PETALING JAYA, Nov 5 ― A tourist in Langkawi was gobsmacked after he was charged RM1,196 for a whole sea bass.

Mohd Faris Zulkarnain and six others wanted to end their island-hopping trip with a satisfying lunch but was left with a dent in his wallet and a bad taste in his mouth.

The group had initially wanted to order two whole sea bass but changed their minds after the waiter demonstrated the size of one fish.

“We decided to order only one fish.

“The size was a little bigger than what we’re used to,” Faris wrote on Facebook.

But when the fish arrived, they were shocked that it was large enough to feed a crowd of 30 instead of seven.

The restaurant had selected a sea bass that weighed 7.48kg for Faris’ table.

At that point, Faris expected to pay between RM700 to RM800 but he couldn’t be more wrong.

The total bill including beverages and other dishes came up to a jaw-dropping RM1,852.50.

Besides a very hefty fish that cost RM1,196, Faris and company were charged RM200 for prawns, RM200 for calamari, RM87.20 for crab, RM27 for kailan and RM35 for a jug of watermelon juice.

Faris claimed in his post that other customers at the restaurant also received shocking bills ― one customer paid RM755 for two people while another was billed RM800.

“I was shocked upon seeing my bill ― I wanted to pay using my credit card but there was a five per cent surcharge,” he said.

Faris warned other holidaymakers to be cautious to avoid paying through their nose.

The restaurant owner has since responded, saying Faris had insisted on ordering the sea bass.

Norasyikin Musa, who owns the Sas Rimba Floating Restaurant told Harian Metro: “I suggested that they order other fish like red snapper or grouper that weigh around one to 1.5kg which would be more suitable.”

She also claimed she personally took their orders and had asked them to have a look at the fish selection before the kitchen cooked it but they refused.

Norasyikin said the price of the sea bass was stated in the menu which was RM16 for every 100g.

“I explained to them that a fish weighing around seven kg wasn’t for sale but was kept for display so patrons can look at it,” she added.

She denied that her restaurant imposes a surcharge for credit card payments as claimed by Faris in his post.