The market surveillance officers of Binh Thuan visited a restaurant in the south-central Vietnamese province’s tourist city of Phan Thiet on Wednesday morning to clarify a customer’s complaint about its hefty charge of VND4.5 million (US$192) for cooking service.

The Hung Vuong restaurant in Phan Thiet City’s Phu Thuy Ward welcomed a group of 48 tourists and one tour guide around lunchtime on Sunday, the facility’s manager Nguyen Ngoc Phong said.

Having ordered their meal in advance, the tourist group brought along 18 kilograms of raw seafood they had purchased outside upon their arrival.

Although the restaurant rarely allowed customers to bring food outside into its premises, the two sides discussed and agreed on using the restaurant’s service to cook the raw seafood with a charge of VND250,000 ($10.7) per kilogram that day, according to Phong.

Phong added the restaurant had given a discount on the cooking service charge versus the listed price of VND350,000 ($15) per kilogram after their negotiation.

The tourist group paid the total amount of VND4.5 million for the cooking service before complaining about the price a few days later.

Phong said that his restaurant does not benefit much from providing customers with the cooking service, not to mention taking the responsibility for any mishaps related to the outside food.

He expected understanding and sympathy from the customers if they had a disappointing experience at the restaurant.

At the end of Wednesday’s inspection, officers of the Binh Thuan Market Surveillance Agency said they need to listen to the customers in question before drawing a conclusion.

They added that the Hung Vuong restaurant managed to present all documents they required during the working session.

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