“Affordable meal” of 400,000 VND in Ha Long causes controversy

(Dan Tri) - Stopping in Ha Long for a meal, the guest was surprised because the meal was cheap but the price was higher than the average. A plate of fried meat cost 180,000 VND. Burnt fried eggs and crab soup with salted eggplant cost 120,000 VND.

  Travel accept expensive price but still surprised

On July 1, social media spread a photo of a meal at a restaurant in Ha Long, Quang Ninh . In the photo, the meal included a plate of fried eggs, a plate of fried pork, a bowl of pickled eggplant, a bowl of white rice, and a bowl of crab soup.

The person who posted the article said the meal cost 400,000 VND and wondered "whether this price is reasonable or expensive".

In the context of the peak tourist season of the year, the post attracted many interactions and comments. Many opinions said that this price is common in tourist destinations and when entering a restaurant, diners "have to accept". Eating at restaurants, the price will be higher because this place often has to bear more expenses than small eateries.

Besides, many comments said that they do not know the quality of the food, but judging by the naked eye, the price is "quite expensive".

A meal costing 400,000 VND for Mr. Truong's family (Photo: Character provided).

Ms. Minh Hong (from Quang Ninh) shared: “I live in Ha Long so I know the prices quite well. A bowl of cu ky soup (similar to crab soup) for 2 parents and 2 children costs about 70,000 VND. Meat like that costs about 70,000-80,000 VND. In general, this price is high, but if it is sold in a restaurant, customers have to accept it.”

“A 180,000 VND dish of fried pork is considered normal by many people, but why are many tourist areas so expensive?”, one internet user said.

Contacting the poster, Mr. Truong Sinh Truong (from Bac Ninh ) recounted: On July 1, he and his wife went to dine at a restaurant called HL X (in Bai Chay, Ha Long, Quang Ninh). He ordered 1 plate of meat, 1 bowl of rice, 1 plate of eggs, rice, crab soup and pickled eggplant.

The menu listed prices per plate. The seafood was also listed per plate and there was no weight. Since he had eaten seafood at previous meals, he decided to choose familiar dishes for himself, his wife and two children (4 and 9 years old).

“When the staff brought the dishes, I was really disappointed. The meat dish was very thin, probably less than 200g. The fried eggs were very thin, maybe only about 3 eggs, burnt and carelessly arranged. The crab soup looked okay but tasted quite bad, it didn’t have the crab flavor but smelled like it was cooked with stale crab. The pickled eggplant was still very raw and there were more than a dozen of them, but they were still very bitter,” said Mr. Truong.

A 180,000 VND meat dish just served (Photo: Character provided).

According to Mr. Truong, when traveling, he accepts higher service prices than usual. However, for such a simple meal, the restaurant charges 400,000 VND, which is too expensive, not to mention the poor quality.

This man also said that his family traveled to Ha Long for 3 days. Two days before, he also had meals in the central areas of Bai Chay and found the meals quite delicious, with reasonable prices.

“Some days my family ate similar dishes. The meal included a plate of fried eggs of about 4 for 50,000 VND, crispy fried meat for 150,000 VND/plate but the amount of meat was almost double, crab soup for 100,000 VND but delicious, no smell. The restaurant is in the central area, overlooking the sea, not far from the central area like HL X restaurant,” said Mr. Truong.

Mr. Truong shared information about the meal and received many comments (Photo: Character provided).

It is known that Mr. Truong is not the only customer who has had an unsatisfactory experience at this food business.

On June 22, Mr. Pham Cong Son (from Tuyen Quang) and a group of 18 adults and 8 children dined at this restaurant. Initially, the group planned to go to another restaurant. However, due to time constraints, the group followed the driver's instructions and tried the restaurant.

The customer’s first impression was not good. The restaurant was located in an unfinished villa. The upper floors were still unpainted. The second floor was dark and the dining table was placed near the staff sleeping quarters.

However, the group of tourists still accepted it because they thought it was just a last meal and then they left. In the end, the meal was the most disappointing meal of their trip to Ha Long.

Here, the group ordered 2 trays with a bill of nearly 3 million VND. Mr. Son found the price not too expensive, but the quality of the dishes did not match the price.

For example, the 250,000 VND mackerel dish only had small pieces of fish. The meat stewed with shrimp paste smelled rancid. The pork dish had a few pieces but was not fresh or tasty.

"At first, I intended to give the restaurant a 1-star review so that people would know to avoid it. However, when I searched again and couldn't find the restaurant's name on Google Map, I had to swallow my anger," he explained.

Previously, on this trip, the group had dined at restaurants in the central areas of Bai Chay and Tuan Chau, and were quite satisfied. Among them, the meal at a clay pot rice restaurant had a bill of 2.9 million VND, guests were served a meal of good quality, clean and suitable price.

Meal bill at the restaurant on June 22 of Mr. Son and his group of guests (Photo: Character provided).

The restaurant received many "not good" reviews .

According to investigation, the restaurant where the guests dined was Ha Long Xanh restaurant located in Bai Chay ward (Ha Long city, Quang Ninh province).

Dan Tri reporter contacted the restaurant's phone number, but has not received a response yet.

In fact, when conducting a quick survey on many platforms such as Google and TripAdvisor, other locations of this restaurant also received many reviews at the "poor quality" level, only achieving 1.9 stars out of 5 stars.

Among them, many accounts spoke up about having experienced food at the same brand and found the prices expensive and service poor.

Sharing on the Google platform, Mr. Nguyen Van Giang said he once ordered a plate of stir-fried squid for 220,000 VND but only got 6 pieces. Fried rice cost 150,000 VND but the quality of the rice was problematic.

Similarly, some customers also expressed their dissatisfaction and complained that the restaurant's prices did not match the quality of the food. A plate of fried squid with 3 small pieces costs 180,000 VND, a plate of mackerel with 180,000 VND, and a plate of 6 mantis shrimps costs 300,000 VND.

Speaking to Dan Tri reporter, representative of Bai Chay ward (Ha Long city, Quang Ninh province) said that they will review the reported information. When there is specific information, the ward will notify later.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/du-lich/bua-com-binh-dan-400000-dong-o-ha-long-gay-tranh-cai-20250702112825968.htm