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DIRTY DINING: HK Seafood Garden and six more

Posted at 10:45 PM, Aug 01, 2016
and last updated 2016-08-02 02:50:39-04

The seven deadly dining sins! 

Beginning with a repeat offender, Contact 13 Chief Investigator Darcy Spears takes us to seven restaurants that were all shut down. 

Tuck in your napkin and get ready for a heaping helping of Dirty Dining.

Within seconds of us walking in to HK Seafood Garden, the person in charge takes off running into the kitchen. 

The restaurant on Spring Mountain Road and Arville Street is a Dirty Dining repeat offender. 

This time, shut down with 45 demerits. 

If you wanted to eat there on inspection day, you'd have to go dumpster diving because it seems most all the food had to be thrown in the trash.

"When the health department came in, they found out that the refrigerator is not working real well and is not reach the safety temperature," said Grant Feng, who helped translate for the owner, who told us she doesn't speak English. 

They blame a too-warm fridge and freezer for most of their violations, including dripping raw ducks and moldy garlic.

Inspectors ordered both the walk-in fridge and freezer to be thoroughly emptied and cleaned due to blood spills in both units on floors and shelving.

The kitchen wasn't clean and there were other dirty issues.

"At the moment that the Health Department inspector came in, we still busy doing the regular kind of rush hour so it's a lot messy," Feng said.

Health inspectors noted a trend of soiled debris build-up on shelving, pots and pans caked with dried flour and debris, and equipment streaked with grease. 

There were also dirty wares stored as clean including colanders, knives, bowls, and a raw fish scaler.

Inspectors noted repeat non-compliance with the rules.

Inspectors saw a food handler spread contamination by rinsing dirty hands over defrosting food in the prep sink. They were using plastic t-shirt bags, including one from Phantom Fireworks, for holding open meat.

And in this restaurant, frogs are food, but inspectors were concerned about live frogs being stored in a bag in the refrigerator. 

There was also food stored on the floor.

Now, on to our list of imminent health hazard closures. 

It's summer, so the roaches are here in force, and some restaurants just can't keep them out. 

Three places were shut down for bug infestations. 

At E-Jo Korean restaurant on East Sahara Avenue near Sixth Street, inspectors saw about 100 multi-generational roaches under the sink, in a container with a sponge and on a food storage lid.

Roberto's Taco Shop on Charleston Boulevard and Buffalo Drive saw its doors closed for gross, unsanitary conditions. 

Inspectors found a fly in shredded chicken on the prep table. There were also flies on tortillas and joining the pest parade -- one roach was observed. 

They also say food -- like an 82-degree tomato -- showed severe signs of temperature abuse.

Hikari Japanese Steak House and Sushi Bar on Buffalo Drive and Flamingo Road was also home to a multi-generational cockroach infestation. There were roach bait traps and powder all around the grill stations, as well as dead roaches throughout the kitchen and cockroach feces on the walls.

At Baja Fresh on Rancho Drive and Craig Road, there were two imminent health hazards -- sewage and refrigeration issues. 

They were re-using shrimp marinade for an unspecified period of time. 

All storage pans were soiled and appeared to be re-used from the previous day. The sink was filthy and equipment was caked with excessive food debris.

Subway on Boulder Highway near Flamingo Road did not have bugs. It was shut down for not having hot water.

And even the Las Vegas Strip was not immune.

The portable bar in the Gossy Room at Caesars Palace was shut down. While Matt Goss was crooning his tunes, employees were serving up drinks with no way to wash their hands. And Jack Daniels was being poured out of a badly broken bottle.

HK Seafood Garden reopened with a 9-demerit A grade. Anything over 10 and they would've failed re-inspection. 

All the other places reopened with zero-demerit A grades.