$450 flight for curry puffs? Meituan rider said to have flown from China to Singapore to fulfil order

How much would you pay for a curry puff?

One customer in China was apparently willing to fork out the price of flight tickets to Singapore for a delivery rider to travel here and pick up an order from Hong Lim Curry Puff.

A video shared on Chinese video app Douyin on Tuesday (Sep 1), shows a man in a yellow Meituan uniform placing an order at Hong Lim Curry Puff's stall.

Meituan is a Chinese platform offering a range of services, including on-demand food delivery.

Speaking to the person behind the camera, the man claimed that he was tasked to purchase a box of six curry puffs, with flavours including curry potato and sardine. The total came up to $13.50.

The man also said the air tickets to Singapore cost 2,400 yuan (S$453). He did not say which part of China he came from.

When asked about his pay for this gig, he declined to comment.

According to the video, the customer who hired the delivery man had once patronised the curry puff store and wished to eat the pastry again.

The video was filmed on Aug 31 at Hong Lim Curry Puff's outlet in Paya Lebar Quarter, reported Shin Min Daily News.

Responding to queries from Shin Min, co-founder Victoria Loh, 37, said a newly hired female employee was working at the time.

As the employee did not understand Chinese, she contacted Loh for assistance.

Loh said she initially did not recognise the Meituan uniform and assumed the man was simply a regular delivery rider who had come to collect an order.

"My employee said he hadn't seen that delivery platform, and I didn't think much of it at the time," said Loh, adding that she had asked the man to pay for the order in cash.

Loh noted that it was only after someone came to film the interaction that she realised that the man appeared to have travelled from overseas.

xingying.koh@asiaone.com

你愿意花多少钱买一个咖喱角？

一位中国顾客显然愿意支付飞往新加坡的机票费用，让外卖员飞到这里来取一份来自 Hong Lim Curry Puff 的外卖。

周二（9月1日），中国视频应用抖音上分享的一段视频显示，一名身穿黄色美团制服的男子在鸿林咖喱角摊位前点餐。

美团是一个提供包括外卖送餐在内的多种服务的中国平台。

这名男子对着镜头后的人说，他受命去买一盒六个咖喱角，口味包括咖喱土豆和沙丁鱼。总价是13.50美元。

该男子还表示，飞往新加坡的机票价格为2400元人民币（约合453新元）。他没有透露自己来自中国的哪个地区。

当被问及此次工作的报酬时，他拒绝置评。

根据视频显示，雇佣送货员的顾客曾光顾过这家咖喱角店，并希望再次品尝该店的糕点。

据《新明日报》报道，该视频于 8 月 31 日在巴耶利峇广场的 Hong Lim Curry Puff 分店拍摄。

针对《新明日报》的询问，联合创始人维多利亚·罗（37岁）表示，事发时有一名新聘的女员工在岗。

由于该员工不懂中文，她联系了 Loh 寻求帮助。

Loh表示，她一开始并没有认出美团制服，以为这名男子只是一个来取餐的普通外卖员。

“我的员工说他没见过那个配送平台，当时我也没太在意，”Loh说道，并补充说她要求那名男子用现金支付订单款项。

罗女士注意到，直到有人来拍摄这段互动后，她才意识到这名男子似乎是从海外来的。

邢莹.koh@asiaone.com