A restaurant in Singapore has hit back at a customer who says they were not told their crab order would cost £560 – and got police involved when the staff said they had to pay.
Seafood can be an expensive choice no matter what you pick, but diner Junko Shinba was left outraged at the price of a meal with her friends. She dined at Seafood Paradise in Singapore where they shared an Alaskan King Crab among other dishes. When they asked for the bill at the end of their evening they were reportedly left “speechless” at the cost.
The crab alone was priced at a whopping £560 while the total bill which also included beers, water, fried buns, beef fried rice, wine and vegetables was £786 – including a 10% service charge. Furious, they claim that they were not told that they would be charged based on the crab’s weight nor that the entire crab would have to be cooked specially for their table.
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However, the restaurant has hit back on social media to “rectify” the allegations. They shared CCTV footage of the restaurant which they allege shows the staff explaining the pricing “in detail”. Junko claims that the waiter recommended the crab but claims the staff member did not clearly explain that it would be priced at £16 per 100g.
The restaurant’s parent group, Paradise Group, has disputed the claims, arguing that staff members did make the price clear to the group, and says the CCTV footage shows the staff member showing them the crab, and the diners posing for pictures with it before it was cooked.
Junko and her friends claim they were surprised when three plates of crab weighing approximately 3.5kg were delivered to the table. They 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 diners called the police to the restaurant who arrived to settle the argument. Ultimately, the restaurant manager agreed to offer a discount on the meal, although Paradise Group says that this was a gesture of “goodwill” because one of the customers said they could not afford the dish.
The group has issued a lengthy statement on Facebook to dispute what they say are “inaccurate claims”. They have argued that 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”, and that the prices were clearly indicated.
They added: “To prevent any miscommunication, [the staff] 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.”
The group also alleges that the customers requested for the crab to be cooked in a few different methods, which kitchen staff agreed to do at no extra cost, and that this was why the dish came out in multiple plates. The statement alleges that the customers finished “most of the dishes” and even said that the food was “great”.
However, when it came to the end of the meal the “customers refused to settle the bill”, and police were called to mediate the situation. They added: “One of the customers mentioned he didn’t have enough money to pay and asked what can be done to help.
“Out of goodwill, the restaurant manager offered a goodwill discount of $107.40 (equivalent to 400g of live Alaskan King Crab). We wish to highlight that live seafood is typically sold and served as a whole item, as dividing it into partial portions would render the remaining portion no longer live seafood.”