Xie Lao Song Restaurant (蟹老宋), a Pagoda Street Chinese eatery which went viral for putting up signs threatening a 104 per cent surcharge on American diners, now claims to 8days.sg that they were not the ones responsible for the messages.
The signs, which were handwritten in both English and Chinese, read: “Starting from April 9, 2025, Americans will be charged a 104% surcharge when dining at this restaurant.” They were signed off “Xie Lao Song Singapore” and were pasted on the front door.
They reportedly appeared after US President Donald Trump announced a 104 per cent tariff on Chinese goods on Wednesday (Apr 9).
When 8days.sg called the restaurant earlier today (Apr 11), we were told by a woman who said she works there that the restaurant “did not put up the signs”.
When we prodded her on the situation, she paused for a few seconds before saying: “We did not know about it. We suspect it might be someone playing a prank on us.”
She emphasised again that the restaurant was not responsible for displaying the sign, adding: “We will not do [something] like that. We are also looking into the matter and if this situation persists, we might take action and report it to the police.”
When asked if they had any idea who was responsible, she replied: “I do not dare speak on this. We have already confirmed that it is not done by anyone internally, but we also can’t confirm if it was done by a passer-by or a competitor, or anyone else.”
And we thought it was a stroke of marketing genius.
When we asked the woman for her name, she immediately cut the call.
According to CNA, the signs have been removed.
So here’s the big question: Who put up the signs?
Photos: Reddit – r/singapore illiterate-populist, Flickr/ chooyutshing