As Aroma Beach restaurant in Nha Trang, a popular tourist city in south-central Vietnam, has been accused of overcharging a Chinese tourist group, local inspectors have uncovered five violations at the eatery and suspended its operations pending corrective measures. 

According to a press release issued by the Nha Trang City People's Committee on Friday, the city’s chairman instructed relevant authorities to investigate Aroma Beach after receiving complaints about its pricing practices.

An interagency inspection team was subsequently formed to examine the restaurant.

On Wednesday, the team visited Aroma Beach, located at 38 Nguyen Thien Thuat Street, in both the morning and afternoon but was unable to meet the restaurant’s owner, Ho Van Tam.

They found the restaurant closed, with its signboard removed.

The team returned on Thursday to conduct a thorough inspection.

During the inspection, Tam was only able to provide a business registration certificate for Dai Tam Phat Nha Trang Co., Ltd., the company operating Aroma Beach, where he serves as director.

He explained that at around 6:00 pm on February 3, a group of over 15 Chinese tourists dined at his restaurant.

The accompanying tour guide requested larger portions to accommodate the group and assured the staff that cost was not a concern.

As a result, the restaurant prepared bigger portions, bringing the total bill to over VND20.4 million ($807).

This included VND15.7 million ($621) for food and a ‘Lunar New Year (Tet) break surcharge’ of VND4.7 million ($186).

Regarding the surcharge, Tam clarified that it was actually a surcharge for the group's consumption of beer and liquor that they had brought in.

However, when the bill was presented, the guests disputed the charges, leading to a disagreement.

Eventually, the restaurant agreed to a reduced payment of 4,482 Chinese yuan (over VND15.6 million, or $616), instead of the full amount on the bill, Tam stated.

During the inspection, officials identified five violations at Aroma Beach.

Firstly, the restaurant advertised products without Vietnamese-language representation, displaying four lightboxes with advertisements in Chinese and Korean but no Vietnamese text.

Secondly, it provided food services without the required food safety certificate.

Thirdly, during the inspection, the business did not have a signboard displaying its name at its operating location.

Fourthly, the restaurant failed to list prices for several food and beverage items.

Lastly, it charged customers higher prices than those listed.

The inspection team has recommended that the Nha Trang City Tax Department further investigate the establishment’s tax obligations.

Additionally, Tam has been instructed to suspend Aroma Beach’s operations until all legal food safety requirements are met.

Earlier, a post titled 'A restaurant in Nha Trang charges exorbitant prices, overcharges foreign tourists' went viral on Facebook.

The post claimed to be based on information circulating on the Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu.

It listed exorbitant prices such as VND1.89 million ($74.9) for grilled eggplant with scallion oil, VND500,000 ($19.8) for a single plate of stir-fried water spinach with garlic, VND325,000 ($12.9) for a bowl of pho (beef or chicken noodle soup), and VND200,000 ($7.9) for two cans of Coca-Cola.

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