Hong Kong Ruby — Restaurant in Lower Paxton Township

Knowledge is power...

HONG KONG RUBY

2308 Patton Road, Harrisburg

Date: 9/28/2021

Type: Regular

Compliance: Out

Violations:

--A food employee was observed touching vegetable and fried rice - a ready to eat food - with bare hands. Corrected.

--Bulk dry food ingredient storage containers, in the kitchen area, are not labeled with the common name of the food.

--Observed cooked rice and rice noodles food stored directly on the floor in the kitchen area, and cut vegetables on the walk-in refrigerator floor, rather than 6 inches off of the floor as required.

--Frozen raw beef strips observed thawing in standing water in the 3-bay manual ware-washing sink, which is not an approved thawing method. Corrected.

--Various refrigerated foods in the cook line bain marie held at 57°F, rather than 41°F or below as required.

--Various refrigerated foods held at ambient temperatures on counter tops/food preparation tables, instead of within refrigeration units below 41F as required.

--The Person in Charge does not have adequate knowledge of food safety in this food facility as evidenced by this non-compliant inspection. REPEAT VIOLATION.

--Raw chicken displayed next to/on top of cooked beef ribs on food preparation tables with no barriers to prevent cross-contamination. Corrected.

--Various raw and cooked vegetables and meats in the reach-in refrigerators and the walk-in cooler area stored open with no covering.

--Observed deeply scored cutting boards not resurfaced or discarded as required on the cook line bain marie equipment.

--Observed no chemical sanitizer being used on equipment and utensils after washing and rinsing them, and prior to use.

--Rear door to the outside of the food facility is not self-closing and/or is being propped open. Corrected.

--Food Employee did not follow proper handwashing procedure. Soap and/or warm water not used, and not for an adequate amount of time for at least 20 seconds. Corrected.

--Observed wet wiping cloths in the kitchen cook line area, not being stored in sanitizer solution.

--Observed wiping cloths in extremely unclean condition in kitchen cook line area.

--Observed various refrigerated cooked foods (such as shrimp and chicken) stored within re-used cans for soy sauce in the reach-in refrigerator. Corrected.

--Refrigerated, time/temperature control for safety food prepared in the food facility and held for more than 24 hours, located in the walk-in cooler and cook line bain maire, are not being date marked.

--Food employee observed storing clean food equipment while wet, and not allowing time for draining and/or air-drying.

--An insect control device located in kitchen food prep area with potential to contaminate food, equipment, and/or utensils.

--Food Employee observed donning single use gloves without a prior hand wash. Corrected.

--Food Employee observed changing tasks that may have contaminated hands without a proper handwash in-between. Corrected.

--An open employee’s beverage container was observed in the ware-washing area. REPEAT VIOLATION.

--Various cooked meats, fried rice, and lo mein noodles, prepared from food ingredients held at ambient temperature was not cooled to 41°F within 4 hours as required.

--Soups/sauces was held at 100°F, next to the steam table area, rather than 135°F or above as required.

--The food facility does not have the original certificate for the certified food employee posted in public view.

--The following areas of the food facility are extremely dirty, dusty, and in need of cleaning: -food and food container storage racks throughout the facility -ceiling vents throughout the facility -floors and floors under cook line equipment -exterior and interior of all cook line equipment -exterior and interior of all refrigeration equipment in the facility -walls and backsplashes through the facility -exterior of all bulk ingredient containers in the facility -grease hoods above...

12/23/25 - EDIT: As a long time patron of this restaurant, I've had to downgrade their stars. First is their delivery has been appalling. I had placed an order on DoorDash, with a 30-35 minute delivery estimate (I'm about 2 miles from the restaurant), for just a small fried rice and crab rangoon. Nearly 2 hours later, 2 different DoorDashers had to unassign my order after 20+ minutes waiting at the restaurant. Then, the delivery window kept being pushed back. I got so fed up I cancelled the order. Second, their food has changed a bit. Not nearly as good as it used to be. Brown sauce dishes have a paler sauce, not as much flavor. It's a shame, and I hope they can come back around.

ORIGINAL REVIEW: Finally, a great Chinese restaurant! I've found so many local joints in strip malls, and most have pretty subpar food. Fried rice that is nothing more than flavorless brown rice with a few onions thrown in there, or Chicken & Broccoli that has not enough sauce and overcooked vegetables. Enter Hong Kong Ruby! Really great food that has some flavor. Nice and saucy so the rice has something to absorb. Fried rice is loaded with vegetables, peas, carrots and eggs (a must in my book) and is a nice, dark brown color. Also, their crispy noodles are the bomb. No wimpy, pale noodles here - big, crispy strips of the same stuff they use for their eggrolls. I went through a bag with dinner. I'm so excited to find this place, and even better, Doordash...

We were already on our way to Sakana for lunch when we realized it was Monday - keep forgetting that most Asian restaurants close on Mondays in this area. We called Himalayan Fusion next door and confirmed it's closed as well. When we got to the strip mall, we were glad to find Hong Kong Ruby open - even on a Christmas Eve Monday. +1 on dedication!

We have never been here before and today's visit wasn't by choice. We looked at the menu and were disappointed that there's not one authentic dish. Aside from Pho, which I found it odd and out of place, the menu offers the typical American Chinese cuisine from the 1980's. But there's little recourse. We ordered just 2 dishes to go: Beef Chow Fun $10.95 and House Special Fried Rice $10.25. The manager was friendly and courteous during the ordering process.

The prices and quantities definitely seemed fair but the food we had was awful. The chow fun was soggy and greasy, with the noodles all clumped together. The fried rice was salty and downright stodgy. We struggled to finish either dish. These were worse than average Chinese food found in food courts. I'd like to assume that their regular chef took a day off on this day before Xmas, but we most likely won't give it...