Durian giveaway on couple's 2nd wedding anniversary
Unusual wedding anniversary celebration costs durian stall owners more than $25,000
For their second wedding anniversary yesterday, Mr Melvin Ha and wife Ms Wei Zhixin had an unusual celebration.
The co-owners of Melvin's Durian - a stall outside Prime Supermarket at 1 Upper Aljunied Lane - decided to give out 2,200kg of durian over two days.
Mr Ha, 28, set up his stall a couple of months before his wedding in 2016.
He told The New Paper: "We came up with the idea because we wanted a way to offload the durians quickly so we could go have a nice anniversary dinner.
"This is also a way of thanking our loyal customers."
The giveaway also included 700kg of mangosteens which normally sells at $2 a kg. It cost the couple more than $25,000.
Mr Ha said he brought in two extra lorries of durians for the occasion.
Four friends also came to help out at the stall, bringing the total number of people manning the stall to 10.
Mr Ha said: "The support has been immense. We gave out 700kg on Wednesday within 90 minutes of our 5pm start time.
"I had to bring out another 300kg or so for the evening crowd at 7pm."
Most who queued for the durians on Wednesday were old customers who travelled to the Aljunied stall from as far as Bukit Batok and Jurong East after seeing Mr Ha's Facebook post announcing the giveaway.
Yesterday, Mr Ha said he gave out 1,200kg of durian in 11/2 hours.
Each customer got two of the "five fingers" type of durian. It normally goes for $12 per kg, said Mr Ha.
He said: "Personally, I prefer bitter durians but this variety is bittersweet. It tastes a bit like vanilla and is suitable for everybody."
He said his 23-year-old wife initially did not like durians but got used to the taste after selling durians with him.
He said: "It is part of the job. Customers will ask her for recommendations and she needs to be able to answer ."
Chinese daily newspaper Lianhe Wanbao spoke to the first person in line to receive the durians on Wednesday.
Retiree Mr Liao, 65, who did not give his full name, said: "This young couple constantly innovate. Their durian variety is also good quality. That's why I support them."
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