Malaysia
Singapore
Thailand
Tell me if you’ve heard this before: “Food in Singapore is too expensive!” Well, one tourist certainly agrees. Malaysia-based American TikToker terrypernell recently went viral for a video he posted on 11 Sep 2025, commenting on the prices of food in Newton Food Centre.
In the video, he discussed spending S$10 on 10 sticks of satay, utterly baffled by the prices at the hawker centre. Netizens quickly offered explanations (and some thinly veiled insults) of the prices, claiming that Newton Food Centre is a tourist trap. Others recommended heartland locations with cheaper fare.
To Terry’s credit, he humbly took those comments in his stride, even posting a follow-up wanting to learn more about prices and the standard of living in Singapore. But that got me thinking, are these netizens right? How expensive is satay around Singapore?
For this comparison, I’m choosing 2 other satay stalls in hawker centres around Singapore, hypothetically purchasing 10 satay sticks at each stall to keep it fair.
After some meticulous CSI-esque investigation, I figured out that our TikToker likely bought his satay from TKR @ Newton Yummy Chicken Wing. Sure enough, satay there costs S$1 per stick.
As a middle-ground option, I chose a satay stall located in a hawker centre with similar renown to Newton Food Centre, that being Maxwell Satay from you guessed it, Maxwell Food Centre. They price their satays at S$0.90 per stick.
Finally, our heartland option — Pondok Makan Indonesia in Albert Food Centre, which is featured in the Michelin Guide Singapore. Despite this, their satay sticks go for only S$0.70 per stick!
So, Pontok Makan Indonesia offers the cheapest satay sticks for what’s likely the best value, considering it’s featured on the Michelin Guide. But overall, the price range is relatively small.
But what do you think? Consider sending this list to Terry to consult on his next foray into Singapore.
Kwong Satay: Super charred & caramelised pork belly satay in Geylang
