I already twittered this but here’s the full story.

Yesterday, while out shopping, I dropped by Polar Puffs & Cakes at Citylink Mall to have a quick snack.

I told the guy at the counter, “One chicken pie and a cold milk, please.”

I know cold milk is a very unusual beverage to order but it’s there on the menu and I love milk.

He said, “Having here or takeaway?”

“Having here,” I told him.

So the guy went off to get my order while I waited at the cash register. He came back, plonked a plate on the counter in front of me and stared at me expressionlessly, not saying anything.

On the plate were two items, a pie and a puff.

I looked at him meaningfully and said, “One chicken pie.”

He said, “Yes.”

I said again, “One chicken pie,” emphasizing the one.

He said, “Yes. One chicken pie and one tuna puff.”

Scratching my head, I told him, “Er… I only ordered one chicken pie.”

Wordlessly, he took the plate away, put the tuna puff back into the display shelves and then returned with my one chicken pie.

“Anything else?” he mumbled.

I was feeling a little weirded out at this moment because this guy was staring at me with a bored, semi-annoyed expression, as if I was the one who was being difficult.

“Milk,” I reminded him.

“Hot?”

“Cold.”

He grabbed a plastic cup and asked, “More ice or less ice?”

That stumped me for five seconds. My brain raced furiously to remember a single occasion when plain milk was served with ice.

I couldn’t think of any.

“No ice,” I said.

The guy looked annoyed at that. Then he looked confused. Wavering a bit, he turned around, grabbed a packet of milk that was just standing around at the coffee counter, and poured milk into the plastic cup.

Then he gave me my correct order and collected my money.

Because I was feeling a little bewildered by this time, I didn’t pay attention to the cash transaction. I just gave him a $50 note, collected my change and quickly carted my hard-won spoils to the seating area.

It was only later that I realised I might have been slightly overcharged, but then I can’t be sure because I wasn’t given a receipt and my memory isn’t always reliable.

I know I was charged $4.50 because of the remaining cash sitting in my wallet.

I know a chicken pie costs $1.60 because I’m a fan of Polar chicken pie.

I think I remember seeing on the menu that milk costs $2.00.

So what happened to the extra $0.90?

Maybe the guy charged me extra for not wanting ice with my milk.

Oh, well. At least the milk tasted good and I wasn’t served any of those rubbish low-fat or slim variety.

And the chicken pie, as always, was great.