Mr. Ho Van Tam - owner of Aroma restaurant (Nha Trang) - has provided some information related to the incident where Chinese tourists reacted because the restaurant sold a plate of grilled eggplant for more than 1.8 million VND and the total bill was more than 20 million VND.
Mr. Ho Van Tam recounted that on February 3, a group of 20 Chinese tourists came into the restaurant and ordered food. After that, they ordered food, but the staff advised that one portion for 20 people was too small.
When it came time to pay the bill, the restaurant charged 5-6 portions per dish, but the group of guests did not agree and requested to pay according to the menu.
After some negotiation, the Chinese group finally agreed to pay half of the bill.
Mr. Van Tam admitted that he was wrong when the consultant was not careful and agreed to let the group of guests pay half the bill.
In response to concerns about the 250,000 VND white rice and 500,000 VND stir-fried water spinach, Mr. Tam explained that this amount was the total portion for 20 people.
Regarding the Tet surcharge (more than 4 million VND), Mr. Tam said that it was for alcohol, beer and tea brought into the shop by customers and that the two sides had negotiated from the beginning.
According to Mr. Ho Van Tam, while the Chinese tourist group was entering the restaurant, a Vietnamese female tour guide asked him for a commission via the social network WeChat.
The restaurant agreed to pay the commission but asked the female tour guide to come to the restaurant to work with the Chinese guests about the menu and bill that day.
After the incident became public, the guide was no longer in contact.
Previously, on the social networking site "Nha Trang - Review everything" there was a viral image of Aroma Nha Trang restaurant (Nguyen Thien Thuat street, Nha Trang city, Khanh Hoa) charging sky-high bills to foreign customers.
According to author M.H, while surfing a foreign website, he came across a customer's post complaining about being charged a high price by a restaurant.
In the bill posted online by this customer, the price of 2 plates of grilled eggplant with scallion oil is nearly 3.8 million VND, 2 balut eggs are 700,000 VND, 2 stir-fried water spinach with garlic are 1 million VND... In addition, the restaurant also charges an additional 4 million VND.
Mr. Tran Minh Chien - Chairman of Nha Trang City People's Committee has directed relevant units to urgently verify the reported information and resolutely handle any cases of restaurants "ripping off" tourists.
