Peking Garden fined 25k for numerous health violations

[Super-Rye]

-greasy containers - well were they being used?

I assume if they were dirty and in the dish pit they wouldn't have been written up for it. Likely situation is lazy dishwasher put the greasy containers away with the clean stuff because it went through the washer once.

-dirty sinks and washrooms - Sounds normal for a Chinese restaurant

Sounds about right indeed, still not a very good thing to be written up for.

-food debris littered on the ground outside the back door - Outside? So probably spills from staff sitting out there eating lunch

When I worked in a kitchen we had to clean up the garage and parking lots usually about once a week. Not sure if this is a violation but it is definitely something that should be done. Grabage attracts pests.

-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

I should hope not. Thawing meats in the "danger zone" promotes the growth of bacteria and can make someone very sick. Should never been done for any reason.

-numerous staffwearing dirty aprons - Isn't that what aprons are for?

Depends. If someone goes from cutting raw meat to cooking food on the line they are expected to change into an clean apron to avoid cross contamination.

-Knives were left on a shelf in dirty condition - As long as they're clean before being used again, article doesn't say

if they are doing the things the report says then I won't give them the benefit of the doubt that they are cleaning before use.

-Numerous filthy and damp rags and wiping cloths left on counters. - Dirty with what? Damp with what? Meat juice, or sanitizer?

Cleaning rags must be left in a bucket of sanitizer and the sanitizer must be swapped out every couple of hours. Even if they were cleaning rags, leaving them on the counter is a violation.

You're right the rest of that stuff is filthy. There's absolutely no excuse for it and basically comes down to laziness on the chefs, managers, and/or owners part.

[PsYcNeT]

My wife and her family (1st gen Chinese) can eat #### that has been left out for days on the counter with no issues. If I eat it I... well you can imagine.

I just think us whiteys have really terrible digestive systems in comparison to the Chinese. Literal iron stomachs.

[darklord700]

Originally Posted by SHOGUN

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

Have you looked at a typical Chinese restaurant menu? They easily have a few hundred items on them, it's crazy. And so they have to stock all these items at once which is causing all health violations.

When I see a Chinese restaurtant with that many similar items, I know they couldn't do any of them well or they wouldn't need that many items.

[btimbit]

Originally Posted by Super-Rye

I assume if they were dirty and in the dish pit they wouldn't have been written up for it. Likely situation is lazy dishwasher put the greasy containers away with the clean stuff because it went through the washer once.

I'm assuming that too, but there's still a difference between being dirty and sitting, even with the 'clean' ones, and being dirty and getting used. Shouldn't happen but also isn't horrible.

Originally Posted by Super-Rye

When I worked in a kitchen we had to clean up the garage and parking lots usually about once a week. Not sure if this is a violation but it is definitely something that should be done. Grabage attracts pests.

Generally not a violation, or at least a critical one. Depends on the area. Garbages should be enclosed as to not attract pests but it's hardly a restaurant violation.

Originally Posted by Super-Rye

I should hope not. Thawing meats in the "danger zone" promotes the growth of bacteria and can make someone very sick. Should never been done for any reason.

Depends on how long they sit for. AHS can walk in and see them sitting there, even if they've only been there for 1 minute, and make a violation of it. Only a problem if it's 4+ hours.

Originally Posted by Super-Rye

Depends. If someone goes from cutting raw meat to cooking food on the line they are expected to change into an clean apron to avoid cross contamination.

Another one that's so up to the discretion of the inspector that I take it with a grain of salt. Someone could have been cutting meat, and still just been cutting meat, and the inspector could look at that and say "well if he were to go cook fresh food now their would be cross contamination" even if that cook wasn't going to go anywhere.

Originally Posted by Super-Rye

if they are doing the things the report says then I won't give them the benefit of the doubt that they are cleaning before use.

No arguments here. Just one of those things that's so up to the discretion of the inspector. They could have been sitting dirty for the entire day, or they could have just been finished being used and weren't clean yet.

Originally Posted by Super-Rye

Cleaning rags must be left in a bucket of sanitizer and the sanitizer must be swapped out every couple of hours. Even if they were cleaning rags, leaving them on the counter is a violation.

Violation yes, but not a huge one like suggested in the article. Buckets aren't 100% necessary if they use sanitzer in spray bottles instead. Shouldn't be left balled up on the counter regardless, but the severity is overblown.

[GreenLantern]

Yea, I once scarred a little boy for life in the bathroom at the Drumheller Shell due to bad indigestion from too many heroine beer.

White boys can't handle spice, hops or questionable food.

[AcGold]

I've worked at 8 different restaurants. Been in the kitchens helping prepare food in all of them. What I found is that I don't trust any restaurant at all anymore. I worked at some of the most high end restaurants and the only one that didn't disgust me was the pinebrook clubhouse restaurant. A lot of places have seemingly no standards whatsoever and I've seen food dropped on the floor served many times with not a care.

Think about it this way; if your food is not prepared with passion and its made by someone who hates their job, which is a lot of people in the industry, you have no idea what you are getting. I mean, I had swine flu and one company didn't care at all, told me I was lying and to get back to work.

