Thai chicken vendors winging it to rip off South Korean YouTubers

[snoop1130]

 

Thai vendors of a renowned deep-fried chicken store in the southern province of Songkhla faced criticism from Thai netizens for overcharging two South Korean YouTubers. The controversy erupted following a video posted by the foreigners, showcasing their purchase of six pieces of fried chicken and two boxes of rice for 520 baht.

 

The South Korean YouTuber, Cullen shared a video of him and his friend travelling in Songkla province on his YouTuber channel, 컬렌 Cullen HateBerry, on Sunday, September 10. In the video, the duo decided to experience the popular fried chicken store, known as Kaitod MEENA.

 

Upon arrival at the eatery, they encountered a long queue, forcing them to patiently wait for over an hour before sampling the cuisine. Their order included three chicken thighs, two drumsticks, and two boxes of rice, all amounting to 520 baht.

 

The South Korean YouTubers appreciated the taste of the food and did not seem shocked by the price but most of the Thai audiences saw that the price was unfair.

 

Thai netizens complained about the store for overcharging foreigners and called for a boycott due to the perceived unfair pricing. Some pointed out that the video featured English subtitles, which could potentially tarnish the country and store’s reputation worldwide. Many encouraged Cullen and his friend to explore other lesser-known eateries that offered delicious fried chicken at more reasonable prices.

 

Cullen later provided an update on his YouTube channel and Facebook page, revealing that the establishment had reached out to him after the viral issue. The store informed Cullen that they miscalculated the total cost, which should have been 380 baht, and refunded the difference to Cullen.

 

By Petch Petpailin

Caption: Photo via YouTube Channel 컬렌 Cullen HateBerry

 

Full Story: https://thethaiger.com/news/national/thai-chicken-vendors-drum-up-controversy-by-winging-it-to-rip-off-south-korean-youtubers-video

 

-- The Thaiger 2023-09-12

 

- Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here.

 

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[stoner]

thank goodness the interwebs plucked this finger licking good story for us.

[Ohyesuare]

"miscalculated", yes of course.

[tomazbodner]

11 minutes ago, Ohyesuare said:

"miscalculated", yes of course.

Must be forgiven. Used TAT's version of calculator.

[NextG]

Even the ‘corrected’ price of 380 seems a bit much. 
My local chicken shop( ไก่ทอดแหลก ) your charges around 30 baht for a chicken leg(drumstick + thigh). 15 to 20 baht for individual drumsticks/thighs/wings etc

 

I don’t know how much a ‘box of rice’ costs, but let’s say 40 baht. That leaves six pieces of chicken at 50 baht apiece. 
 

 

[Stocky]

7 minutes ago, NextG said:

I don’t know how much a ‘box of rice’ costs,

It's not plain rice, they serve the chicken on a biriyani style rice. The food's very good, which is why people a willing to queue for an hour or more.

[NextG]

4 minutes ago, Stocky said:

It's not plain rice, they serve the chicken on a biriyani style rice. The food's very good, which is why people a willing to queue for an hour or more.

I could see that it wasn’t plain rice, but how much is the rice? I estimated 40 baht. How much do you think it should be? Up here I’ll get chicken with ‘yellow rice’ for 50 baht. But it’s just the rice on this occasion. So how much? 50 baht? I’m just trying to make sense of the pricing. My estimate seems a likely breakdown of the prices. 
There are also queues at my local. It’s very popular and also good value. 

Edited September 12, 2023 by NextG

[Stocky]

From the restaurants response to the YouTubers they should have been charged Bht380 as follows 3 large thigh pieces @ Bht80 = Bht240, 3 drumsticks @ Bht35 = Bht100, 2 boxes of rice @ Bht 20 per box = Bht40 - total Bht380. But they charged for 6 large thigh pieces Bht480 plus Bht40 for the rice.

 

 

https://www.msn.com/th-th/news/other/แพงไปมั้ย-ยูทูบเบอร์ดัง-ซื้อไก่ทอด-6-ชิ้น-520-บาท/ar-AA1gx7Lq

[hotchilli]

12 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Cullen later provided an update on his YouTube channel and Facebook page, revealing that the establishment had reached out to him after the viral issue. The store informed Cullen that they miscalculated the total cost, which should have been 380 baht, and refunded the difference to Cullen.

After t went viral... 

some Thais just can't help ripping people off.

[SoilSpoil]

3 hours ago, hotchilli said:

After t went viral... 

some Thais just can't help ripping people off.

It's a national thing, from national parks to zoos to hospitals.

[NextG]

14 hours ago, Stocky said:

From the restaurants response to the YouTubers they should have been charged Bht380 as follows 3 large thigh pieces @ Bht80 = Bht240, 3 drumsticks @ Bht35 = Bht100, 2 boxes of rice @ Bht 20 per box = Bht40 - total Bht380. But they charged for 6 large thigh pieces Bht480 plus Bht40 for the rice.

 

 

https://www.msn.com/th-th/news/other/แพงไปมั้ย-ยูทูบเบอร์ดัง-ซื้อไก่ทอด-6-ชิ้น-520-บาท/ar-AA1gx7Lq

A ripoff then. 80 baht for a not particularly large chicken leg(drumstick + thigh). That’s at least double the price of my local. Are they frying in olive oil?

 

My local place:

 

 

So those four pieces together with the sticky rice would be a maximum of 90 baht. 

Edited September 13, 2023 by NextG

[freeworld]

Never a dull day in Thailand.

[JeffersLos]

A honest mistake. 

[Stocky]

2 hours ago, NextG said:

A ripoff then. 80 baht for a not particularly large chicken leg(drumstick + thigh). That’s at least double the price of my local. Are they frying in olive oil?

But it's a food stall in Kimyong market that draws a lot of Malaysian, Singapore & Indonesian tourists (and the occasional South Korean) who seem happy enough to pay the inflated prices. There are plenty of other places that sell excellent Hat Yai fried chicken.

[NextG]

3 minutes ago, Stocky said:

But it's a food stall in Kimyong market that draws a lot of Malaysian, Singapore & Indonesian tourists (and the occasional South Korean) who seem happy enough to pay the inflated prices. There are plenty of other places that sell excellent Hat Yai fried chicken.

So a tourist trap. Understood. 

[Stocky]

1 minute ago, NextG said:

So a tourist trap. Understood. 

Much of the central area of Hat Yai, from Kimyong Market south to Lee Garden Plaza and on to BP Grand is a tourist trap. If you really want overpriced food then check out the evening food stalls around Lee Garden Plaza, prices are laughable, but Malaysians flock there.

[OneMoreFarang]

Every YouTuber and Instagrammer and Influencer should be overcharged on principle. 

[NextG]

17 minutes ago, Stocky said:

Much of the central area of Hat Yai, from Kimyong Market south to Lee Garden Plaza and on to BP Grand is a tourist trap. If you really want overpriced food then check out the evening food stalls around Lee Garden Plaza, prices are laughable, but Malaysians flock there.

Haven’t been there in quite a while. Not since I lived on Samui and was heading somewhere on a visa run. Decided to take 1000 baht and nothing else. No cards, nothing. Found a hotel there, went to pay for it but couldn’t find my money ????????‍♂️
Had to contact girlfriend in U.K to send some money via Western Union. Went back to the hotel and the receptionist told me they found my 1000 baht on the floor. Thumbs up for the hotel worker. 
Previous time I was in the Lee Gardens area, I saw a westerner busking…