Having been raised in the Jewish section of Brooklyn, I was practically weaned on Chinese food. When I started dating, my favorite destination was Chinatown. We would take the subway at the Utica Avenue station into New York City, When the train stopped, we emerged into what seemed like another country- Chinatown. This was a special treat, since we not only enjoyed the variety of delicious and completely authentic Chinese cuisine but also enjoyed picking up a souvenir or two at one of the many gift stores in the area. My taste for Chinese Food lasted for up until a few years ago. This was when a Chinese Buffet opened up in my immediate neighborhood.
I started having dinner there once week. The cost was minimal for being able to eat anything on the humongous Chinese buffet. From all outward appearances it seemed to be a busy–judging from the amount of cards parked in front–so I took it for granted that the food was pretty good. I became a regular there and got a special welcome as soon as I walked in the door.
I took a table directly in front of the Chinese buffet table. This gave me a chance to fill my plate with the ”hot food” as soon as it was put on the buffet table so it would be nice and hot.
A few months later I began noticing little things that others, sitting further back, would not see. I soon realized that the buffet was not as clean as it appeared to be, even though the owner kept wiping the chrome top of the buffet with a towel cleaning up spilled or splattered food.
Another thing that caught my eye was that the food in the hot food bins, was not as fresh as it appeared. One day, in the late afternoon, I dropped in to have an early dinner. I noticed that most of the hot plates were sparsely filled. I caught the eye of the manager and with my eye, pointed out the lack of food in many of the bins. A few minutes later, a server walked out of the kitchen holding bins of freshly cooked food. Instead of replacing the bins that were standing there almost all day, he piled it ”on top” of the fresh food, and stirred all together. He then took the old container back to the kitchen. He had just filled the fresh food, with the bacteria that had been growing in the old food that was standing around all day. Then he returned to the kitchen and did the same with the rest of the hot food bins.
The soup was filled up in the same manner. Freshly cooked egg drop soup was poured into the soup that had been standing around and left over from lunch.
One other thing that seemed to be unbelievable, is when I noticed a worker filling the empty bins of freshly washed and dried plates and soup cups. He came out pushing a rolling cart with piles of clean plates. He rolled his cart in front of the area where the utensils and dishes sat, and put his hand into the cups as he lifted and placed them into the inserts that they belonged in. Dirty hands, into clean dishes and soup cups = non sanitary dishes that unsuspecting diners eat from. He never even wore gloves.
While the steam seemed to arise from the inside of the hot plates, the food was never hot. I never found out why. However this meant that the food was sitting in less than the proper temperature was growing bacteria.
This was the last time I ate there, or ate at any Chinese Restaurant or Chinese Buffet again.
The other evening I was watching the nightly news. They had a special report on the ”filthiest Chinese Restaurants” in the area. Way on top of the list was the Chinese Buffet that I had stopped eating at.
The kitchen was filthy! It had dead roaches on the floor, a mouse trap under the sink and packages of frozen chicken sitting in a sink of water defrosting.
Just because what you think looks clean, does not mean that it is clean. Next time you go out to eat at a Chinese Buffet, find a table in front of the buffet table. Watch carefully and you might just agree that sometimes what appears to be clean is not always clean–although this may not be the same at every Chinese Buffet. Many might be very clean.
If in doubt, it is perfectly permissible to ask to see their Health Inspection Report. If they refuse, then it is just as permissible for you to walk out.
