22 September 2023 , 09:35
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A restaurant has hit back at a tourist who claimed they were hit with an unexpected £560 charge for a crab dish.
Disgruntled diner Junko Shinba had slammed restaurant Seafood Paradise in Singapore, claiming that a waiter strongly recommended an Alaskan King crab dish "without explaining that they charge per 100 grams". Alaskan King Crabs can weigh between two and five kilograms.
The tourist subsequently shared a photo of their receipt, which showed a total of $1322.37 (approximately £790.40), with the crab dish alone costing $938 (approximately £560). She told AsiaOne: "We all became speechless knowing that one dinner for four adults cost that much. None of us were informed that the whole crab would be cooked only for us, as some other restaurants serve crabs partially. There were three plates full of crab and many other dishes, we were unable to finish everything."
The restaurant has shared CCTV footage of the group as they hit back at claims (Paradise Group/Facebook)Do you think the restaurant was right to hit back? Let us know in the comments below.
When the group contested the charge, the restaurant insisted they had been told of the pricing, at which point she says they asked for the waiter to call the police to mediate. Eventually the restaurant manager offered their group a discount on the meal, which they paid for on credit card.
'I absolutely hate when people ask to split the bill - I can't afford it'
However, the restaurant's parent group, Paradise Group, has hit back in a statement in which they say they "are deeply upset by the inaccurate claims". They shared CCTV footage they allege shows the group of diners speaking with the waiters, posing for pictures with the crab, and in which the waiter can be seen pointing to the menu.
In an accompanying statement shared on their Facebook page, Paradise Group argued: "Seafood Paradise staff communicated twice to the customers that the price of the Alaskan King Crab was the same as the Scotland Snow Crab, while pointing to the menu. The price of the Scotland Snow Crab was clearly indicated as $26.80 per 100g on the menu. The staff also informed customers the total weight of the Alaskan King Crab was 3.5kg. To prevent any miscommunication, they even brought the whole live Alaskan King Crab to the table before preparation. Customers were seen taking photos and even selfies with the live Alaskan King Crab."
They allege that the diners had requested different cooking methods for the crab, with kitchen staff obliging at no extra cost, and claim that the "customers finished most of the dishes and told the restaurant manager that the food was great".
However, when it came to the bill, police were called to mediate after the diners contested the bill, and that the discount was offered out of "goodwill" after one of the customers "mentioned didn’t have enough money to pay and asked what can be done to help".
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