Thu Apr. 02 2009 8:56:23 AM
Infestations plague 4 more Chinatown-area restaurants
cp24.com
A closed sign is seen on the window of a Chinatown-area restaurant on Thursday, April 2, 2009. (CP24/Mathew Reid)
Health inspectors have shut down four restaurants in the Chinatown/Kensington Market area's latest round of closures due to rodent or cockroach infestation.
Ba Le Sandwiches and Kim Vietnamese Restaurant, both located on Dundas Street west of Spadina Avenue; and Chieng Mai Thai Cuisin and Liu Liu Hot Pot, both on Baldwin Street, have been shut down over the past month.
Chieng Mai Thai has since reopened for business.
Another local business that produces tofu and other soy products was also ordered to be closed by inspectors on March 2.
Fong On Foods was ordered to pay a $25,000 fine after being convicted on food contamination and cockroach infestation charges, the National Post reports.
Residents of the condos located across the street from the Baldwin Street businesses tell CP24 they feel unsettled to see the closures, but say those who live in the neighbourhood know where not to eat.
Members of the Chinatown BIA say they are dismayed but not surprised, and they are doing their best to improve on hygiene in the area.
The owner of a store located beside one of the Baldwin Street restaurants says news of the infested businesses is hurting the reputation of the other restaurants that are compliant.
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Comments are now closed for this story
April 02, 2009 at 8:38:14 AM
Gio - The Wild Wild West - West of Toronto
....wait until the Summer and warmer temperatures ! Infestations INSIDE, rotting vegetables and piles of garbage
OUTSIDE the establishments in that area.....
April 02, 2009 at 9:11:36 AM
Mark
it seems easy to keep pointing out chinatown. but does anyone realize that KENSINGTON MARKET has the same issues? the restaurants in the market have constantly been plagued by vermin and filth.
April 02, 2009 at 9:59:18 AM
Abi
vermin is a downtown problem not just chinatown and kensington.
Anywhere you go from yorkville to front street will have rats and cockroaches. Our community has been dealing with the bad garbage reputation for years, and we have done a significant clean up over the years.
I think the city needs to inspect their own sewers and ammeneties.
April 02, 2009 at 10:15:50 AM
Maggie Kay
No the city is not doing enough period!
people are so aware now. But thanks God we forget.
I have had the unfortunate opportunity to be in a same public washroom in a food establishment and the lady owner while chatting with me happily didn't even wash her hands before taking over her station.
How sick is that! i had to collect my children and leave.I would urge the city to not allow even the waterless disinfectants before food handling.
What's wrong with proper soap and running water?
April 02, 2009 at 11:22:16 AM
Mike
Close them, throw away the keys and never let them re-open. Also ban the owners from opening establishments in the future.
This is food we are talking about, there should be ZERO tolerance and severe punishments.
April 02, 2009 at 11:59:46 AM
Queerky
Tip of the iceberg. Rats and cockroaches nest in the junk shops too. It needs an area wide de-contamination to keep clean. The sidewalk on Spadina between Baldwin and Dundas is an unpoliced extension of the grocery shops. There is less merchandise in the stores than on the sidewalk. Sometimes there are vendors at the crosswalk even. A plague waiting to happen!
April 02, 2009 at 12:14:41 PM
Alex
The advice is - do your homework before entering the place.Otherwise you may get surprised soon or later at your GP checkup.
April 02, 2009 at 12:25:51 PM
Linda
Chinatown is the filthiest part of the city. I remember one summer while in the area, the stink and the stench of fish blood along the city sidewalk and the mounds of garbage is outrageous. Any wonder rodents and cockroaches infestation exist.
The city of Toronto should reconsider providing license for operating restaurants and grocery stores.
PS
Remember the SARS.
April 02, 2009 at 1:22:19 PM
Darren
You got to hear the part where Adam Vaughan loses it when being asked questions by the reporter.
April 02, 2009 at 1:30:42 PM
DerrickR
I always refer to the city of Toronto web site for restaurant inspections. It's a great resource! Every restaurant in that filthy area has been warned or closed at one time or another....I wouldn't eat there if you paid me.
April 02, 2009 at 1:49:09 PM
Jillian
You eat in Chi-Town be prepared to sit on the toilet for an hour, I was so sick the last time I ate there we haved vowed to NEVER go back!
April 02, 2009 at 2:28:40 PM
Dianne
Please be careful of the prejudice in your comments. SARS had nothing to do with cockroaches or rodents.
I've encountered both of these things in apartments and houses all over the city--all in nicer areas. Of course the city should keep working on finding solutions, but there are no easy solutions to getting rid of such a wide-spread problem. The fact is that when you have a lot of people living together in a big city, you have opportunistic species such as cockroaches and rodents.
April 02, 2009 at 2:31:22 PM
Darcy
Dont go crazy about these stories. I have worked in restaurants for 10 years and I can asure you restaurant managers take the cleanliness of the business very seriously. Common sense can rule in this situation if you are suspicious of the hygiene of certain establishment dont eat there. The Ministry of Health does more then enough inspections on restaurants. They are the very critical no nonsense kind of people.
April 02, 2009 at 3:32:31 PM
Gilles
Here's a simple solution I swear by....
Stay home and cook! and in rare occasion you want to eat out, stick with the higher class franchise establishments like The Keg, Jack Astors and others etc..
April 02, 2009 at 3:52:10 PM
Lucy
To Linda:
What the hell does SARS have to do with Restaurant contamination?
April 02, 2009 at 4:43:57 PM
Cameron
I avoid Chinatown like the plague in the summer because the stench is so overpowering. How can you sell produce and especially fish in 30C temperatures.
April 02, 2009 at 5:10:24 PM
Tony
To Linda-
Please read up on what SARS is before posting and ignorant comment like that.
The problem is not just in Chinatown, it's all of downtown. Look at yonge st., same problem there.
April 02, 2009 at 5:26:14 PM
Sue
Chi Resturants always have rats and cockroaches
Every time I walk by I see rat or mices run so I tell manager but they dont do anything about it so I just got up and walk out and never go back again BAD MARKETING IF THEY WANT TO DO BETTER THEN THEY SHOULD GET RID OF OLD FOOD AND BLEACH THE WHOLE PLACE
RAT POISONS.
April 02, 2009 at 5:46:20 PM
Mike
I've been eating in chinatown all my life and never had any problems. The food is great and the price is right.
Granted chinatown doesn't always smell the greatest but what are they suppose to do with all that garbage? This is downtown Toronto, they have to put the garbage on the curb for the city to pick it up.
Its not just Chinatown that has a rodent issue, downtown in general does. So stop putting blame on Chinatown, blame the city.
April 02, 2009 at 5:47:22 PM
^_^
do you think only chinatown restaurants are dirty?
I have been working in some restaurants including busiest fast food restaurant.
FYI,the kitchen people don't even wash their hands after mop the floor or change the garbage. There are so many customers line up and they have to make the order ready on time to avoid complaint from customer.
And I have been working at nice expensive restaurant as well.
Some kitchen staff did the same thing.You just need to see how chaos in the kitchen during rush hour.
So... if you want eat 100% clean food,just cook at home :)
April 03, 2009 at 12:10:30 AM
Robert
Who cares!? I mean, really.
April 03, 2009 at 3:10:23 AM
Han Shu
next you're going to tell me to shop at higher class grocery stores like loblaws? oh that's right, didn't one just close recently for a rodent problem as well?