Maid says, ‘My employer asks me to cook fancy meals like in a restaurant, but there's only 1 cabbage in the fridge, and they refused to give me a grocery allowance'

Independent Singapore

20-07-2025

SINGAPORE: In yet another episode of 'MasterChef: Minimalist Edition,' a foreign domestic helper in Singapore has shared her culinary conundrum: being expected to whip up restaurant-worthy meals… with nothing but a lonely cabbage and some soy sauce.
In a Facebook post that's equal parts humour, frustration, and quiet resilience, the helper wrote: 'I want to ask, any idea how to cook a fancy meal like a restaurant but there's only 1 cabbage in the fridge and no garlic. just left the soy sauce in the kitchen 😫😕🤔… every time I asked for groceries allowance, the answer, just says later and later until the fridge so shining bright 🌞 like every time I opened the fridge I can see through heaven 😀😆😂.'
She added that she had spent significant effort learning to cook various Asian dishes during her training, only to be given an empty fridge and a vague 'later' every time she asked for a grocery allowance. Photo: FB/Direct Hire Transfer Singapore Maid / Domestic helper
Cue the comments section—where fellow helpers chimed in with wit sharper than a chef's knife.
'Want to eat nice meals but don't want to spend money,' wrote one, summing up what many seemed to feel.
Another maid shared her experience: 'In my employer's house, they only have light soy sauce but expect me to cook very nicely. If I ask to buy things to make good food, she says, 'I don't like to put this.' How to get a good taste of cooking without putting ingredients? Just put light soya sauce?!'
It seems there's a culinary epidemic in Singaporean households—expecting Gordon Ramsay-level plating on a cup noodle budget.
One helper didn't mince words: 'Some employers thought helpers are magicians like abra ka dabra boom shakalakala 🪄.'
Another offered dark humour with a side of stark reality:
'And the helper was also very tired thinking what she should cook… including herself, no food to eat. When your medical [report] comes, found out that you don't have enough food, so MOM calls your employer to ask why your weight is down 👎😂… at the end still helper's fault 🤣.'
Not all comments were snarky, though. One helper shared a heartening story of creativity and appreciation:
'They only had tomatoes in the fridge, so I felt like I joined MasterChef. I made tomato rice—just rice, tomatoes, salt, pepper, and whatever else they had. They enjoyed it. I was the one who got shocked—little effort, big appreciation.'
She concluded with a life lesson that could probably be embroidered on an apron:
'Wherever we are, whatever we do, effort and presence mean a lot to people who really appreciate you.'
That's not to say appreciation is always on the menu. One commenter offered a satirical suggestion to deal with picky employers:
'Make a heart shape with the cabbage and pour soya sauce in a star shape and serve them.'
That's gourmet minimalism at its finest.
The underlying frustration, of course, isn't just about a lack of groceries. It's about unrealistic expectations. Many of these helpers left their families behind to provide essential support to Singaporean households, only to be met with micromanagement, miserliness, or both.
Singapore's Ministry of Manpower (MOM) advises that domestic helpers must be given proper food and care. Starving your employee—whether through neglect or penny-pinching—isn't just unethical. It's illegal.
At the heart of it all is a simple truth: good food requires ingredients. And good help deserves basic respect.
Until then, perhaps it's time some employers learn what real magic looks like—turning cabbage and soy sauce into dinner, night after night, without a word of thanks.
Now that's a miracle!
In other news, another helper said that, 'If Sir gives me food on my plate, she [my employer] will tell him it's too much, and she will lessen and choose what she wants to take out.'
Her description of her employer's behaviour — along with a laundry list of grievances — sparked an outpouring of support, shock, and dark humour from other helpers and even employers in the group.
You can read her full account over here: Maid says her employer has '5 helpers, but still complains that all the work done is wrong and that she's feeding us too much'