Many customers have noted significant price increases in some of their favourite meals due to inflation. However, this also led to more and more cases of netizens calling out restaurants and cafes for supposedly overcharging them.
One recent case came from a Facebook user who recently dined at a restaurant in Sungai Petani, Kedah. In his post, Edwin Goh Tat Ong lamented about being charged RM18 for a plate of economy rice (chap fan), saying, “A few days ago, I went to buy a chicken broomstick and acar (vegetable pickle). The lady boss charged me RM18. I was really shocked. I told the lady boss it was expensive, but she didn’t respond. It’s not this expensive in KL.”
The post garnered tons of attention, with many netizens sharing their opinion about the RM18 plate of rice. Some agreed with Edwin, saying that the price was indeed high for a simple meal with two side dishes. However, others vouched for the restaurant, saying they frequented the place and believed their prices were reasonable. Some also said that Edwin should’ve clarified the price with the stall owner instead of complaining about it online.
Following the viral post, news outlets contacted the chap fan stall owner to clarify the issue. According to China Press, the owner surnamed Liang (transliteration), said the whole thing was a misunderstanding and even offered a refund to Edwin if there was an error in the calculation for his meal. After reviewing the CCTV footage, the owner calculated the highest possible price for the meal to be RM12 but would need more clarification from the customer.
As for Edwin’s interaction with the lady boss, Liang said she was unaware of his comment regarding the price because she was busy tending to other customers. The owner said he’s been running a chap fan business for over ten years but had to adjust their prices based on the current market price of ingredients. However, Liang added that the stall provides free soup for all orders.
What do you think about this issue? Was Edwin overcharged? Or was this just a big misunderstanding?
Sources: Facebook, China Press
