Dirty Dining of the Day – Hong Kong City Barbecue

• Sharon Aron Baron
• 12 years ago

Restaurant inspection results have revealed one Tamarac restaurant failing their inspection with 29 critical violations.

According to the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation violations are those that, if not corrected, are more likely to contribute directly to food contamination or illness.

Hong Kong City Barbecue located at 5301 North State Road 7 touts itself as the “Authentic Chinese restaurant in Florida where you’ll find the “the True Taste of Chinatown.”

Unfortunately, their idea of the “True Taste of Chinatown” encompasses overlooking basic food preparation compliance requirements.  Their list of violations include storing ducks by the freezer at room temperature, keeping jellyfish stored in boxes under the sink, storing medicine by the server station, soiled containers and a soiled reach-in cooler.

Here are the more details of their critical violations according to their last inspection in August:

• Observed dented/rusted cans. Five condensed milk can rusted – Stop sale issued
• Stop Sale issued due to cross contamination – Unclean bare hand contact with ready to eat- 2 whole ducks
• Stop Sale issued on potentially hazardous food due to temperature abuse (see Stop Sale Notice).Jelly Fish at 86.5* F-
• Ready-to-eat, potentially hazardous food prepared on site and held more than 24 hours with not properly date marked. Ducks, pork and egg rolls in walk in cooler-
• Observed potentially hazardous food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Large box of jelly fish at 86.5 * F– Stop sale issued
• Observed potentially hazardous food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Bean sprout at 50* F- Corrective action – In reach in cooler-
• Potentially hazardous food not held at 135 degrees Fahrenheit or above. Ducks by front door at 90 * F– Corrective action- In walk in freezer-
• Inadequate number/capacity of hot holding units to maintain potentially hazardous food at proper temperatures. For ducks-
• Observed potentially hazardous food thawed in standing water. Corrected On Site.
• Observed food stored in a prohibited area. Fish being thawed in hand washing sink.  Corrected On Site.
• Observed food stored in a prohibited area. Boxes of jelly fish under three compartment sink
• Observed torn packages/bags of food exposing the contents to contamination. Spices in large container
• Observed food stored on floor. Onions in walk in cooler
• Observed uncovered food in holding unit/dry storage area. Several foods in walk-in cooler
• Observed uncovered food in holding unit/dry storage area. Dry rice noodle stored in kitchen uncovered
• Observed bare hand contact of ready-to-eat food by employees and establishment has no approved Alternative Operating Procedure in effect. Corrected On Site. Stop sale Issued – No hand washing –
• Observed in-use utensil stored in standing water less than 135 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Observed employee engage in food preparation, handle clean equipment or utensils, or touch unwrapped single-service items, without washing hands. Corrected On Site.
• Observed an open beverage container on a food preparation table or over/next to clean equipment/utensils. Corrected On Site.
• Observed cutting board grooved/pitted and no longer cleanable.
• Observed utensils in poor condition. No handle on several scoops
• Observed a nonfood-grade wood used for food contact surface for steaming chicken
• Observed nonfood-grade containers used for food storage. Grocery bags
• Dish machine chlorine sanitizer not at proper minimum strength. Corrected On Site.
• Observed soil residue in storage containers. All storage containers
• Observed buildup of soiled material on racks in the reach-in cooler.
• Observed food-contact surfaces encrusted with grease and/or soil deposits. Large talk oven.
• Observed interior of reach-in cooler soiled with accumulation of food residue.
• Observed interior of reach-in cooler soiled with accumulation of food residue. Reach in freezer
• Observed buildup of grease on nonfood-contact surface. All shelves in kitchen
• Observed residue buildup on nonfood-contact surface. Shelves in walk in cooler
• Observed residue buildup on nonfood-contact surface. Vent use for cooling ducks uncleaned – Food debris and excessive dust
• Observed residue buildup on nonfood-contact surface. Shelves by server station
• Observed residue buildup on nonfood-contact surface. Lobster tank
• Hand wash sink lacking proper hand drying provisions. By cook line Corrected On Site.
• Hand-washing cleanser lacking at hand-washing lavatory. By cook line Corrected On Site.
• Screening is not 16-mesh to the inch. For vents in kitchen
• Observed container of medicine improperly stored. By server station
• Observed toxic item stored by utensils. By server station

As you can see, they corrected many things on-site and may have corrected all of their violations since this inspection was published, but I’m not going to take my chances and I urge others to wait until they pass their next inspection before dining at Hong Kong City Barbecue.