It's a given that food prices worldwide are rising all the time, and seafood is no exception. No matter which supermarket you shop at, the sheer cost of certain types of fish fillets or shellfish can easily cost an arm and a leg.

So imagine the shock of one foreign tourist travelling in Singapore when the seafood dish she ordered resulted in a rather astronomical bill!

A Japanese native, Junko Shinba, decided to visit Seafood Paradise with her sightseeing group last month—and nothing could've prepared her for what eventually took place.

Ms Shinba said she took a waiter’s advice and ordered the eatery’s signature Alaskan King chilli crab dish.

A group of tourists in Singapore called the police after being charged more than $1,000 for a seafood dish. Credit: Paradise Group/Facebook

She thought it was a decent deal as she was told it was $30 in Singapore dollars ($34 AUD)—only to be presented with a much more expensive bill than she expected.

That's because the waiter allegedly hadn't mentioned the price was $30 'per 100 grams' of the seafood—something that escaped all the tour group members.

Ms Shinba told the media that her group of four received way more than they could eat, with the crab weighing in at about 3,500 grams.

It amounted to a bill of $938 in Singapore dollars, which is about $1,070 AUD.

Junko Shinba claimed that the price was not communicated to them by the waiter. Credit: Junko Shinba

'We all became speechless knowing that one dinner for four adults cost that much,' Ms Shinba told a local news outlet.

'None of us were informed that the whole crab would be cooked only for us, as some other restaurants serve crabs partially,' she added.

It wasn't even that the restaurant had made an error in the bill, as the crab cost $26.80 per 100 grams, and the price of the dish had reportedly been 'clearly communicated' according to the restaurant's spokesperson.

‘To prevent any miscommunication, the staff even brought the whole Alaskan King crab to the table before preparation,’ they said.

Ms Shinba was so outraged she called the cops and the Singapore Tourism Board.

The restaurant said, ‘Upon payment, the customers refused to pay the bill and requested to make a police report. Hence, the restaurant manager assisted in making the police report.’

In the end, the tourists had to settle the bill, and the restaurant offered the crabby customer a paltry $107.40 discount 'out of goodwill' according to reports.

From $938 SGD, they were then charged $830.60 SGD ($954 AUD) for the costly meal.

In the end, they were still made to pay a total of $1,214.60 SGD (or about $1,395 AUD) for their entire meal. That’s down from $1,322 SGD (about $1,500 AUD).

The Paradise Group released a statement on their social media, clarifying that their King Crab was only served as a whole.

‘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,’ the statement said.

Key Takeaways

• A group of tourists in Singapore was charged over $938 SGD ($1,077 AUD) for a crab dish they believed would cost $30 SGD ($34 AUD).
  
• The confusion arose because the price was $30 SGD per 100 grams, which the customer alleged was not communicated to them.
  
• Outraged by the surprise cost, the customer contacted both the police and the Singapore Tourism Board.
  
• The restaurant Seafood Paradise offered a discount of $107.40 SGD ($123 AUD) to the crab dish as a ‘gesture of goodwill’. The total entire meal amounted to $1,322 SGD (about $1,500 AUD).
  

So, what's the moral of the story? Seniors Discount Club members, always have the price of your meals clarified, no matter if you're in a restaurant, cafe, or takeaway place.

Paying close attention to the costs of your meals while dining out could help you avoid unnecessary and unpleasant surprises!

Have you or anyone you know experienced a similar incident in a restaurant? Let us know in the comments below!

 

[John Robert]

Caveat Emptor!!!

 

[Nichola]

I wonder how many times that's happened!

 

[MariaG]

I have a feeling the restaurant is in cahoots with the tour operator.
The case of the crazy crab strikes again will haunt the halls of restaurant legend.

 

[rtoz]

It's a given that food prices worldwide are rising all the time, and seafood is no exception. No matter which supermarket you shop at, the sheer cost of certain types of fish fillets or shellfish can easily cost an arm and a leg.

So imagine the shock of one foreign tourist travelling in Singapore when the seafood dish she ordered resulted in a rather astronomical bill!

A Japanese native, Junko Shinba, decided to visit Seafood Paradise with her sightseeing group last month—and nothing could've prepared her for what eventually took place.

Ms Shinba said she took a waiter’s advice and ordered the eatery’s signature Alaskan King chilli crab dish.

View attachment 32466

A group of tourists in Singapore called the police after being charged more than $1,000 for a seafood dish. Credit: Paradise Group/Facebook

She thought it was a decent deal as she was told it was $30 in Singapore dollars ($34 AUD)—only to be presented with a much more expensive bill than she expected.

That's because the waiter allegedly hadn't mentioned the price was $30 'per 100 grams' of the seafood—something that escaped all the tour group members.

Ms Shinba told the media that her group of four received way more than they could eat, with the crab weighing in at about 3,500 grams.

It amounted to a bill of $938 in Singapore dollars, which is about $1,070 AUD.

View attachment 32467

Junko Shinba claimed that the price was not communicated to them by the waiter. Credit: Junko Shinba

'We all became speechless knowing that one dinner for four adults cost that much,' Ms Shinba told a local news outlet.

'None of us were informed that the whole crab would be cooked only for us, as some other restaurants serve crabs partially,' she added.

It wasn't even that the restaurant had made an error in the bill, as the crab cost $26.80 per 100 grams, and the price of the dish had reportedly been 'clearly communicated' according to the restaurant's spokesperson.

‘To prevent any miscommunication, the staff even brought the whole Alaskan King crab to the table before preparation,’ they said.

Ms Shinba was so outraged she called the cops and the Singapore Tourism Board.

The restaurant said, ‘Upon payment, the customers refused to pay the bill and requested to make a police report. Hence, the restaurant manager assisted in making the police report.’

