A Malaysian chef was allegedly charged RM120 for several pieces of roti canai and drinks at a restaurant in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan.
In a TikTok post, Chef Alam, a Chinese Muslim chef, claimed that staff at the mamak restaurant significantly overcharged him.
He explained that he was also covering the bills for his employees, who were seated at two other tables. Although he did not provide an itemised list of everything ordered, he noted that the meal consisted generally of roti canai and various beverages.
After being told the total, he paid RM150 and received only RM30 in change. Suspicious of the high cost, he immediately asked the staff to recalculate the bill.
“Give me back my money, don’t mess with me”
In the video lasting over five minutes, Chef Alam alleged that no food prices were displayed at the restaurant, an omission he argued could mislead customers. He further claimed that he was forced to wait for nearly an hour before an employee finally agreed to re-evaluate the charges.
Following the recalculation, the updated bill came to only around RM70, which is nearly half the original amount. During the process, the cashier was reportedly seen talking on the phone with an unidentified person before adjusting the total.
“You don’t even display price tags here. You’re charging me RM120 for just roti canai and beverages! What are you trying to pull here?” Chef Alam shouted in the video.
Out of frustration, he confronted the employee about the discrepancy while a Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) officer was present on the scene.
Authorities launch an investigation into the eatery’s price transparency
In response to the viral incident, Muhammad Zahir Mazlan, the Negeri Sembilan director of the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN), confirmed that the department has since investigated the premises.
Contrary to the chef’s claims, the investigation found that the restaurant did display price tags for every food item in a visible location, meeting legal requirements.
“The premises also issued sales receipts to customers for every transaction as proof of purchase and as an official sales record.
“An inspection of the payment counter system, including the sales record system and price display, found that the prices charged were consistent with those displayed on the menu,” Zahir stated, as reported by Harian Metro.
However, despite these findings, a Goods Information Verification Notice (NPMB) was issued to the restaurant regarding the pricing of its roti canai and roti telur.
The establishment has been given four working days to submit a formal response for further review.
