GEORGE TOWN: Earlier this month, the RM1,196.80 bill for a 7.48kg 'siakap' (barramundi fish) dish from a restaurant in Langkawi took Malaysian netizens by shock.
Yesterday, a copy of a receipt, totalling RM106.60, from Penang's oldest nasi kandar restaurant, Hameediyah Restaurant at Campbell Street here, was uploaded by one Huzir Rizal, showing RM100 for two fresh sotong goreng (fried squid) alone with a photograph of the dish.
It is not immediately known if the receipt belongs to Huzir.
However, the posting has since gone viral on social media, with netizens criticising the restaurant for its exorbitant priced sotong goreng dish.
Speaking to the New Straits Times, Hameediyah Lebuh Campbell director Muhammad Riyaaz Syed Ibrahim said he was the person who had attended to the couple who had ordered the sotong goreng dish for take-away besides biryani rice, white rice, salted eggs, a small packet of papadom and a cucumber dish.
He said the prices of all items sold in the restaurant were clearly listed on the board, with a sotong dish being sold from between RM10 and RM150.
He added that when the couple ordered the sotong dish, they did not enquire about the price.
"I was the one who had attended to the couple. The woman clearly saw when I punched the amount on to the computer system at the cash registry. She did not complain or say anything then.
"Unfortunately, they decided to post the copy of the receipt on social media. They purposely want to viral the receipt," he said.
Muhammad Riyaaz said for anyone with a tight budget, they would always enquire about the price first before ordering.
"Just like me. I will always check the price first before ordering," he added.
He said the sotong he used for his sotong goreng appollo dish was not cheap, adding that he sourced them for between RM35 to more than RM40 per kilogramme, and the price in the market keeps fluctuating.
"The sotong goreng we packed for the couple was of big size, which was supposed to have cost between RM110 and RM120 for two. However, I gave them a discount," he said, adding that he packed the whole sotong goreng for the couple without cutting them into pieces like when one orders for dine-in.
Muhammad Riyaaz said this was not the first time they went viral, adding that previously, their local ayam piru (turkey) dish also courted controversy due to the high price.
"We do not force our customers into purchasing anything. All our prices are on display.
"I told my workers to tell the customers the prices of certain expensive items. However, with the long line of customers waiting sometimes, they may forget," he added.