Typically, the price of sea bass in a restaurant is roughly RM50 per person, with a dish size adequate for four people.
However, this was not the case for a group of people who had to pay about RM1,196 for a meal of sea bass weighing roughly seven kilogrammes (kg) at a restaurant near Langkawi, Kedah, recently.
Mohd. Faris Zulkarnain took to Facebook to share the bill and how the group of seven people had to pay a total cost of RM1,852.50, which is included in the price of the fish. Quite ridiculous if you’d ask me!
According to him, the group was brought to the restaurant for lunch after touring several islands in Langkawi. And they would order like how they usually would if they were at a Tom Yam restaurant.
He indicated that two sea bass is usually enough for seven people to eat, so they went through and ordered two fish along with the other dishes on the menu. He went on to say that one of the shop’s servers came over to confirm the size of the fish and that after hearing that, they agreed to accept only one fish based on the estimated size indicated.
“The size depicted is only somewhat larger than the fish we often eat at Tom Yam restaurants. However, when the fish arrived, we were taken aback because it could easily fill a huge platter.”
“We also said that this is not intended for seven people to eat, but rather for 30 people. At the time, the estimated amount to be paid was approximately RM700 to RM800 only, but the deal fell through when the price reached RM1852.50.”
Among the dishes they ordered were sea bass (RM1,196), squid per kilogram (RM120), crab (RM87.20) and shrimp (RM200).
The man’s sharing caught the attention of netizens when it was shared by over 6,300 users as well as getting over 4,300 comments.
However after his post went viral, the owner of Sas Rimba Floating Restaurant, Norasyikin Musa claimed that the customers had already agreed to pay for the 11-year-old barramundi fish that weighed more than 7kg, even after being informed of the price.
Now with the news going around, it has certainly tarnished her business reputation.
Norasyikin Musa stated that these accusations are very surprising, especially because she informed the customer that the 7.48kg fish was not for sale and was only displayed at the restaurant.
She also denied allegations that the restaurant forced customers to select the larger fish in order to maximise profits since Covid-19 had a detrimental influence on her business. Plus even after they were done with the meals, none of the customers involved in this matter approached her about the total price of the bill.
So we don’t really know the full story here because both parties are coming from different standpoints, but enforcement officers from the Domestic Trade and Consumers Affairs Ministry visited the premise for an inquiry and obtained enough reports and evidence to proceed with the investigation. It’s only a matter of time till we find out the truth.