A viral online criticism that a famous Thai street-food Michelin-starred restaurant charged a diner an overpriced amount for its signature dish, a giant crab omelet, has sparked an influx of Thai netizens claiming they could make a similar dish at a much cheaper price.
Moreover, some netizens took the opportunity to recommend the dish at other restaurants, which they said were as delicious as the Michelin-starred restaurant but offered at a lower price.
A well-known YouTuber, “Peachy,” shared a negative dining experience online regarding the dish, saying: “Crab omelet… latest price 4,000 baht. If it was high-quality crab, specially prepared, fine, understandable.”
However, she wrote that the problem was she didn’t order anything special, and the restaurant never informed her that the price could vary from the menu. (The menu clearly stated 1,500 baht.) “I only found out when the bill arrived — shocking!”
According to Peachy, the restaurant explained that they had “upgraded” the crab meat for her, but she claimed that she had not requested any “upgrade.”
She admitted that the dish was tasty but was upset that the price did not match the menu and that no one had informed her about the change.
The posts about the incident have attracted thousands of comments.
Netizens appeared to be divided into groups. Many said the price of the dish, Bt1,500 as listed on the menu, was reasonable, judging by the quality of the ingredients and the Michelin-starred status of the restaurant.
One commentator said he had the dish with his foreign boss, who said it was good and worth the price. However, he added that he personally would not visit the restaurant if he had to pay on his own.
Some commentators argued that Bt1,500 was too expensive and mentioned other restaurants that served the same dish at a much lower price.
Others even calculated the cost of the ingredients at the restaurant in question and claimed that if the price was Bt4,000, the chef would earn about Bt3,000 in profit.
A group of netizens also shared video clips showing how they cooked the dish and revealed tricks to make it puffy like the Michelin-starred version.
The Commerce Ministry has assigned officials to inspect the restaurant following the allegation.
Director-General of the Internal Trade Department, Udom Srisomsong, said the findings will determine whether the restaurant violated the Price of Goods and Services Act of 1999. If it is proven that the customer did not order a special dish but was charged 4,000 baht instead of the listed 1,500 baht, the restaurant could face a fine of up to 10,000 baht for charging above the posted price.
Furthermore, if the restaurant claims it has a “VIP menu” priced at 4,000 baht, it must clearly display such menu items and prices. Failure to list prices would also constitute a violation under the same law, punishable by an additional fine of up to 10,000 baht.
