Shocked because the whole family spent nearly 1 million VND eating noodles
After Dan Tri newspaper published the article, "A 400,000 VND budget meal in Ha Long causes controversy", many readers shared their feelings when traveling and enjoying the cuisine in Ha Long, Quang Ninh.
Many readers said that they reflected the information with the aim of contributing to building a civilized tourism environment, so that Ha Long always deserves to be the top destination for Vietnamese and foreign tourists.
Reflecting to Dan Tri newspaper, Ms. Ha (in Song Lo, Phu Tho ) said that her family's trip to Ha Long at the end of June would have been complete if it weren't for the unpleasant experience at a restaurant in the food street in Bai Chay ward. Ms. Ha had to pay 810,000 VND for a noodle meal for her family (4 adults and 1 8-month-old child).
The woman shared that at noon on June 25, Ms. Ha traveled from Phu Tho to Ha Long. Because she had just traveled a long distance, she was carsick and quite tired. Her family wanted to grab a bite to eat and then go home to rest so that in the evening they could go for a walk and eat delicious food.
She went to the hotel gate, caught a taxi nearby and asked the driver to take her to eat noodles. “I told the driver to take me to a good restaurant. The driver immediately took me to a noodle restaurant called Thu Huong in Bai Chay ward,” Ha said.
When entering the restaurant, Ms. Ha was given a separate menu without prices by the staff. After looking through the menu, Ms. Ha ordered 3 bowls of seafood noodles, 1 rice roll and 1 bowl of porridge for her 8-month-old child.
Having been to Ha Long once before and eaten bowls of noodles for 50,000-70,000 VND, Ms. Ha thought this restaurant would sell at a similar price so she did not ask for the price.
A few minutes later, the staff brought the meals as ordered. The seafood noodle bowl had shrimp, squid, mantis shrimp, and fish cake, 1-2 pieces of each. The rice rolls were usually served with a few pieces of squid cake.
According to the female tourist, the noodle broth was clear and bland, without the sweetness of seafood. The quality of the meal was average, nothing impressive.
When paying, Ms. Ha was startled when the bill showed a total of 810,000 VND, including seafood noodles priced at 150,000 VND/bowl, rice rolls at 150,000 VND/serving, porridge at 150,000 VND/bowl, and juice at 60,000 VND/cup.
“Going to Ha Long, I knew the general price level was higher than other tourist destinations. I was prepared for that, but I was still surprised by the price the restaurant offered,” said Ms. Ha.
According to Ms. Ha, at that moment, she expressed her anger towards the restaurant. However, the restaurant did not give any explanation. Because the family members did not want to argue further, Ms. Ha agreed to pay and left in anger.
When she returned to the hotel, she chose the same car as before because she had not paid the one-way fare. She immediately shared her experience with the driver and questioned the sharing of the fare between the driver and the restaurant.
“The male driver said he had no idea that this restaurant was ripping off tourists. If he had known, he would not have taken me there. However, I do not believe this explanation,” said Ms. Ha.
In the following days, Ms. Ha and her family went to eat at other restaurants and eateries and found the dishes delicious and the prices reasonable. Her family also went to eat seafood noodles but only had to pay 50,000-70,000 VND/bowl.
Therefore, according to Ms. Ha, we should not let the phenomenon of "one bad apple spoil the barrel".
Tourism is an economic sector of interest in localities, attracting a large number of domestic and foreign tourists. Shops that operate opportunistically and "rip off" customers need to be eliminated so that Ha Long can be fully beautiful in the eyes of tourists.
The driver brought the customer, the restaurant owner paid 5%-10% as a "thank you"
According to research, the food business mentioned is Thu Huong restaurant located in the old quarter, Ha Long city.
Talking to Dan Tri reporter, the restaurant owner, Mr. QT, confirmed that this was a group of guests who had dined here. However, the owner of the establishment affirmed that the restaurant had posted the prices of each dish.
Specifically, the restaurant's seafood noodle soup/pho is sold for 100,000 VND/bowl. Mantis shrimp noodle soup/pho is 100,000 VND/bowl. Beef noodle soup/pho or chicken noodle soup/pho is 80,000 VND/bowl. Vegetable noodle soup/pho is 70,000 VND/bowl.
According to the restaurant owner's explanation, the seafood noodle/pho bowl priced at 150,000 VND is a special type because customers requested to order more types of food.
"We usually negotiate with customers in advance. If they want to eat more seafood, beef/chicken, the price will be 150,000 VND/bowl. This is also the common price in the old quarter. With the high price, if customers accept it, they will eat it," said the restaurant owner.
However, when looking at the menu image provided by the restaurant owner, the reporter only saw the prices of the noodles, pho, and porridge listed at 70,000 VND to 100,000 VND/bowl. Meanwhile, the special noodle/pho bowl priced at 150,000 VND did not appear in this price list.
When asked by reporters whether the restaurant had to give a percentage discount to the driver, causing the price to increase and the customer to bear this cost, the restaurant owner admitted that commission was taken.
"More or less, we will send the drivers cans of drinks. As for tourist destinations like Bai Chay area, we cannot avoid sending commissions to those who bring guests there. We do business and have to find sources and connections. Sending bowls of porridge and cans of drinks to the drivers is a natural thing," said Mr. T.
According to the restaurant owner, the cost of paying drivers depends on the restaurant, ranging from 5% to 10%. Meanwhile, at this business, drivers receive about 5%.
However, after hearing Dan Tri reporter share feedback from the restaurant owner about "the restaurant's menu clearly states the price, the bowl of noodles costs 150,000 because the customer ordered more", Ms. Ha indignantly said that this information is not true.
“I didn’t ask for anything else, just ordered 3 bowls of seafood noodles, 1 rice roll, 1 porridge, so it can’t be said that those were special portions to charge an expensive price. The menu when the staff brought it out did not have any prices listed,” Ms. Ha affirmed.
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/du-lich/ha-long-5-nguoi-an-bun-het-810000-dong-tai-xe-duoc-quan-chia-hoa-hong-20250703104355973.htm
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