Leicester Mercury report of 27/10/18: Environmental health officers watched a beetle crawl across tofu in an open container in a fridge at a Chinese restaurant and drown in the tofu water. The council officials, who were carrying out an inspection at the Big Wang restaurant on Welford Road, Leicester at the time, had also found a dead moth squashed in another open container of tofu in the same fridge and asked staff to destroy the contaminated food, a court heard but the staff at the restaurant in Welford Road just removed the dead insects and put the food to one side to be used to prepare meals for customers.
Prosecutor Feizal Hajat outlined the scenario to Leicester Magistrates’ Court as the restaurant’s owner Qi Xue Wang pleaded guilty to 11 charges of contravening food safety and hygiene regulations between October 18 last year and January 11 this year. Members of Leicester City Council food safety team visited Big Wang on January 10 and carried out an inspection. Mr Hajat said: “Raw uncooked meat was stored next to cooked meat. Clean equipment was stored on the dirty kitchen floor. Uncooked raw meat was being defrosted on the floor. There was a used mop next to meat being stored on the floor. Bloodstained cardboard was used as a covering for shelves in the display fridge. Walls, ceilings and floors were dirty. Grease was running down the walls in the rear lobby storeroom. Ready to eat prawns and crabsticks were placed directly on top of raw defrosting pork in the fridge. All in all, the conditions were poor."
Mr Hajat said that Mr Wang’s food hygiene record was so poor over the years that the city council’s food safety team applied to the court for a Hygiene Prohibition Notice to stop him being involved in the preparation of food for the public.
He said Mr Wang had taken over the restaurant and registered with the council as the food business operator in November 2010. There were five inspections and 16 follow-up visits between November 2010 and March 2014. “There were visits on numerous occasions and the conditions at the premises were found to be poor. “On one occasion in June 2012 there was a severe risk of contamination at the premises with the presence of rats in the kitchen.” He said that in 2016, the Big Wang Restaurant, which also sells takeaway food, had a hygiene food rating of three. After inspectors visited in October 2017 the rating had dropped to one. He said that despite giving Mr Wang warnings and advice on the October visit, food safety officers found the conditions still poor on their next visit in January.
Mr Hajat said: “This is why we have applied for a Hygiene Prohibition Notice today. “Mr Wang said he would do what needed to be done, providing it was not expensive. That was the problem." “In October he said he would address the problems. This did not happen.”
The Chairperson of the bench fined Mr Wang £2,333 for the offences. She also ordered him to pay the council’s costs of £3,840 and a £133 victim surcharge.The total bill he was ordered to pay was £6,306. Mr Wang, speaking through a Mandarin interpreter, said: “I can’t afford that.” Mr Wang was ordered to pay at £550 a month and told “You need consistency. You can’t go up and down with your hygiene record. You must be consistent. When you know better you do better and the photographs of your new flooring show this to...
Read moreWith out doubt the best Chinese I have ever had, fully sober fully satisfied. The duck oh my the duck sooo good sooo crispy let me tell you I could have died a happy man after that also had some chicken satay which again was to die for. This establishment should be one of the seven wonders of the world. It’s the only thing in Leicester worth doing to the people are lovely the food fantastic and the service too notch . They even gave us some free orange juice and free prawn crackers. Definitely worth a visit I would happily drive an hour for this food. All the food was like a mouth orgasm Final point delectable substantial Fantastic value Quick service 10000000000000% got to go Thanks for making...
Read moreGobsmacked.. I didn't know food could taste this good, that was hands down the best Chinese I have ever had and the lady at the counter was so lovely too!
I've been craving a good duck wrap for honestly months and for one reason or another kept ending up not going for a Chinese, me and my partner happened to be in the area and when I saw the pictures I knew it was the place I'd been waiting for, and wow was it worth the wait it was everything I could have hoped for and more! I don't know if I have ever felt so passionately about food haha but honestly thank you so much you made...
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