Online date allegedly leaves lady with $150 Hai Di Lao bill after fleeing at the end of the meal

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned (or scammed).

What one lady expected was enjoying a nice meal with a fresh-faced beau she met online. Alas, reality had other plans when she found herself face-to-face with a large bill that she had to foot by herself after he ghosted her IRL at the end of the meal. 

Having eaten his fill, her date apparently excused himself to the restroom and never returned.

She later realised he had blocked her across all platforms and had no way of contacting him. 

Enraged by what happened, her friend Hui Xin took to Facebook on Tuesday (March 31) to name and shame the dude — assuming that the name he went by is even real in the first place. 

The lady had met her potential paramour through Tantan — basically a Chinese version of Tinder for, well, the Chinese — where he asked her out on a lunch date to Hai Di Lao.

For the uninitiated, dining at the Chinese hot pot chain is no cheap affair. It's fancy dining with an equally fancy price tag, usually costing a pretty penny of $45 to $50 per person.

To make matters worse that day, the mystery man allegedly ordered three times more than the usual amount of food. And apparently ate most of it.

Perhaps the looming thought of having to pay the entire bill scared him into dining and dashing, though it turns out there was no need to at all as the other party had intended on going dutch to begin with.

"She didn't expect you to pay the entire $150 fully so dude is there really a need to do such a stupid move?" Hui Xin ranted.

"It doesn't matter if you're poor," she continued. "At least have some dignity and self-respect for yourself and others."

With all the imposed regulations restricting gatherings making it harder to get to know others the traditional way, it's no wonder many are turning towards such dating apps to stave off their loneliness.

But as they say, you can't judge a book by its cover.

rainercheung@asiaone.com