Viral Blunder: Her Meal Post Racked Up a Massive Bill

Dining at a luxury restaurant can be quite pricey—sometimes the bill can climb to hundreds per diner, even more, depending on whether it’s a Michelin-starred establishment or one run by a famous chef. For one young Chinese woman, such a meal turned out to be extremely costly: 223,000 shekels, and not because she chose special dishes, but due to a mistake that cost her dearly.

The woman, identified as Ms. Wang, was enjoying a high-end dining experience at a restaurant in Kunming, located in southern China. She used the Chinese app WeChat to share every dish she enjoyed with her followers. Little did she know that a small but significant mistake was about to unfold.

When the waiter approached the table, he presented her with a staggering bill of 430,000 yuan (about 223,000 shekels). Ms. Wang rubbed her eyes in disbelief, certain it was an error, but the waiter had an explanation for the numbers.

It turned out that the photo she uploaded included a QR code linked to her table. She and her friend used that code to order the meal. But others who saw the code ordered numerous dishes at her expense. Apparently, she had shared the photo with her close friends, but some who saw the post decided to pile on a massive amount of food to the bill. Thus, the young woman who requested the check was asked to pay for all the orders made in her name without her knowledge.

According to a report in China, some of her followers added not less than 2,580 dishes to her order, including fish, soups, and other courses. Realizing her blunder, she deleted the photo from the network—but was still flooded with orders.

So what happened in the end? The restaurant owner took pity on her. Understanding her mistake, he allowed her to leave without paying. According to the report, the young woman had previously moved to a different table, helping differentiate between her original order and the fraudulent ones.

Due to the incident, the restaurant changed its ordering system. Now, orders can only be placed if you are near the code, preventing remote activation.