A Chinese takeaway in Sandiacre has been named one of the most loved in the UK, out of 12,000 contenders.

Oriental Chef, in Station Road, came sixth in the top ten takeaways, unveiled by online food ordering platform hungryhouse.co.uk.

Owner Wei Tsang has run the business since 1993, helped by his wife Susie.

“I am over the moon. It is amazing for the company - it's very much teamwork," said Wei.

“Someone called me out of the blue and said you're in the top ten takeaways in the UK and I thought is this real or not? I thought it was a wind-up."

The takeaway serves up a variety of authentic Chinese and Cantonese dishes from sweet and sour and chow mein to curry and foo yung.

“We have new dishes honey sesame chicken and fire cracker chicken which are a massive hit. Everyone loves them," added Wei.

The couple's 16-year-old son Eddie is also on board, making sure the takeaway stays ahead of its rivals by having a strong presence on social media.

Wei said: “We do a lot of videos on Facebook. There is so much competition you have to stand out."

In the annual awards – won by a Thai restaurant in London – more than 12,000 takeaways across the nation are assessed on ratings, reviews, customer loyalty and hygiene.

The UK's Most Loved Takeaways 2017
1) Thai Metro - Soho, London
2) Benz Burgers - Kensal Green, London
3) Home Wok - Glasgow
4) Mish Mash - Birmingham
5) La Mamma - Manchester
6) Oriental Chef - Nottingham
7) Himalayan Gurka - Derby
8) Mr Chan's - Clerkenwell, London
9) The Fryery - Cardiff
10) Hana - Kensal Green, London

Alice Mrongovius, hungryhouse.co.uk chief executive, said: “At hungryhouse.co.uk, we love to celebrate the best takeaway restaurants and the people behind them.

"Not only is it a great pleasure to support these local family businesses, who often don't get the exposure they deserve; it also unearths the best hidden gem restaurants and dishes for our customers to tuck into."

Continue Reading

Story By Nottingham Post

Florida restaurant inspectors’ report describes potentially parasitic raw fish and meat stored in broken coolers, noting that most violations were quickly fixed

Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump’s exclusive Palm Beach country club where the US president has an increasing fondness for entertaining world leaders with dinner and diplomacy, has been cited for a number of serious food safety violations by Florida’s restaurant inspectors.
During a routine visit in January, just days before Trump hosted a now infamous meal on the terrace with the Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, inspectors found three “high priority” violations, including offering diners potentially parasitic raw fish and storing meat in broken coolers at too high a temperature.
Palm Beach confidential: inside Trump's super-rich south Florida social set

Read moreTen other noted violations, which include the presence of rusty shelves in a walk-in cooler and kitchen staff being unable to sanitise their hands properly because of an absence of hot water at sinks, were deemed less serious under Florida’s stringent food safety regulations, yet still damaging to the reputation of the upmarket club that charges a $200,000 initiation fee, and $14,000 a year for membership.
The multiple violations from the 26 January inspection visit are described in a recently published report on the Florida department of business and regulation’s website, and uncovered by the Miami Herald on Wednesday.

According to the report, almost all of the violations were immediately corrected. In the case of the refrigerators, in which poultry, duck, beef and ham were recorded at “potentially hazardous” temperatures up to 16F warmer than the required 41F maximum, Mar-a-Lago staff told the inspectors that one cooler had been incorrectly set to defrost, and called a technician to restore the correct temperature.

The inspectors also wrote that “nonexempt fish offered raw or undercooked has not undergone proper parasite destruction”. They stated the violation had been “corrected on-site” by kitchen staff either fully cooking or discarding the fish.
The more minor hygiene infractions included a food preparer not wearing a hairnet and another employee drinking from an open container in a food preparation area.
State inspectors concluded that Mar-a-Lago’s kitchen did meet minimum standards.
But the columnist Jose Lambiet, who wrote the Miami Herald report, told the Guardian in February that he had never been a fan of the catering at Mar-a-Lago. Trump entertained the Chinese premier, Xi Jinping, there last weekend, and will be spending the upcoming Easter break on his seventh visit “home” since his inauguration 11 weeks ago.
“The food is borderline cafeteria food,” Lambiet said. “The food I got at Mar-a-Lago over the years was sometimes embarrassing. At one point we had lamb, but it wasn’t lamb that you cut in slices and that melts in your mouth, it was like lamb over a bone. [They’re], like, in their tuxedos, eating bones with a little bit of lamb on it.

“You should never be able to go to a party at Mar-a-Lago with subpar food, and it happens a lot.”
Lambiet noted that the club had only two violations in 2015. The increase could be explained in part, he believes, because Trump as president no longer has the time to personally supervise his kitchen staff.
“He’s a hands-on guy, he goes in the kitchens, he goes and makes sure everyone’s served. He’s hands-on when it comes to this kind of business, when it comes to Mar-a-Lago,” Lambiet said.
Bernd Lembcke, Mar-a-Lago’s managing director, did not return the Guardian’s call seeking comment.

Story By the Guardian

Hundreds of hotels in Britain have failed their food hygiene inspections, including establishments with five- and four-star ratings and one with two AA rosettes.

In total, 652 hotels, guesthouses and B&Bs failed their latest food safety inspections for reasons including inspectors discovering seafood past its expiry date, raw meat stored next to sauces and high-risk food stored without temperature controls, according to a survey conducted by Which? Travel.

Included in this number were 19 hotels that were given a zero rating, the lowest possible score.

Among those with failing food hygiene scores was the five-star Royal Horseguards hotel in London and the four-star Novotel hotel in Birmingham, which were both given scores of two. The Novotel received the score for storing “high risk food ... out of temperature control”.
The stories you need to read, in one handy email
Read more

The four-star Imperial Hotel in Norfolk, which in 2015 was awarded the Visit England Rose, recognising excellent service, and the Visit England breakfast award, was given a score of zero in October 2016, due to inspectors’ concerns relating to the production of liver paté on the site and lack of paperwork. The owner of the hotel, Nick Mobbs, said the hotel was due to be reinspected next month and he anticipated an improved score.

Other hotels with failing grades include the four-star Copthorne Hotel in Birmingham, which was given a score of one after inspectors found raw meat stored next to sauces and out-of-date seafood. Best Western’s Dean Court Hotel in York, which has two AA rosettes, was was given a food hygiene rating of one.

Continue Reading

Story By the Guardian