A customer was furious over the $22 price of a plate of eggs Benedict that looked drab and was served in a Melbourne café.
One slice of toast was topped with a half-slice of ham and two eggs. The hollandaise, along with a sprinkle of paprika, completed the meal.
The poster, shared in the Reddit group “Shrinkflation,” raged at the cafe that had reduced their portion sizes for the past three months.
They wrote: “Three month ago, it used to offer a lot more at the same price.”
One poster called it “the culinary equivalent of a Manila envelope.”
Another user shared, “That is the saddest and most unappetising egg benedict that I have ever seen.”
A Reddit user said: “I’d pay money to avoid eating that.”
Some criticized the restaurant for its excessive profit margins, given the cost of the food.
“I’ve lived in Australia my whole life, so I don’t get surprised to see this kind of s**t. But come on… eggs are only 50c each. A piece of sourdough bread is probably 25c. Let’s say a 50-cent slice of ham and hollandaise. They wrote: “I don’t even know, maybe between 50c and $1?”
Another person shared, “That literally only cost them $1.09.”
The Australian Bureau of Statistics has reported that restaurant prices have increased by 6.3% in the second quarter of this year.
CreditorWatch’s May Economic Update shows that Australians continue to cut back on their spending at restaurants, cafes, and take-out food services. This trend began in February.
CreditorWatch reported in July that food and beverage businesses are at risk of default due to a decline in discretionary spending despite increases in electricity, food, debt, and labor costs. The reportage agency stated that the trend would likely continue as consumers move away from fixed home loan interest rates set before the Reserve Bank of Australia started raising rates.
Australia’s cash rate, which was historically 0.1 percent in April 2022 to a high of 4.1%, has increased by 11 percentage points over the last 15 months.
