Hotel Enrages TikTok After Charging $14 For Plain White Rice

Although I've traveled a fair bit over the years, I can't recall a time in which I've ever ordered room service.

After all, I would think that many of us know the game by now. It may be more convenient to get a meal sent up to your room, but doing so usually sets us back a lot more than we're willing to pay.

But even when we know that, that doesn't mean it's beyond the capability of some hotels out there to shock us. Because even if they're not misrepresenting themselves online, they're still finding ways to gouge us for more than even the most jaded traveler would expect.

But while the most extreme examples of overcharging are often the result of a mistake, one case that has inspired some viral outrage shows that this can happen when everything is working as intended.

On August 26, a TikTok user named @richlife1688 uploaded a video from Singapore's Marina Bay Sands hotel.

As the user's name would suggest, their account is all about showing off the lavish things they can afford, including a stay at one of the island state's most luxurious hotels.

But what really seemed to get viewers' attention was one charge for 18.83 in Singapore dollars, the equivalent of $13.88.

That may not be a staggering amount of money on its own, but it's hard not to feel insulted when you see what it's for.

As the TikToker soon revealed, all that this sum paid for after taxes was two small bowls of plain, white rice.

This means that if you wanted just one bowl with no garnishes or sauces from this hotel, it would likely run you at least six bucks.

The uploader wasn't lying when they called this the "most expensive small bowl of white rice."

And in case you're wondering if this just speaks to how much more things cost in Singapore, it seems that this is all down to one hotel's outrageous pricing.

According to Insider, one could buy an 11-pound bag of rice at a local supermarket chain called Fairprice for 70 cents less than a small bowl of it costs at the Marina Bay Sands.

Naturally, this steep price for something so simple astonished viewers, with one saying, "MBS rice made out of gold."

And as another user put it, "I prefer (to) eat grass than pay this price for rice."

All told, 345,300 people have witnessed this price gouging at the time of this writing and it seems likely that all of them will try to eat somewhere else if they ever find themselves in Singapore.