Seafood meal in Ha Long costs 13.5 million VND, customer complains restaurant does not list price

(Dan Tri) - Because it was late at night, a group of tourists from Ho Chi Minh City asked an electric car to show them where to go to a seafood restaurant in Ha Long for a quick meal. The meal cost 13.5 million VND, making the guests upset because the restaurant did not list the price.

Customers upset with seafood meal costing nearly 14 million VND in Ha Long

Speaking to Dan Tri reporter, Ms. NTT (living in Ho Chi Minh City) said that the incident happened on the evening of August 13 when her family of 7 people (5 men, 2 women, including a baby a few months old) traveled from Hanoi to Ha Long (Quang Ninh province) for tourism .

Since it was quite late for dinner, the family asked an electric car to take them to a nearby seafood restaurant for dinner. The electric car driver then took the family to a restaurant called Hoang Anh, located in Bai Chay Ward.

At the seafood counter on the evening of August 13, the customer did not see the price list of seafood as the restaurant had provided (Photo: Character provided).

Upon entering the restaurant, the customer observed that the business was very quiet at this time, with almost no customers. A male employee proactively introduced the dishes to her, continuously suggesting her to order food, even though the customer said that her family only wanted to have a light meal and then go home to rest.

At the seafood counter, Ms. T. ordered 2 lobsters. According to the customer, if observed with the naked eye, each lobster only weighed about 8 ounces. But when weighed, the weight was up to 2.3 kg, making the customer wonder if it was accurate or not?

The lobster alone cost 6.2 million VND. Other dishes included stir-fried trumpet snails for 1.9 million VND, grilled clams for 650,000 VND, seafood soup for 250,000 VND, grilled clams for 1.1 million VND, stir-fried fingernails for 650,000 VND, steamed catfish for 2.1 million VND, and other dishes such as jellyfish salad, seafood soup, and egg fried rice. The total bill was 13.5 million VND.

The guest said that the size of a lobster is only about 7-8 ounces each (Photo: Character provided).

According to Ms. T., only a few dishes such as soup and fried rice have listed prices on the menu. Most seafood dishes do not have specific prices. In addition, the customer said that she ordered blood cockles but the restaurant brought out rice cockles that only cost about 75,000 VND/kg on the market. Finger cockles cost 650,000 VND/kg.

Another detail that made the customer from Ho Chi Minh City indignant was that the male restaurant employee proactively told another employee to serve the customer enthusiastically to receive a tip (extra money), when he knew her husband was a foreigner.

"They said that in front of me and my husband. I didn't react because I have a small child, but it's hard to accept this kind of behavior in food service," the customer said.

According to this customer, although the price is high, the quality of the dishes does not match the price. The fingernail dish was not prepared carefully so there was sand inside, the jellyfish salad had too many vegetables.

The restaurant said it had posted prices, but the customer said it didn't.

According to the investigation, the restaurant where the group dined was Hoang Anh restaurant in Bai Chay ward. In response to the information reported by the guests, Dan Tri reporters contacted the restaurant directly.

The price of cockles at the restaurant is 650,000 VND/kg (Photo: Character provided).

The manager said that all seafood at the restaurant has its prices listed at the tank. Customers will be taken to this area by staff to choose their items, have them weighed and quoted before being processed.

In response to information about the type of lobster that customers said had signs of inaccurate weight, the restaurant confirmed that this was a large lobster with a high import price.

"Lobsters over 1kg are currently imported for 1.9 million VND/kg. The import price of golden cockles at the market is 350,000 VND/kg, the selling price is 650,000 VND/kg. This price includes the cost of premises, personnel, and operations," said the restaurant representative.

The restaurant said there was a price list posted at the seafood counter, but the customer confirmed that on the evening of August 13, when the group arrived, there was no price list (Photo: Provided by the restaurant).

Regarding the feedback that the blood cockles were changed to rice cockles, the restaurant has two types of cockles and gac cockles. Customers will be clearly advised on which type to choose. The restaurant believes that the customer may have confused the two types.

When asked if there was evidence to prove that the restaurant had followed proper procedures with the customer, the representative admitted that the surveillance camera only stores images for 3 days. Now that the incident has passed, the original images are no longer kept.

Meanwhile, Ms. T. provided the reporter with additional photos of the group arriving at the restaurant and going to the seafood counter. The guests took photos in this area, and there was no price list of seafood as the restaurant representative said.

Regarding the above reflection, Dan Tri reporter contacted the People's Committee of Bai Chay ward, the leader of this unit said that he had directed the professional department to investigate.

According to the leader of Bai Chay ward, the initial inspection results at the above restaurant showed violations in price posting. The unit is completing the documents to submit to the leader for a decision on handling according to regulations.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/du-lich/bua-hai-san-o-ha-long-135-trieu-dong-khach-to-nha-hang-khong-niem-yet-gia-20250825100442963.htm