Langkawi Tourist Shocked To Find His Meal With 'Ikan Siakap' Costs RM1,852.50
The restaurant owner has since told her side of the story and revealed that the restaurant had raised the fish for 11 years until the customer ordered it.
By Yap Wan Xiang — 05 Nov 2021, 06:00 PM
A customer had the shock of his life when he saw the bill for a seven-pax lunch cost RM1,759.50 while he was on vacation in Langkawi, Kedah
According to the customer's Facebook post, the incident took place on Wednesday, 3 November.
He said he was on a company retreat with his family members, as well as his friends and their family members.
While they were on a boat ride tour, a group of them — seven adults — went to a restaurant to have lunch. He said the restaurant was one of the "checkpoints" in the tour.
At the restaurant, he said he ordered dishes that most people would order when they are at a seafood or tomyam restaurant.
Thus, they got themselves two ikan siakap (barramundi fish) and some other dishes.
He said he specified to the restaurant that the serving of the fish should be for seven people, but in the end, he was served with a 7kg fish
According to him, the fish was so large that it required five plates to serve the fish's entirety on the table.
"I told them this is not for seven people but for 30 people to eat. At that moment, I expected that it would be expensive," he said.
"I imagine maybe the price is around RM700 to RM800."
When they were done eating, he asked the restaurant to pack up the remaining for takeaway. He then headed to the counter to make the payment.
To his surprise, the bill was RM1,759.50, and the barramundi fish cost him RM1,196.80
Although he was shocked, he paid the bill.
He tried to pay with a credit card, but he was told that there would be an additional charge of 5%.
When he tried to pay his debit card, he realised his money was in the current account instead of the saving account. Due to bad Internet connection, he could not shift his money between the accounts.
He resorted to paying with his credit card, which was charged the additional 5%, causing the bill to amount to almost RM2,000.
In a photo he uploaded, the credit card receipt shows a RM1852.50 transaction.
"After settling the bill, I advised them to not do this in business. They shouldn't have used a 7kg fish since there were only seven of us," he wrote in the now-viral post
"I noticed that other customers behind me also appeared stunned. There were only two of them but they were charged RM755."
Earlier, he said the restaurant staff did come to "double confirm" with him whether he was sure that he wanted to order the fish.
He said he inquired about the size, which the employee gestured with their hands, before deciding on ordering it.
He related that the size gestured was larger than the normal barramundi fish they eat.
He also mentioned earlier that the boat tour was "worth it" as it only cost RM300 for seven adults and three children.
After the customer's Facebook post blew up, Restoran Terapung Sas Rimba's owner shared her side of the story
"I had explained to them that normally, that particular fish was not for sale as it was displayed as a show for customers in our restaurant," restauranteur Norasyikin Musa told New Straits Times when contacted.
"I had even suggested to the customer to pick other types of fish such as siakap merah (red barramundi) or kerapu (grouper) weighing between 1kg and 1.5kg which was more suited for customers."
She said she was the person who served the group and that she even asked them to take a look at the fish selected before it was cooked.
However, she said the group declined to view the fish.
Norasyikin further claimed that the price for the barramundi fish had also been clearly stated in the menu, which is RM16 for every 100g.
She also denied the allegation that she had charged extra for the credit card payment.
"Actually, the cost of their lunch was separated into two receipts; RM1,759.50 and RM93. But the customer had only uploaded one of them," she claimed.
Separately, Norasyikin also said the fish that was served had been raised for 11 years
Norasyikin (right) and her staff showing a large 'ikan siakap' that the restaurant raises.
Image via Nur Amalina Azman/Utusan Malaysia"Imagine 11 years I had raised that fish. How much did it cost for that fish? How many hundred kilograms had the fish eaten?" she told Utusan Malaysia when reporters met her at the floating restaurant.
"It's not possible that I want to sell it at a price like a fish that weighs 2kg?"
She added that the operating cost of a floating restaurant is high and can reach up to RM7,000 a day.
At the time of writing, the restaurant's Facebook page is believed to have been deactivated and a Facebook statement believed to be written by Norasyikin has also been taken down.
