Food festivals are often regarded as a great place to check out good food and support local restaurateurs and brands. However, despite its popularity, there have been many complaints about food fests in Malaysia.
One of the recent complaints came from Twitter user @/whymustchxkk, who wrote, “Malaysian food fests are the world’s most ridiculous event. Everything is overpriced. RM7 for diluted iced tea that tastes like tap water. RM10 for cold popcorn chicken. There are only ten pieces, but it costs the same as a whole chicken.” The tweet had many netizens in agreement, adding their dissatisfaction with local food festivals.
Sbb tu makin ramai org malas nk support Food Fest kt Msia ni. Vendor blk2 muka yg sama, kualiti brg jualan out, pastu harga x msk akal.
Bila x laku mula la up video dgn caption sedih2 letak lagu 'Dawai', dakwala kena dengki, ada jin lah. Padahal koranglah jin tu sedut darah org! https://t.co/pJ38a0EkOt— Kak Bam 🇲🇾 (@maafcakaplah) January 7, 2024
Most of the complaints were about the prices, lamenting that vendors would purposely increase their prices when they sell at food fests. Some also point out that it would cost more for trendy food, even if it didn’t cost much to make the dish. Another common complaint was about the cleanliness and hygiene of the vendors. One netizen said she swore off food fests after getting food poisoning from one, lamenting that the vendors are often unhygienic and don’t consider food safety and sanitation.
The tweet also led to some netizens questioning who to blame for overpriced food fests. Many netizens point towards the festival organisers who place high rental fees. Some said they could understand the higher price if the food was at least good, but it’s often processed or poorly prepared. Some netizens said people should stop visiting food festivals if they don’t want to be “scammed”. Some even said organisers and vendors at food fests are opportunists, taking advantage of customers but don’t want to provide good quality.
Funnily enough, netizens also said local night markets offer better value than food festivals despite having similar concepts – but what do you think about these comments? Do you agree with netizens? Or will you still visit food fests despite the higher prices?
Source: Twitter
