Chinatown adds a lot of spice and bite to Toronto's multicultural flavour and the area boasts incredible food and restaurants.
But that charm isn't all that some city food inspectors find. The Chinatown and the Kensington Market area are among the locations in the city that get the most "red cards" in the pass/conditional/fail system used to rate restaurant cleanliness.
But advocates point out they're also the most heavily targeted. Since
CityNews brought you exclusive video of
rats at a local restaurant in the area last month, new scrutiny has been focused on that part of town.
But some say it's getting a bad rap. "Chinatown is working very hard," insists Councillor Adam Vaughan. "Are they perfect? No. Are they inspected? Yes. Is the food safe? Absolutely."
City records show six of Chinatown's eateries have been shut down in 2008 and 24 were given conditional passes - all within 2½ kilometres of each other.
CityNews found instances of back alleys strewn with garbage, a food source for vermin which often find their way into the adjoining buildings.
Vaughan blames a number of factors, including density and illegal dumping. "The city has not been doing fair by Chinatown on the illegal dumping ... You've got to deal with the residential waste that's generated in this neighbourhood."
See part one of this series here.
Here's a look at City records from its
Dine Safe Program. It lists those establishments - including diners and grocery stores - that have received "RED" violations resulting in closures, and "YELLOW" violations, which led to sanctions from the Toronto Department of Health and Safety.
Please note: All information is supplied from the City of Toronto's
DineSafe site.
CityNews is not responsible for discrepancies between information posted here and inspection reports posted at the food premise, or the
DineSafe site.
And it's also important to remember that businesses that received a sanction may only have been found to have an isolated instance of problems that were immediately cleaned up, and the restaurant or store was reopened with no further troubles.
PAST CLOSURES (2007-2008)
(Note: Does not indicate current status. For current status, please visit the
Toronto DineSafe Site.)
YELLOW: Conditional pass: food safety inspection notice will be issued when one or more significant infractions are observed under the Food Premises Regulation during an inspection.
RED: Closed: food safety inspection notice will be issued when one or more crucial infractions are observed under the Food Premises Regulation that present an immediate health hazard that cannot be correct during an inspection.
CHINATOWN
SPADINA AVE. - Dundas to College
Asian FoodMart Spadina
247 Spadina Avenue
YELLOW - Feb 4, 2008 INADEQUATE PEST CONTROL
YELLOW - Jan 30, 2008
YELLOW - Oct 24, 2007 INADEQUATE PEST CONTROL
RED - Feb 22, 2007 INADEQUATE PEST CONTROL
Oriental Harvest
310 Spadina Ave.
YELLOW - Oct 24, 2008
YELLOW - Aug 20, 2008
YELLOW - Aug 18, 2008
Banh Mi & Che Cali
318 Spadina Ave.
RED - Feb 19, 2008 INADEQUATE PEST CONTROL
Condition for closure: Operator fail to prevent gross unsanitary conditions
YELLOW - Dec 5, 2007
Chinatown Centre Delight
222 Spadina Avenue
YELLOW - Sept 16, 2008
RED - July 28, 2008 INADEQUATE PEST CONTROL
Reason for closure: Operator fail to prevent an insect infestation
Dumpling House Restaurant
328 Spadina Ave.
RED - Feb 15, 2008 INADEQUATE PEST CONTROL
Condition for closure: Operator fail to prevent gross unsanitary conditions
Tiem Banh Mi DIEU KY Food Inc.
336 Spadina Ave.
YELLOW- June 6, 2008
YELLOW- May 6, 2008
YELLOW- Feb 19, 2008
YELLOW - Jan 10, 2007
Happy Meat Market Ltd.
340 Spadina Ave.
YELLOW- Oct 17, 2007
YELLOW- May 10, 2007
Bright Pearl Seafood Restaurant
346 Spadina Ave.
YELLOW - Oct 10, 2008 INADEQUATE PEST CONTROL
PHO Hung Vietnamese Restaurant
350 Spadina Ave.
YELLOW - Oct 8, 2008 INADEQUATE PEST CONTROL
Happy Seven Restaurant
358 Spadina Ave.
RED- October 9, 2008 INADEQUATE PEST CONTROL
Condition for closure: Operator fail to prevent a rodent infestation
YELLOW- Oct 2, 2007 INADEQUATE PEST CONTROL
New Ho King Restaurant
416 Spadina Ave.
YELLOW - Oct. 17, 2008
CLOSED- Aug 14, 2008 INADEQUATE PEST CONTROL
Condition for closure: Operator fail to prevent an insect infestation
YELLOW - June 2, 2008 INADEQUATE PEST CONTROL
Lucky Dragon
418 Spadina Ave.
YELLOW - Nov 3, 2008 INADEQUATE PEST CONTROL
YELLOW- Aug 15, 2008 INADEQUATE PEST CONTROL
YELLOW- Jan 14, 2008
YELLOW- May 8, 2007
YELLOW- Feb 7, 2007 INADEQUATE PEST CONTROL
Downtown Standard
421 Spadina Ave.
YELLOW- May 30, 2008
Kom Jug Yuen Restaurant
371 Spadina Ave.
YELLOW- Oct 23, 2008
YELLOW- Sept 8, 2008
My Chaffy Dish
357 Spadina Ave.
YELLOW- Aug 27, 2007
Sang's Great Food
343 Spadina Ave.
YELLOW- Aug 30, 2007
Ding Dong Pastries & Café
321 Spadina Ave.
RED- Sept 18, 2008 INADEQUATE PEST CONTROL
Condition for closure: Operator fail to prevent a rodent infestation
YELLOW- May 9, 2007
Swatow Restaurant
309 Spadina Ave.
RED- Oct. 14, 2008 INADEQUATE PEST CONTROL
Condition for closure: Operator fail to prevent an insect infestation
The Red Room Cafe
444 SPADINA AVE
RED - October 29, 2008 INADEQUATE PEST CONTROL