China eatery criticised for labelling cheap dishes as ‘kinder rates’, pricey ones as ‘PhD rates’
Some criticise it as a blatant form of educational discrimination that will offend individuals with lower academic achievements
A restaurant in southern China has sparked controversy by marking prices not with traditional numbers, but rather through various academic levels.
The eatery, whose name remains undisclosed, is located in Zhanjiang, Guangdong province, and specialises in Cantonese cuisine, according to the news portal Shangyou News.
On its menu, customers will notice that instead of numerical prices, each dish is labelled with academic levels written in Chinese characters.
This unconventional pricing strategy categorises dishes priced at 10 yuan (US$1.4) as “kindergarten”. Dishes costing 13 yuan are classified as “primary school”, while those at 16 yuan are labelled “junior secondary school”. Dishes priced at 18 yuan are referred to as “senior secondary school”, and those at 20 yuan are termed “tertiary college”.
A “bachelor’s degree from first-tier universities” corresponds to 26 yuan, while the same degree from “second-tier universities” means the dish costs 23 yuan, and from “third-tier universities” at 22 yuan.
“A master’s degree” means 28 yuan, and a “PhD degree” dish costs a high 29 yuan.
