Guess what, folks – we are back with another episode from a horror sitcom called “Kenting Street Food Prices Slams Again”. Recently, a netizen posted on Dcard saying they went to Kenting Main Street and bought a large chicken soup for 400 NTD, but the soup they received was “even smaller than the meatball soup from the stall at my alleyway, containing just a few dates, ginseng roots, and two small drumsticks.”
The netizen wondered, “Is it normal for such chicken soup to cost 400 NTD?” After seeing the photo, other netizens also expressed their disappointment, saying, “Kenting is just like Shilin Night Market, they are all ripping people off,” and “No wonder people prefer to go abroad.”
I have been telling this and will tell it again to everyone who wants to listen – even if I am a huge fan of Kenting – (after all, all my resource is about Kenting), street food stall sellers in Kenting are unreasonable, and they seem not getting this, so that they prefer whining that local tourism keeps dropping, and people prefer to go abroad.
According to the original poster (OP)’s post, a group of friends went to a restaurant to order a large pot of soup (Yunnan Qi Pot Chicken) to take back to their hostel to share, thinking the price of 400 NTD was fine for a large soup, they paid. However, upon receiving it, they found it “even smaller than the meatball soup from the stall at my alleyway, with just a few dates, ginseng roots, and two small drumsticks.” The OP confirmed twice with the restaurant, “Is this really a large chicken soup?” and the restaurant affirmed it was. The netizen was puzzled, “Is it normal for such chicken soup to cost 400 NTD?”
The photo posted by the OP showed the chicken soup half-filled in a plastic bag, compared to the size of an adult’s palm. After seeing the price and portion size, many netizens commented their dissatisfaction, saying “For 400 NTD, I’d rather buy from a convenience store,” “This is a rip-off… it’s barely a single serving,” “I’m from Pingtung; welcome everyone to Kenting, but I suggest not spending money on Kenting Main Street, where trashy stores make up about 80%.”
Additionally, some netizens shared the restaurant’s information in the comments section, leaving one-star reviews. (this is something I do not favour, folks, this is someones business, we may not like the price, but attacking someone in review section – not honest, in my opinion.
In response to the netizens’ reactions, the OP expressed their gratitude for the support but emphasized that giving the restaurant a one-star review was not their goal. Their main intention was to share their experience to caution others in the future. The OP also noted, “The conditions in Kenting are not necessarily inferior to those abroad. There are diligent young business owners and long-standing local conscientious ones as well; we can’t ignore their efforts and judge everyone based on a few bad examples. We just hope that a few bad players don’t ruin the reputation for everyone.”
OPs original Dcard in chinese
In the TVBS footage we posted in the beginning of the post, the restaurant presented a portion of the Yunnan Qi Pot Chicken that was ordered by customers that day for takeaway, which was about the same size as the internal organs portion, and charged NTD400 for it, making it the most expensive in terms of presentation for the soup; the restaurant clarified that they did not shortchange the amount.
Another customer, from TVBS footage said that:
It’s inevitable to encounter overpricing at tourist spots, but if it’s in the south, it should be a bit more expensive. I can’t judge the size of it just based on this one picture.
A 400-dollar chicken soup that comes with only two pieces of meat. The restaurant emphasizes that they use free-range chicken, which has a higher cost, but the consumers feel that the portion is small. There are differing opinions from both sides