Chinese Restaurant Allegedly Charges English-Speaking Customers More

The Daily Telegraph's Taylor Auerbach is alleging that a Chinese restaurant in Sydney, Australia is charging people who order from the English menu more than those who order off of the Chinese menu. According to Auerbach, at Yin Li Sichuan restaurant, a serving of fried rice costs $2 AUD ($1.88 USD) more on the English menu. Overall, most dishes on the English menu cost at least 10 percent more than their counterparts on the Chinese-language menu.

While the restaurant owner apparently suggested that the price difference "was meant to be a secret among Asian customers," she later denies that there are any discounts offered to the Chinese-speaking guests and that those were reserved for "people who come [in] a lot." When the Daily Telegraph pointed out the price discrepancies to a staff member, they responded by saying that "the English menu is new, that's why it's more expensive." Auerbach notes, however, that the menus "appeared equally worn and dated." There were also no examples of dishes that were cheaper for English-speaking customers.

The Daily Mail writes that the the owners of Yi Li Sichuan now plan to sue the Daily Telegraph over the article. They claim that they received at least "10 racist telephone threats" and a "torrent of abuse directed" at the restaurant online. The owner's lawyer says she is flatly denying "ever telling the reporter there was a 'secret price' for Chinese customers."

This isn't the first time a restaurant has up charged a specific set of customers. A restaurant in France charges customers who order coffee in a rude fashion about twice as much as those who ordered their beverage with a please and thank you.

· It's Fried Price if you Can't Speak Chinese [Daily Telegraph]
· Chinese Restaurant Accused of Charging Non-Asian Customers Higher Prices [Daily Mail]
· All Price Hike Coverage on Eater [-E-]