A Chinese restaurant was punished for charging exorbitantly high prices for a serving of a delicacy, news reports say.

 The restaurant, located in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, charged 5,000 yuan (about USD $770) for a dish that consisted of 1.65 kilograms of giant salamander, Xinhua reports. The tourist, named Wang, reported that she was surprised at the exorbitantly high price, and asked the police for help.

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Wang said that she had been taken to the restaurant by a taxi driver. There, a waiter recommended that she try the dish, without informing her of its price. She was only notified of the soaring cost of the dish after the cook had slain the giant salamander – a whopping 3,200 yuan (about $493) per kilo – but with a discount if she will get it without the receipt.

"The highest price I have heard people paying for a giant salamander in Guilin was 1,400 yuan ($216) per kilo,” a furious Wang told news media.

Wang then reported the matter to police, who in turn helped her, but only to negotiate with the restaurant to lower the price to 1,500 yuan ($231) per kilo.

Restaurant Defenses

The restaurant, however, denied Wang’s narration of the story. According to one of the restaurant’s waiters, the dish’s price is clearly stated in the menu, and the giant salamander will only be killed once she accepts the weight and consequent pricing.

The restaurant manager added that the restaurant acquires giant salamanders from a local market at 700 yuan ($107.9) per kilo, and that the selling prices were all set within the restaurant’s bounds.

Law Enforced

The police, on the other hand, decided in favor of Wang in accordance with what is called the Pricing Law. According to this law, restaurants are not allowed to over-price their products, and that the prices for their food items must not exceed the average price quoted within the neighboring restaurants in the area.

The police fined the restaurant 500,000 yuan (about $77,000) and had its business and services licenses revoked, the Guilin government said.

Tagssalamander, overpricing, delicacy, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, china, giant salamander, Pricing Law