150,000 VND/bowl of watery noodles
Many customers who go out to eat during Tet are upset because the prices are many times higher than usual while the quality is not up to par. There are bowls of noodles with watery broth and "exorbitant" prices. There are even sidewalk restaurants that "overcharge" 150,000 VND for a bowl of snail noodles without even a single snail.
On the first day back to work, February 21 (the 6th day of the lunar calendar), at noon, office workers poured into restaurants and bars. Many places were so full that they had to turn away some customers.
Calling to reserve a table at many familiar restaurants, Ms. Tam (working at an office in Ho Dac Di, Dong Da) was repeatedly refused. Many familiar restaurants had not yet opened, with signs saying they were closed until the 8th day of the lunar calendar. Therefore, the remaining restaurants were more crowded than ever.
Reporter's notes.VietNamNetOn Xa Dan street, fish noodle shops, crab noodle shops, hot pot shops, etc. are all crowded. A small hot pot shop in Nam Dong alley, although the price has increased compared to normal days, customers still come in to ask continuously and have to refuse some due to the crowd. Meanwhile, the Thai hot pot has only a few dipping sauces, the clams are still full of sand.
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| During Tet, many people crave a bowl of vermicelli soup with crab or vermicelli with snail to relieve the feeling of fullness. |
After Tet, everyone feels sick of meat, banh chung, and gio cha. At that time, many people crave a bowl of vermicelli soup with crab or vermicelli with snail.
Therefore, even though prices are double or triple compared to normal days, sidewalk noodle shops and pho shops are still crowded.
It is worth mentioning that despite the "exorbitant" prices, the quality is not commensurate, combined with the poor service attitude of the staff, making many customers upset.
Sharing in closed food groups on social networks, many members complained about food services during Tet: both expensive and unappetizing.
Recently, a member after eating beef noodle soup at a restaurant in Bach Mai (Hanoi) shared: "This bowl is also 50,000 VND but the beef is tougher than a leech, the broth is like the water used to blanch noodles. It looks delicious in pictures but the taste is terrible."
Another member also spoke up to share his frustration after eating vermicelli soup with crab in Cau Giay (Hanoi): "2 pieces of tofu, 1 piece of crab as big as a little finger, 50,000 VND".
Ms. Dao Hanh (Ba Dinh, Hanoi) said, after eating snail noodle soup on Tet holiday at Cau Go. "The bowl of snail noodle soup I ordered included 3 snails, 3 pieces of beef, 2 pieces of tofu, half a piece of pig's ear, and it was 90,000 VND. When I asked, the owner said that his snail noodle soup is a family recipe and delicious, unlike other restaurants." Ms. Hanh also told the newspaper that when a Korean customer came to eat, the owner "ripped" them off 150,000 VND/bowl and "couldn't even pick up a single snail".
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| A bowl of beef noodle soup costs 50,000 VND, twice as expensive as usual but the quality is very bad. |
The situation of price not going along with quality also happens in many other restaurants in Hanoi. Dan Tri newspaper reported that vermicelli noodle soup, snail, rib cartilage restaurants with beef, ham, and tofu for 60,000 VND on Hang Buom and Hoe Nhai were also criticized by many people for being expensive, but bland, with only a few pieces of meat. 3 bowls of pho with all the fat costing 210,000 VND on Hang Can and Hang Giay streets also made diners surprised.
Not only being "ripped off", many diners also feel upset by the service attitude of the owners or staff of sidewalk noodle and pho shops during Tet.
Ms. Bui Hoa (Hanoi) expressed dissatisfaction with the attitude of the waiter at a seafood noodle shop on Ngu Xa Street (Tay Ho District, Hanoi). “Swearing, cursing customers, cursing others while the whole family was eating. Some people cursed all the customers and then cursed the staff. So they had to eat because the shop was probably too crowded, that's why they were like that. When they ate, they ate 2 green mantis shrimps, bitter, with a strong chemical smell. The shrimp had been left for a long time, the fish was mushy, not as fresh as usual. The food was not delicious and then they heard the harsh voice cursing, I vowed not to come back to the shop again!”, Ms. Hoa said on Emdep.
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| 50,000 VND for a bowl of extremely bad noodles, making netizens angry. |
Ms. Pham Hang, a customer who also ate at this restaurant on the 2nd, complained that she really did not like the seller's "swollen face like someone in debt, curt speech". Not to mention, the food was bland as if "just passing by a snail stall".
This information, after being published, has attracted a lot of public attention. Some people think that diners should thank the restaurants that opened early during Tet so that they could “have something to eat”, because the staff of these restaurants have given up the opportunity to wish Tet, travel, and gather around the family table to serve customers.
But most people think that if you decide to sell during Tet, you have to do business properly. This kind of ripping off customers is hard to last long. Some people even ask people to boycott these restaurants.
Many others accept the price increase during Tet because they think that the cost of input materials and hiring staff during Tet is also higher, but the quality of the food must still be put first.
Hanh Nguyen(Synthetic)
