Visit
the stall near the end of lunch/dinner time.
Sure, some of the dishes may be sold out, but there will also be
plenty of other dishes still available. Since the stall owner can't
keep the dishes until the next lunch/dinner time, it is in his
interest to give away larger portions so that he won't need to deal
with leftovers later.
Get your guy colleague to order for you.
This only applies to girls. Stall owners tend to give a smaller
portion to girls compared to guys. However, they charge the same
price for both. So it is more value for money for a guy to place
the order on behalf of the girl so as to receive a larger
portion.
Ask for 'more rice' instead of 'add rice'.
Most stall owners will interpret 'more rice' as a larger scoop of
rice which will result in more rice. This is generally free.
However, 'add rice' entails adding a second scoop of rice to the
first, and this generally cost additional money.
Make sure the stall owner has space to serve.
In many mixed vege stalls, there are usually two or more people
serving dishes as the same time. When you are ordering, make sure
to order dishes that are near the person serving you so that he
won't have to stretch over his co-worker to reach your dish. If he
is stretching to reach your dish, he probably won't give you more
than usual serving since it is that much of a hassle.
Order the meat first.
This is to create a good impression with the stall owner. By
ordering the meat first, your are signaling to the stall owner that
you will not be ordering the cheapest items on the menu. This puts
the owner in a better mood, so he may give you a larger
serving.
Order 1 dish at a time and wait until he finished serving.
Point to your first dish, then wait until the stall owner finish
serving it before pointing to the next dish. Do not rush him.
Often, the stall owner needs time to gauge the portion of food to
serve. If you give him sufficient time, it is likely that he will
give you a larger than standard portion. Hurrying him results in
less than standard portions.
Pause in between ordering dishes.
Pretend to ponder in between dishes. This gives more time for the
stall owner to serve your previous dish which likely will result in
a larger portion. When he is finished and noticed that you are
still pondering overyour next order, he may feel bored and add a
few more slices of your previous dish while waiting for you to make
your next choice.
Order the same dish twice.
Use this technique very sparingly. After order a dish, pretend to
look distracted and point to the same dish again. The stall owner
will likely tell you that he has already served that dish. However,
occasionally, he may instinctively go through the motion of serving
the dish again and make your portion slightly larger, all for the
same price.
Order dishes that are about to run out.
It takes practice to estimate, but it is worth picking dishes that
are left with about 1.5 to 2 portions. Chances are, that if there
is only about 1.5 to 2 portions of the dish left, the stall owner
will think 'what-the-heck' and just give you everything. The good
is that you get extra servings, the bad is that sauces right at the
bottom of the tray are very salty.
Order vege dishes that contain meat sauces.
Some vege dishes have some meat in it to bring out the additional
flavour. But it is sold at the price of vege becos the meat is
usually in small amounts and only present in the sauce. Tofu dishes
are an example of such. By ordering such dishes, you are getting
some serving of meat for the price of vege. Nice.
Do not order meat dishes that contain vegetables.
These dishes count as meat but is usual half served with
vegetables. It is very not worthwhile, do not order it. An example
is the stir fried venison with leek. Go for fully meat dishes
instead.
Ask for curry sauce.
Many a time, when you ask for curry sauce, some other ingredients
in the curry sauce will find its way onto your rice, such as small
pieces of chicken or potato. Cabbage curry sauce will probably
bring you some cabbages and longbeans. And it's free.
Ask for meat sauces.
As mentioned earlier, some sauces are cooked with minced meat. It
is near impossible to separate the mince meat from the sauce. So if
you ask for meat sauces, you will definitely receive some serving
of meat with it. And it's free.
Become a regular customer.
Talk to the stall owner on occasions. With good rapport, the stall
owner will recognize you as a regular customer and will naturally
give you extra servings the next time you
visit.
