At this point, you have probably heard about the tale of yet another supposedly disgruntled customer who decided to take to social media to show how they were overcharged for two servings of sotong goreng Apollo. Having made its rounds across Malaysia, Hameediyah Restaurant has now come under intense criticism for their allegedly exorbitant prices.
RM100 for 2 pieces of sotong?
For those not in the know, the entire fiasco is not dissimilar to the now infamous Langkawi RM1,196.00 siakap dish that went viral a month prior. A netizen recently shared a copy of a receipt from Hameediyah Restaurant, Penang’s oldest nasi kandar operator, showing how they had supposedly been charged RM100 for two servings of sotong goreng Apollo. The post included a caption that warned other prospective diners to beware of the cutthroat prices at the restaurant, which promptly spread like wildfire.
The internet’s reactions have varied from humour to amusement to shock and horror over the RM100 prices for sotong, which had now led to The Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry issuing a Goods Information Verification Notice (NPMB) to explain the cost and sales price of the dish, reports NST. Restaurant operators have two days to respond to the notice.
“If the operator fails to respond, action can be taken under the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act 2021,” he said.
Restaurant owner defends their prices
Hameediyah Restaurant director Mohd Riyazz Syed Ibrahim has since come forward to defend the prices of their dishes, mentioning that they serve different sizes of sotong that range from RM10 all the way up to RM120 each. In fact, he points out that they have previously sold a large piece of sotong to a VIP guest at RM120, and has yet to receive a complaint over the prices.
In referring to the now viral social media post, he clarifies that he had been the one who calculated the total sum for the customer’s takeaway order, adding that she had seen him enter the prices for each item into the register without complaint.
“The customer did not say anything and when I told them the total price, they paid for it without complaining or rejecting,” he said.
He adds that had they been uncomfortable with the prices, they should have made the decision to reject the food. Mr Riyazz goes on to stress that the prices also take into account the cost of procuring the squid and other raw ingredients, especially in light of their price increases, reports Malay Mail.
Owner of the receipt clears the air
Well as it turns out, the actual owner of the receipt has since come forward to clear the air over the matter and explained that she had not intended to create any controversy over the food she paid for at Hameediyah Restaurant.
“The prices I paid for the sotong were fair as we took bigger-sized sotong.
“As such, for anyone who misunderstood and made claims that I had said the price was expensive, that is simply not true.” she said.
In a statement that was shared via the restaurant’s social media account, the woman explains that she had only uploaded the receipt onto her Instagram Stories, when an unscrupulous individual had taken a screenshot of it before adding a caption to warn others from eating at the nasi kandar restaurant.
“I had no intention to viral my posting but it was done by another individual. I hope that this explanation will help clear the misunderstanding between the price and my actual posting.”
She adds that the prices she had paid were similar to the prices she had paid during a previous visit, and she had no issues with it whatsoever.
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Also read: Langkawi restaurant that went viral for selling RM1,196.80 siakap may now face a RM100,000 fine
