A Malaysian father was left surprised after seeing the tiny packet of fried noodles his child bought for RM1 after school.
Sharing the experience on Threads, the father posted photos showing a small plastic packet of mi goreng with a tiny green two pronged utensil tucked inside.
The post has since gained widespread attention, recording more than 550,000 views at the time of writing.
Child bought tiny packet for RM1
According to the father, his child bought the noodles while heading home from school.
“My child bought this on the way home from school. This was RM1,” he wrote.
He jokingly said that plastic packed mi goreng had “evolved” over the years, becoming smaller while now coming with its own tiny utensil.
He also reminisced about how children used to eat noodles packed in plastic bags by biting a small hole at the bottom before eating directly from the packet.
After several netizens questioned whether the noodles really cost RM1, the father decided to double check with his child.
He said his child confirmed that the packet was indeed sold for RM1 and had not eaten any of the noodles before getting into the car.
“I asked again whether the child had already eaten some before entering the car. The answer was no. The child only started eating after getting into the car,” he explained.
Bought from grocery shop near school
The father later clarified that the noodles were not purchased from the school canteen.
Instead, they were sold at a grocery shop located underneath a flat next to the school.
He explained that some students would go there because they did not need to cross a road to reach the shop.
When one netizen suggested lodging a complaint against the seller, the father said he would rather tell his child not to buy it again.
“I’ve already told my child not to buy it anymore. We can only control what we can,” he wrote.
Netizens divided over the RM1 portion
The small portion quickly sparked discussion among netizens, with many saying it appeared too little even for RM1.
One commenter said the noodles looked like plain instant noodles fried with only onions and soy sauce.
Another questioned whether selling such a small amount to schoolchildren was reasonable.
The father agreed that the portion appeared small, adding that even if the amount was doubled or tripled, it would still look limited.
Another commenter estimated that one packet of instant noodles could potentially be divided into more than 10 portions of that size.
However, not everyone criticised the seller.
Some netizens pointed out that the cost of running a business goes beyond the price of the noodles alone, with labour, utilities, cooking oil, fuel and equipment also contributing to expenses.
One commenter said it was simply part of doing business and that people should consider the seller’s hidden operating costs before judging the price.
Dad says he was actually highlighting the nostalgic packaging
Speaking to WeirdKaya, the father revealed that the incident took place outside a primary school in Kuala Lumpur.
His child, who is currently in Year 4, had bought the noodles while on the way home from school.
Interestingly, the father said he was not actually surprised by either the price or the portion.
He explained that he was not very familiar with how much snacks cost nowadays and felt that as long as it was within his child’s pocket money, it was fine.
What caught his attention instead was the way the noodles were packed.
“I just wanted to highlight that this style of noodles in a plastic packet still exists because we already had this back in our days,” he told WeirdKaya.
He recalled that back then, the noodles did not come with a small utensil. Children would simply bite a hole at the bottom of the plastic packet and slowly eat the noodles through it.
He added that he never expected netizens to focus on the RM1 price and turn it into a debate over whether the portion was worth the money.