In the end, the tourists had to settle the bill, and the restaurant offered the crabby customer a paltry $107.40 discount 'out of goodwill' according to reports.

From $938 SGD, they were then charged $830.60 SGD ($954 AUD) for the costly meal.

In the end, they were still made to pay a total of $1,214.60 SGD (or about $1,395 AUD) for their entire meal. That’s down from $1,322 SGD (about $1,500 AUD).

The Paradise Group released a statement on their social media, clarifying that their King Crab was only served as a whole.

‘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,’ the statement said.

Key Takeaways

• A group of tourists in Singapore was charged over $938 SGD ($1,077 AUD) for a crab dish they believed would cost $30 SGD ($34 AUD).
• The confusion arose because the price was $30 SGD per 100 grams, which the customer alleged was not communicated to them.
• Outraged by the surprise cost, the customer contacted both the police and the Singapore Tourism Board.
• The restaurant Seafood Paradise offered a discount of $107.40 SGD ($123 AUD) to the crab dish as a ‘gesture of goodwill’. The total entire meal amounted to $1,322 SGD (about $1,500 AUD).

So, what's the moral of the story? Seniors Discount Club members, always have the price of your meals clarified, no matter if you're in a restaurant, cafe, or takeaway place.

Paying close attention to the costs of your meals while dining out could help you avoid unnecessary and unpleasant surprises!

Have you or anyone you know experienced a similar incident in a restaurant? Let us know in the comments below!

The wife and myself would just like to eat out if we do its a pie or pastie down town

 

[Suzanne rose]

Hopefully this incident will bring awareness to other tourist.

I can't believe the meals my daughter and her new hubby are eating in Bali and all at amazing prices they are also aware of Bali Belly and are being careful

 

[magpie1]

Talk about Seafood Poisoning.....

 

[thomas]

about 18 yrs ago my partner and I went to visit her niece in Brisbane, she and her husband took us out to dinner and my partner wanted the mud crab, it cost $100.

 

[Luckyus]

It's a given that food prices worldwide are rising all the time, and seafood is no exception. No matter which supermarket you shop at, the sheer cost of certain types of fish fillets or shellfish can easily cost an arm and a leg.

So imagine the shock of one foreign tourist travelling in Singapore when the seafood dish she ordered resulted in a rather astronomical bill!

A Japanese native, Junko Shinba, decided to visit Seafood Paradise with her sightseeing group last month—and nothing could've prepared her for what eventually took place.

Ms Shinba said she took a waiter’s advice and ordered the eatery’s signature Alaskan King chilli crab dish.

View attachment 32466

A group of tourists in Singapore called the police after being charged more than $1,000 for a seafood dish. Credit: Paradise Group/Facebook

She thought it was a decent deal as she was told it was $30 in Singapore dollars ($34 AUD)—only to be presented with a much more expensive bill than she expected.

That's because the waiter allegedly hadn't mentioned the price was $30 'per 100 grams' of the seafood—something that escaped all the tour group members.

Ms Shinba told the media that her group of four received way more than they could eat, with the crab weighing in at about 3,500 grams.

It amounted to a bill of $938 in Singapore dollars, which is about $1,070 AUD.

View attachment 32467

Junko Shinba claimed that the price was not communicated to them by the waiter. Credit: Junko Shinba

'We all became speechless knowing that one dinner for four adults cost that much,' Ms Shinba told a local news outlet.

'None of us were informed that the whole crab would be cooked only for us, as some other restaurants serve crabs partially,' she added.

It wasn't even that the restaurant had made an error in the bill, as the crab cost $26.80 per 100 grams, and the price of the dish had reportedly been 'clearly communicated' according to the restaurant's spokesperson.

‘To prevent any miscommunication, the staff even brought the whole Alaskan King crab to the table before preparation,’ they said.

Ms Shinba was so outraged she called the cops and the Singapore Tourism Board.

The restaurant said, ‘Upon payment, the customers refused to pay the bill and requested to make a police report. Hence, the restaurant manager assisted in making the police report.’

In the end, the tourists had to settle the bill, and the restaurant offered the crabby customer a paltry $107.40 discount 'out of goodwill' according to reports.

From $938 SGD, they were then charged $830.60 SGD ($954 AUD) for the costly meal.

In the end, they were still made to pay a total of $1,214.60 SGD (or about $1,395 AUD) for their entire meal. That’s down from $1,322 SGD (about $1,500 AUD).

The Paradise Group released a statement on their social media, clarifying that their King Crab was only served as a whole.

‘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,’ the statement said.

Key Takeaways

• A group of tourists in Singapore was charged over $938 SGD ($1,077 AUD) for a crab dish they believed would cost $30 SGD ($34 AUD).
• The confusion arose because the price was $30 SGD per 100 grams, which the customer alleged was not communicated to them.
• Outraged by the surprise cost, the customer contacted both the police and the Singapore Tourism Board.
• The restaurant Seafood Paradise offered a discount of $107.40 SGD ($123 AUD) to the crab dish as a ‘gesture of goodwill’. The total entire meal amounted to $1,322 SGD (about $1,500 AUD).

So, what's the moral of the story? Seniors Discount Club members, always have the price of your meals clarified, no matter if you're in a restaurant, cafe, or takeaway place.

Paying close attention to the costs of your meals while dining out could help you avoid unnecessary and unpleasant surprises!

Have you or anyone you know experienced a similar incident in a restaurant? Let us know in the comments below!

In all my years travelling to Singapore I never went to tourist eateries, I'd always seek out the local chew and spew and never had a bad meal, I'd be paying three Sing dollars while those that didn't know or want to know would be paying thirty.