A group of diners from Singapore were presented with an unexpected bill of RM1,999 ($620) for dining at a Japanese restaurant in Johor Bahru.
The meal included a deluxe sashimi platter and cost RM1,238 ($380) alone.
catch? They didn’t really order it.
Tan Sing Jae, a Malaysian living in Singapore, shared a TikTok video on Aug. 31 about “the most expensive meal I’ve had in JB, Malaysia.” The video has since been taken down.
According to Instagram, Tan, who works as an early childhood educator, said she brought a friend from Singapore to Taman Pelangi’s restaurant.
It was her first time dining there, but she said she had previously had an “acceptable” experience at another branch of the same restaurant name.
The restaurant was full, but our group of 10 was ushered to a larger private room.
Ms Tan said her friend wanted to order the RM29.90 salmon and sweet shrimp sashimi dish, but was told “by the red-haired waiter” that the item was sold out.
“He recommended ordering a platter with several (kinds of) sashimi that we could try,” Tan said.
She added that the waiter didn’t ask how many people the platter was for and ended up ordering five portions.
An hour later, Tan said a waiter came in with five bowls of shrimp and said, “It was (some of) the Omakase,” referring to the multi-course set of items decided by the chef.
The group told the waiter they didn’t order the omakase option, but the waiter indicated it was “included in the platter”.
When the platter arrived about 90 minutes later, it was lavishly presented and had gold leaf on top, causing her friends to suspect it was quite expensive. I assumed it would.
When Tan asked about the cost, the same waiter said he wasn’t sure, but later “guessed” it would be around RM1,000.
To this end, Tan ranted on TikTok:
Despite their shock and objections, the group settled the bill for RM1,999.
But what made the experience worse was that the food wasn’t as good, said Tan.
Before they left, she approached her manager and said the situation was “very unfair.”
“I told her ‘I don’t think what your colleague did is right'” the manager apologized and gave Tan a voucher of RM100 for his next visit.
But the manager’s subsequent comments only made Tan worse.
“She said: ‘Sorry, my colleague doesn’t know, because customers on the second floor usually order higher priced food. [sic]some are higher than this price,” Tan wrote in a Facebook post.
The manager then quickly followed up with “but I know it’s not the price”.
Tan said he is still open to revisiting the chain as he is now a VIP card holder, but “not that branch. I have a phobia right now.”
