Over the past week, a Chinese restaurant owner in Alor Setar, Kedah, Malaysia, shared his astonishment on Facebook regarding a customer's complaint about the cost of their meal being "very expensive."

Samz Wong, the owner, posted on Thursday, 7 April, detailing how a group of nine customers had lunch at his Restaurant Chai Por Hu on Saturday, 2 April, ordering seven dishes. The total bill came to RM148.40.

However, one customer complained about the high cost despite ordering "only a few dishes," a complaint Wong shared in his now-viral post.

The meal included a variety of dishes such as fish priced at RM39, a prawn dish at RM17, and prime pork ribs at RM17, along with braised tofu, rice, and beverages.

According to a Sin Chew report, the meal was served to eight adults and one child.

Wong refrained from explaining the cost to the customer at the time, as he believes in prioritizing customer satisfaction. However, the incident has been on his mind since.

Upon reviewing his restaurant's profits for the past month, Wong found that the average profit per order is less than 30%.

"Why do some people think it's expensive? Doesn't anyone know about the rising prices of chicken, pork, cooking oil, imported food, and plastic containers?" Wong questioned.

He explained that business owners like himself avoid raising prices to retain loyal customers, noting that his menu prices haven't increased since 2019, except for a RM2 increase on fried chili.

Wong highlighted that RM150 wouldn't even cover the cost of fish, meat, and vegetables at the market, not to mention the labor required to prepare a meal for nine people. He urged the public to consider current market prices when evaluating restaurant costs.