Not all eateries offer such a choice of water and some diners are outraged that only bottled water is served
Rebecca Lynne Tan, The New Paper 8 Jun 08;
Ask for tap water at classy restaurants such as Les Amis and Iggy's and the waiters don't bat an eyelid.
But dine at Secret Recipe, a chain of mid-priced cafes and you'll be forced to order bottled water to go with the meal.
And until two weeks ago, that was the case at the Bakerzin chain of cafes too.
Despite the fact that restaurants in other parts of the world are moving away from environmentally unfriendly bottled water, there are still some restaurants here which offer customers only bottled water.
Of the 50 restaurants LifeStyle surveyed, seven serve only bottled water, 40 will serve tap on request for free and three restaurants charge for tap water.
Profit margins seem to be at play here.
The chef-owner of a well-known restaurant in Singapore tells LifeStyle that restaurants usually have a 300 per cent markup on their products.
So while the cost price of a 750ml bottle of San Pellegrino water is about $2.20, most restaurants will sell it anywhere from $8 to $15 a bottle.
This practice has angered many diners. Why pay so much for bottled water when tap water is perfectly drinkable?
Teacher Rogayah Osman, 42, says: 'That's daylight robbery. It's unreasonable that they're incurring such high profits at the expense of the customers. Now that I know, I'm definitely going to boycott such restaurants.'
Senior debt consultant B.J. Tan, 38, says: 'My approach is never to patronise food establishments that serve only bottled water. I encourage my friends not to also.
'If I'm paying so much for food, why shouldn't I be served water?'
Undergraduate Stephen Fernandez, 24, says: 'If the restaurants refuse to serve me water, I wouldn't buy any beverages at all. It's my protest against the policy.
'Serving bottled water has a negative impact on the environment. The plastic has to be disposed of and plastic is non-biodegradable."
In spite of this, bottled water imports to Singapore have increased over the last five years, according to figures from the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority. In 2003, it was 89.4 million litres, then it hit a high of 171.8 million litres in 2005, before settling down to 154.5 million litres last year.
The water comes mainly from Malaysia, Indonesia, China, France and Taiwan.
But environmentalists say bottled water is a waste of resources and energy.
Mr Yatin Premchand, 31, general manager of the Singapore Environment Council (SEC), a non-profit organisation, says: 'The carbon footprint is approximately 20 times the size of that bottle. And it takes about 1,000 litres of fuel to make 1 litre of bottled water.'
The fuel is needed to make, transport and refrigerate water bottles, and burning that fuel releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
And it seems many restaurant managers LifeStyle spoke to are unaware of the environmental impact of bottled water. Some restaurants don't even recycle the bottles.
Mr Kana Rajaram, 35, manager of Cork Cellar Kitchen in Capital Tower, says: 'I wasn't aware of the environmental impact and our restaurant is not involved in any recycling projects. But I just took over and recycling is something I want to engage in.'
The council says Singaporeans need to be more environmentally aware about the need to recycle.
'We highlight it in educational campaigns. But what we should also do is support our local resources - drink local, eat local,' says Mr Premchand.
And Singapore's water is perfectly safe to drink.
According to PUB, the national water agency, Singapore's tap water is treated to a quality that exceeds the World Health Organisation's drinking water guidelines.
PUB conducts more than 80,000 tests on water quality each month and says tap water here is safe for drinking without the need for boiling or filtering.
But the Consumers Association of Singapore says serving tap water is based on goodwill.
Its executive director, Mr Seah Seng Choon, says: 'Legally speaking, a restaurant can charge consumers for tap water because it would have provided the tap water and the glass.'
Three of the 50 restaurants LifeStyle surveyed, including True Blue Cuisine in Armenian Street and Singapore Heritage Restaurant in Pagoda Street, charge for tap water. And Aston's Specialities, a Western food chain, serves customers boiled iced water, though the ice cubes are not made from boiled water. Prices at these places range from 30 cents to $1 for unlimited servings.
'We charge for water because we need to employ people to wash the glasses and water is not free. It helps to cover costs,' says Mr Benjamin Seck, 35, chef-owner of True Blue.
Other restaurants serve free water as a service, such as French eatery Andre Wine & Dine in Telok Ayer Street.
Its director, Ms Jacinta Weers, in her 40s, says: 'We serve customers iced or warm water as a standard operating procedure.'
Ms Janice Wong, 40, director of Iggy's at The Regent Singapore, says: 'We've been brought up to drink tap water and Singapore's tap water is perfectly drinkable. It doesn't cost us anything to serve it and when we ask customers what they'd like to drink, we typically ask 'Iced water or mineral water?''
Yet many restaurants which do serve tap water will often do so only if customers specifically request it. Their waiters are told to offer diners still or sparkling mineral water as a matter of course.
Ms Deedee Daud, 29, operations and events manager at Au Petit Salut, a French restaurant in Harding Road, says: 'It's called suggestive selling. It's about helping us, but if they ask for tap water, we will oblige.'
Data on bottled water far-fetched
Letter from Maximilian Png, Sunday Times 15 Jun 08;
In last Sunday's article, 'Sparkling, still or tap?', Mr Yatin Premchand, general manager of the Singapore Environment Council, said that 'it takes about 1,000 litres of fuel to make 1 litre of bottled water'.
The price of 1litre of bottled water is about $2. The price of 1,000 litres of fuel is around $1,272. Who would sell bottled water at an astronomical loss of $1,270 a bottle?
I have nothing against drinking tap water - I do that all the time. I just feel that the figure given was rather improbable.
