Not so long ago we wrote in separate post, that snack prices in Kenting Night market are going crazy for fried chicken, reaching as much as 120NTD per chop.
Last month, a visitor to Kenting’s music festival found a vendor selling a piece of chicken for NT$120 and exclaimed, “Taiwanese people are really rich.” Netizens criticized that “the high prices in Kenting are not surprising.” Recently, there were reports of overpriced food in Kenting again.
A PTT user posted a thread titled “Is NT$300 for one roasted corn a reasonable price?” and said that when he went to Kenting to buy corn, he was charged NT$300 for one corn, which sparked a heated discussion among netizens.
The original poster (OP) stated that they bought a corn in Kenting for 300 NTD (about 11 USD), and purchased three for 900 NTD (about 33 USD). They questioned why the price could go up so much from a regular price of 5 NTD (about 0.18 USD) per corn in supermarkets, and claimed that grilled corn is still just regular corn.
However, many netizens flooded in with comments saying that such a high price is impossible, and that grilled corn in Taipei night markets is only 70 NTD (about 2.5 USD) with some even feeling that 130 NTD (about 4.7 USD) is too expensive. Even if it costs 100 NTD (about 3.6 USD) for one corn, they couldn’t finish it.
Original PTT post complaining about corn prices in Kenting
This corn seller in Kenting argues that such price is not possible even in Kenting
According to the food stall vendor interviewed by ETtoday News, they weigh the corn on a scale before selling it, and the weight is about 18 grams per tael (which is roughly equivalent to 37 grams per ounce).
The price of one corn is approximately NT$120 (about US$4.29) based on this weight. The vendor will only start grilling the corn after the customer agrees upon the price.
The vendor expressed concern that such rumors could affect local tourism, as tourists may be discouraged from visiting Kenting if they think the prices are exorbitant.
There were also a large number of netizens questioning the original poster’s claims, “Show the receipt!”, “Post a picture as proof, I’ve never seen one that costs 300”, “If you’re going to publicly criticize the vendor, at least say which one and take a picture of the corn”, “Honestly, I don’t believe it, 200 may be possible.” However, some users also reminded others not to buy food without a price tag.
After the post was exposed and sparked heated discussions, the original poster has deleted the article.