A New Taipei City hotpot restaurant could be fined after a rat dropped from the ceiling and landed on a customer’s plate last week, the New Taipei City Department of Health said yesterday after conducting an inspection.
A woman recently posted on the “I am a Banciao resident” (我是板橋人) social media group saying that she had been eating with a friend at Chien Tu Shabu Shabu Hotpot Restaurant’s Shuangshi B branch in Banciao District (板橋).
“While still eating, a big rat suddenly dropped down from the ceiling, landing on a plate next to a hotpot,” she said.
Photo: Screen grab from the “I am a Banciao resident” Facebook page
“Later on, a member of staff picked the rat and the plate up with a rag,” she said, posting a video of the incident.
“We were in shock, and did not care to finish the meal, and gathered our stuff and left in a hurry,” she wrote.
The management at Chien Tu on Sunday apologized and announced that the branch’s store would be closed for two days for sanitation work.
Chien Tu said it had emphasized hygiene since it began operating 27 years ago, and the rat was likely due to disinfection work undertaken around the store’s exterior, which drove it inside.
The health department yesterday said an inspection of the B branch from Sunday to yesterday found health code violations under the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation (食品安全衛生管理法), and the store was told to improve its hygiene conditions.
The store could be fined NT$60,000 to NT$200 million (US$1,901 to US$6.34 million) if it does not pass an inspection at the end of this week, it said.
Asked why the restaurant’s Shuangshi A branch, which is across the street, was not closed, health officials said the two restaurants are owned and operated by different people, and each has its own kitchen and conduit pipelines.
However, they added that health violations had been found at both restaurants, and the branch had been asked to make changes.
Additional reporting by Jason Pan
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