Bangkok’s legendary rip-off restaurant gets probed over THB1,000 tom yum

Sriayudhya Seafood Market, the Phaya Thai restaurant that many tuk tuk and taxi drivers love to recommend to tourists, is facing an investigation after a group of tourists were made to pay THB12,418 for their meal.

With a long record of complaints on TripAdvisor along the lines of “bloody expensive!” and “scam!”, the infamous restaurant is finally being investigated by the Department of Internal Trade after a Thai woman filed a complaint and shared a snapshot of the receipt from her foreign friends on the Pantip forum.

The bill listed absurd prices for an omelet (THB600), snapper (THB3,400), tom yum kung (THB1,000), and grilled squid (THB2,040) including 7 percent vat and 10 percent service charge.

“I understand that food in the tourist areas may be a bit expensive, but this is too far. The tourists want to visit Thailand and go home with a good memory, not a bad feeling,” user Richeorang posted on Tuesday.

The Department of Internal Trade said it is inspecting the restaurant and analyzing its net costs and selling prices. If it is proved to be overly expensive, the department will send the case to court.  

The restaurant’s owner could face a seven-year jail term and a maximum fine of THB140,000.

The restaurant was previously named Somboon Dee Seafood and fined THB50,000 for selling overpriced food before. After that, it changed its name to Sriayudhya Seafood Market, Thairath reported.

Earlier this year, a group of Malaysian-Chinese tourists also posted their bill from the restaurant online after they were forced to pay a mandatory tip of THB800 on top of the pricy food.

Related:

4 tourists pay THB8,840 for seafood meal



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