Tan Hai Van Ho Chi Minh City A Violation of Trust

Post by Chiefeater VK

There are disappointing meals, and then there are dining experiences that make you question whether you can trust the restaurant at all.

Unfortunately, our visit to Tan Hai Van Ho Chi Minh City ended up becoming the latter.

We arrived at about 9 pm and the restaurant was still very lively. People continued walking in even at that hour, which made its 24-hour operation rather easy to understand.

We were there for some dim sum. We ordered Siew Mai, Har Gao and a Steamed Rice Roll, or Cheong Fun. There were two of us.

The food itself was alright, although clearly tuned towards local preferences rather than what I am accustomed to.

The Har Gao filling was good. The prawns tasted fresh, but I didn’t enjoy the wrapper. It was much thicker than I like and had a slightly powdery, doughy mouthfeel rather than the thin, supple and slightly translucent skin I associate with a well-made Har Gao.

The Siew Mai was tasty, although its texture was firmer and harder than I prefer.

The Cheong Fun was similarly thicker than the Cantonese-style rice rolls I am accustomed to.

None of that, however, is what I now remember most about this meal. I made the mistake of paying without studying the bill properly.

When I subsequently checked the receipt while I was writing this review 2 weeks after dining there, I realised (thanks to ChatGPT) that what appeared on it bore virtually no resemblance to what we had eaten.

Instead of Siew Mai, Har Gao and Cheong Fun, the receipt listed:

Súp Tân Hải Vân Bào Ngư – VND818,000

Cua Thịt Loại Đại – VND992,800

T-Miến Chế Biến Thêm – VND96,000

The final amount charged was VND2,059,344.

We did not order the abalone soup.

We did not order a large crab.

We did not eat either of them.

This was therefore not a disagreement over whether a dish was expensive, nor was it a small discrepancy involving an additional drink or service charge. The bill contained major dishes that were not part of our meal.

I should have checked the receipt carefully before paying. That is on me.

But a diner should also be able to trust that a restaurant will present a bill containing the food that was actually ordered.

Whether this happened because of a serious billing error or for some other reason, I cannot establish. I therefore won’t speculate about intent.

What I can say with certainty is that we paid for expensive dishes that we neither ordered nor ate.

For me, that is a serious violation of trust.

Once that happens, whether the Har Gao skin was too thick or the Siew Mai was tasty becomes almost irrelevant.

A restaurant can serve food that isn’t quite to my taste and I can happily accept that.

Trust is different.

What I Would Do Next Time

Check the items I ordered and work out the pricing first.

Check that against the bill. Scan the bill and translate with Google or ChatGPT immediately before making payment.

Be in a present state of mind when making payment.

MVX Summary

MVX Score: 3.0/10

M – Meal Value
It is impossible for me to regard this meal as having acceptable value when the receipt contained expensive dishes that we did not order or eat. Whatever merits the dim sum itself had were overwhelmed by the billing discrepancy.
Score: 1.0/10

V – Venue
Tan Hai Van is a large, busy Chinese restaurant and was still lively when we arrived at around 9 pm. The fact that diners continued arriving late into the evening gives the place plenty of energy.
Score: 7.5/10

X – X-Factor
Unfortunately, what should have been a late-night dim sum experience became memorable for entirely the wrong reason. A bill containing major dishes we never ordered fundamentally changed how I viewed the restaurant.
Score: 1.0/10

Business Hours

Open Daily
24 hours