SINGAPORE - The Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) is urging all hawkers here to display the prices of their food prominently at their stalls, after a survey found that some did not.

The Case survey, conducted over three weeks from July 16 to Aug 5, found that 89 out of the 584 food stalls surveyed failed to display food prices prominently at their stalls.

More than half of those that did not were selling mixed vegetable rice dishes.

"For stalls that do not display their food prices, consumers will only be able to know the actual price of the food they ordered after it has been packed and handed over to them," said Case's president Lim Biow Chuan in a statement today. "To help consumers to be more discerning and be able to compare prices, Case would like to urge all hawkers to display prices prominently at their food stalls."

The survey also found that there was no change in the mode prices compared to last year, or the price most commonly charged by hawkers, for the surveyed food items: Chicken Nasi Briyani, Chicken Rice, Fishball Noodles, Mixed Vegetables (two vegetables and one meat) and Roti Prata (two plain pratas).

But although mode prices stayed the same, more hawkers were charging above the mode price.

Most Chicken Briyani sellers, for instance, were selling their dishes at $5 each but 47 per cent were charging more than that this year, compared to the 31 per cent that charged last year.

The consumer watchdog also found that takeaway charges for the food items surveyed ranged from 10 cents to 5 cents, depending on the type of container used.

For a guide to the hawker stalls selling the five dishes at low prices, refer to the list below.