Peking Garden fined 25k for numerous health violations

[Jbo]

http://www.calgaryherald.com/health/...017/story.html

This one blows me me away. Growing up in Varsity, this was a place we ate all the time for Chinese food. I have probably ate there 5-6 times this year alone.

Not sure how it can be allowed to stay open, but if one of my favorite places can be this bad, not sure I trust anywhere.

[btimbit]

Among the worst violations were frozen meat thawing on the floor under a sink; greasy containers, dirty sinks and washrooms; food debris littered on the ground outside the back door and crows seen landing on the garbage; highrisk food such as jellyfish, chicken, beef, rice and meat dumplings allowed to thaw at room temperature; clean dishes exposed to dirty water; numerous staffwearing dirty aprons; a box of meat on the floor in the walk-in cooler in a pond of water; a large amount of fruit flies in the dry storage area; and a tin of meat dripping juice onto the freezer floor.

As well, Bernardo told court, raw meat and poultry were being thawed in a dirty sink and in a sink flanked by two others containing items such as dirty utensils and bowls. He said there was also a buildup of char on the cooking equipment and cooking line, and some knives were left on a shelf in dirty condition and numerous filthy and damp rags and wiping cloths left on counters.

I've seen worse. Few of those things are a huge no-no, obviously, but some aren't a big deal, things AHS wouldn't care about if it wasn't for the other worse infractions

[Jbo]

The 7 people getting sick is pretty terrible.

[btimbit]

Originally Posted by J-bo09

The 7 people getting sick is pretty terrible.

Absolutely. The real sad thing is some of these problems would have had to be ongoing after numerous AHS visits, or even for years, before they actually got fined.

[Harry Lime]

I went there about a year and a half ago for the first time. Ordered some takeout, simple snack of chicken balls and sauce. Wasn't impressed by the service, but everyone has a bad day now and then, so I shrugged it off. When I got home and looked in the bag, the food was right there. In the bag. No containers. I thought, "Ok, most restaurants run out of containers and just dump food into a paper bag around eight, all the time, I guess". I'm hungry, so I shrug it off and try one. Shrugged the rest into the garbage.

Now, I believe that my telling people to avoid this place for the past 18 months has probably saved lives.

[I-Hate-Hulse]

How is Troutman still alive?

[Ozy_Flame]

Originally Posted by I-Hate-Hulse

How is Troutman still alive?

He's a CP bot with a programmed lawyer slant. He doesn't actually exist.

[Pizza]

Originally Posted by btimbit

I've seen worse.

do tell

I've seen a report where the infractions were bullet listed by alphabet, "U and Me" had so many where they had gone from z) and started back to aa)
. I figured the only reason that place is still open is because of the 4pm close and its appeal to the drunk crowds

[manwiches]

My family owned a handful of Chinese restaurants around Calgary in the past. Haven't been in the industry for the past 5 years though, so I can't speak to new regulations etc. But we had health food inspectors come in from time to time, and they give you plenty of chances to get to code, and alot of the time it's just simple oversights or misinterpretations on regulations. The inspectors we had experience with at all our restaurants were relatively easy to work with, although picky (for obvious reasons though), and educated us on where we weren't up to code, what we were doing right, and suggestions to get us to code.

It sounds like they were also given the benefit of the doubt, and chose to be ignorant and complacent. We had to educate all our staff, and while trying to tell cooks who are not from here and could get away with some questionable habits learned from where they come from was terrible, bad food preparation and cooking processes are no joke. My dad was very adamant about keeping things to code once he got his first inspection.

I used to go to Peking Garden quite a bit growing up. Nice family, and our families are friends. Sad to see this, but it's a necessary evil to educate them and others.

[Northendzone]

going here to eat has kept me regular.....

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by btimbit

I've seen worse. Few of those things are a huge no-no, obviously, but some aren't a big deal, things AHS wouldn't care about if it wasn't for the other worse infractions

I'm sure there's been worse but I read enough there to ensure that I never, ever eat there. Thawing meat on the floor, food in dirty sinks, drippings, etc isn't acceptable in North America in this day and age.

[btimbit]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

I'm sure there's been worse but I read enough there to ensure that I never, ever eat there. Thawing meat on the floor, food in dirty sinks, drippings, etc isn't acceptable in North America in this day and age.

Definitely. But check out the AHS restaurant inspections, you'd be surprised at some of the stuff that gets by.

Breaking down the violations listed in the article:

-frozen meat thawing on the floor under a sink - Obviously a big one
-greasy containers - well were they being used?
-dirty sinks and washrooms - Sounds normal for a Chinese restaurant
-food debris littered on the ground outside the back door - Outside? So probably spills from staff sitting out there eating lunch
-crows seen landing on the garbage - Should be covered, but... so?
-highrisk food such as jellyfish, chicken, beef, rice and meat dumplings allowed to thaw at room temperature - VERY common. I'd say most restaurants do this
-clean dishes exposed to dirty water - Ew
-numerous staffwearing dirty aprons - Isn't that what aprons are for?
-a box of meat on the floor in the walk-in cooler in a pond of water - Should be a foot off the ground
-a large amount of fruit flies in the dry storage area - Gross but also surprisingly common in older buildings
-tin of meat dripping juice onto the freezer floor. Ew
-raw meat and poultry were being thawed in a dirty sink and in a sink flanked by two others containing items such as dirty utensils and bowls. - ####### nasty
-Buildup of char on the cooking equipment and cooking line - Unless it's to the point where it's falling apart, which I doubt, this isn't even a violation.
-Knives were left on a shelf in dirty condition - As long as they're clean before being used again, article doesn't say
-Numerous filthy and damp rags and wiping cloths left on counters. - Dirty with what? Damp with what? Meat juice, or sanitizer?

[Regulator75]

Originally Posted by fotze

Troutman is viewing this thread. Maybe he thought he just had IBS or Crohns but it was actually just eating at this place.

Maybe he's planning a massive lawsuit.

[troutman]

I am unable to comment.

[FlameOn]

I'm not surprised by this fine at all. I haven't eaten there since the time I found a chicken bone in my deep fried banana dessert. Looks like they haven't cleaned up their act in the last few years since.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by troutman

I am unable to comment.

That was a comment. No post would have been not commenting.

[SHOGUN]

That's disgusting. Why is it always Chinese restaurants have the worst kitchen hygiene?

[btimbit]

Originally Posted by SHOGUN

That's disgusting. Why is it always Chinese restaurants have the worst kitchen hygiene?

In a lot of the places they come from it's either acceptable practice or simply not enforced.

[FlameOn]

Originally Posted by SHOGUN

That's disgusting. Why is it always Chinese restaurants have the worst kitchen hygiene?

I really wouldn't say it's always, have you ever watch the show health inspectors on the food network? It's really boils down to lazy owners and kitchen staff. But yes, a lot of Chinese restaurants don't have properly trained kitchen staff. Different story down in the states with Mexican restaurants, it's the cheap, poorly trained aspect.

We've had loads of really bad cases non-Chinese retaurants all over the city that haven't been Chinese, but have included waffle houses and Japanese food. Remember Nellies?
http://www.examiner.com/article/calg...ode-violations

[Hack&Lube]

Most Chinese kitchen staff in lower-end restaurants are from Asia where they grow up and are trained with these kind of practices because it matters less in those countries and cultures but this stuff happens in all restaurants as FlameOn noted. Nellie's was notorious for constant violations and being closed over and over again and yet people still eat there!

Anyway...

All I know is that this thread is making me head to Ginger Beef Express today because it's making me super hungry for some greasy Chinese food.