I thought I would be good to jump in this week and drag on about that precious little debate recently that makes us what we are, especially the rights-loving part- free water in restaurants. The debate caught on like wild brush fire when blogger Ms Veron Ang decided to expose this culture of greed in restaurants that charges for a glass of water, even if it came from the tap. The Straits Times devoted prominent pulp and ink to her cause. She posted a whole list of eateries here that refuses to hand out that cuppa life giving plain water out of love for customers. She believes that it can help “improve the dining experience” of the patrons. Ok, I admit, I don’t know how. Like how can a glass of water help improve that chunky fresh slice of hamachi or otoro sashimi when I’ve flushed it down the hatch with a glass of cold sake. Perhaps it will (ok, I admit again- I don’t know how).

Culture of greed: charge for serving plain water
even if they came from the tap.

But his much I know- that it may be perfectly logical for an eatery to serve free water to any customers asking for it, or heck, even when they don’t ask. The thing is, many restaurants which charges for that cup of plain water, will gladly let you have it for free, but it is the “serve” part the haunts them- they are really charging for the service. Service provided for by an industry where 75% of the jobs are reserved for local Singaporeans who, reasonably so, want a decent salary for doing so. Observe that next cze cha meal at a busy family mid price restaurant- they don’t usually serve water, at best you get to pay for a pot or cup of crappy chinese tea, which will egg you to leave really quick so they can turn that table around for the next family. I once ate at a Italian restaurant here and when I found the need to distill the palate from all that olive oil and cheese flavour with water, I asked and back came a “distilled or sparkling”, and the wait staff wasn’t talking about Newater or tap water tarek with lots of bubbles. It was either $3 or $4. Sure I hated it, and like many Singaporeans, I wanted it free, but also, like many Singaporeans too, I understand the need to make more money, with any legitimate chance to do so. I applaud Ms Ang’s guts to stand up for her rights and believe. Brew and mature that philosophy well and she may well be our next NMP- who knows? But I know for a fact that many who saw the original blacklist of dining establishments she submitted in her blog, only made them curious about just how well she dines, and also reminded them about just how long it has been since they last had No Sign Board’s white pepper crab (which happens to be in the list of “greedy dining establishments that refuse to serve free water). You can understand why the desperate request for water there need be seen as a source of revenue, especially right after that stinging plate of well prepared pepper crabs.

Imagine if all the eateries which she listed, retaliated by sticking a picture of this brave girl (found in her blog) on their eatery under the heading “Not Welcome here, if you are still seeking free water”, and perhaps also of the other blog posters who contributed to her cause too. But I doubt they will, as for every one like Ms Ang, the eatery has at least 100 others who will pay for the water. So, the question dangling on our lips is- to legislate or tolerate this free water policy in dining establishments. In the Philippines, where we currently run our food court, the law there states that free plain water must be supplied to diners when asked. The thought of having someone buy one kosong prata then ask for three cups of water to while half a day away staring at the Manila Bay and depriving that seat of customer turnovers, can be quite traumatizing for our stakeholders. So, the standard practice there is to give out free tap water, which the government claim is pure and clean, meaning, in short, drink at your own risk.

To follow up on that system, I think restaurants should clearly state that the only free water is renowned, purified and distilled, Newater, proclaiming it as a “successful Singapore project due in large, to the people’s liquidated contribution.”