed by the article & are inclined to join in like the masses i urge you to reconsider by reading what is nicely summed up by a critic of this overcommercialisation of reunion dinners whether it be in restaurants or coffeeshops:

"It is not unexpected as it is the worst day to organise dinner. The bosses who would have been running the restaurant are probably home having their own reunion with their families. The standard of supervision would have dropped. To pay staff for the OT on such day, they would have to recover cost & therefore had back to back bookings with no leeway.

Its the same with Xmas dinners in many places where the standard would drop predictably. You would find additonal tables & chairs & the ambience is gone.

I think that the concept of reunion is also lost if held in the presence of strangers & outside a home.

This is not an excuse for the bad service that you encountered but it should not have been a surprise.

If everyone stuck to the tradition of preparing meals at home, commercialisation wouldn't be possible in the first place. Businesses are doing nothing more than meeting a demand & high prices are simply a response to high demand from lazy good for nothing families.

Nobody has forced these idiots to eat out on the eve of CNY. Everything used to be CLOSED for 2½ days straight & I don't recall anyone starving to death."-sl

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Many reunion dinners going the zi char way
By Poon Chian Hui

The humble zi char stall, with its homely Chinese offerings, has inched its way into the hearts of many Singaporeans - with many of them going as far as to hold their reunion dinners there this year.

Come this Chinese New Year's Eve, families will gather at coffee shops across the island to usher in the new year over traditional favourites such as cereal prawns, steamed fish & pork ribs.

Said Mr Guay Teck Seng, 52, whose zi char stall in Queenstown is already 70% booked for the night: 'It's nothing to holler about, but customers like the food we serve. I also try to come up with some special dishes every year.'

His set menus, which comprise 6 or 8 courses, range in price from $208 for 4 people to $488 for a table of 10. 9 other eateries contacted by The Sunday Times said bookings have been brisk this year, with 3 saying that business has exceeded last year's.