[btimbit]

^You must have worked in some awfully run restaurants.

Last line made me chuckle though, Welcome to the food industry, if you're not hospitalized, there is no calling in sick.

[Burninator]

Originally Posted by PsYcNeT

I just think us whiteys have really terrible digestive systems in comparison to the Chinese. Literal iron stomachs.

What about e coli or stuff like that. I can't imagine that the toughest of stomachs would stop viruses.

[PsYcNeT]

Originally Posted by Burninator

What about e coli or stuff like that. I can't imagine that the toughest of stomachs would stop viruses.

One Thanksgiving, her dad defrosted a turkey in a sink full of water, left out for 3 days

Unsurprisingly, on day 2 I saw it and was horrified, and bought another turkey since I was cooking it and defrosted it properly.

Her mom and her dad ate the other turkey anyway...

[btimbit]

Defrosting in cold water is acceptable by AHS standards

Not the 3 days part though.... ew

[FlameOn]

Originally Posted by PsYcNeT

One Thanksgiving, her dad defrosted a turkey in a sink full of water, left out for 3 days

I thought standard procedure was to defrost a turkey in the dryer an hour before you need to cook it

[chemgear]

Here you go - if you want to search your favorite restaurant:

http://www12.albertahealthservices.c...h-inspections/

All the details for the last 3 inspections for this particular establishment:

http://www12.albertahealthservices.c...ationName=Main

[DuffMan]

I'd bet most restaurant kitchens have stuff going on in them that we just don't want to know about.

[cam_wmh]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern

White boys can't handle spice, hops[/u] or questionable food.

You got the hops piece backwards. Asian's have problems with hops(beer), not Whiteys. We thrive on the stuff.

[I-Hate-Hulse]

Originally Posted by flameswin

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

Just don't accept payment in chicken balls.

[FlameOn]

Originally Posted by DuffMan

I'd bet most restaurant kitchens have stuff going on in them that we just don't want to know about.

I think every food establishment if the staff is lazy. At superstore when I worked there in highschool I saw rotisserie chickens being taken out of the oven that were dropped on the floor and promptly placed back on a tray for sale. The oven gloves that they used to take the chickens out were not changed once in the entire time (1 year) I was there either. Have not eaten a store bought cooked chicken since.

[I-Hate-Hulse]

Family friends of our owned a restaurant - well to do people, he's a doctor, both nice people. Would certainly not knowingly run a dump.

Absentee landlord by the owners is the problem. They hire a restaurant manager who lets the place slide into squalor, but since they don't really venture too far into the kitchen (or even the restaurant for say, a month or two) it goes down hill fast. Just like your own house, take a break from cleaning and it turn into a dive real fast.

The people ultimately sold the place. Really tough to recover after bad publicity like that.

[Violator]

Not really surprising to me I have been in the kitchen in Chinese food restaurants and they are pretty bad the one at Detroit outlet mall is probably the worse I have seen.

[AcGold]

Originally Posted by btimbit

^You must have worked in some awfully run restaurants.

Last line made me chuckle though, Welcome to the food industry, if you're not hospitalized, there is no calling in sick.

if the company isn't making very much money/losing money the food quality is almost guaranteed to be awful. I've worked at one place that was really high end downtown and it was like living in the twilight zone, the whole place made no sense. The dining experience was weird, too many cooks in the kitchen, hardly any customers ever and the food they used was ridiculous quality for how much they charged.

Yeah I've worked in some poorly run restaurants, but most restaurants are run poorly, few restaurants do really well. One of the problems is you get high ego people in the kitchen that put their career/self-esteem ahead of making good food with good ingredients. I was even physically attacked more than once for things that had nothing to do with me by the borderline psychopaths that work in these places. One conversation while a pizza is burning (that they still served):

cook: where's my pies?

me: well they weren't on the invoice or the order form so there are no pies

cook: you came here without my f#$%@ng pies! worthless dumbass

me: I understand your frustration but I can't do anything about it when it's not on the order

cook: (hits me with baking pan, tries to punch me and falls on the floor, storms off, serves burnt pizza while yelling at a girl and making her cry)

restaurants are breeding grounds for psychopaths and poor hygiene. At one of the more popular bakeries downtown they don't even bake most of the bread, it's pre-baked and transferred by hand in the basement/loading zone beside a dumpster. My experience is people have no idea where their food comes from and most companies have crazy people working in the kitchen.

[btimbit]

Originally Posted by AcGold

Yeah I've worked in some poorly run restaurants, but most restaurants are run poorly, few restaurants do really well. One of the problems is you get high ego people in the kitchen that put their career/self-esteem ahead of making good food with good ingredients. I was even physically attacked more than once for things that had nothing to do with me by the borderline psychopaths that work in these places. One conversation while a pizza is burning (that they still served):

restaurants are breeding grounds for psychopaths and poor hygiene. At one of the more popular bakeries downtown they don't even bake most of the bread, it's pre-baked and transferred by hand in the basement/loading zone beside a dumpster. My experience is people have no idea where their food comes from and most companies have crazy people working in the kitchen.

Careful you might hurt my feelings