[VIDEO] Haidilao Hot Pot Exposed With Unsanitary Conditions
Popular Sichuan hotpot restaurant chain Haidilao (海底捞) has apologized to its customers and shut down two of its Beijing restaurants in response to food safety scandal brought on by an undercover media sting.
Haidilao closed its Jinsong and Taiyanggong branches until further notice on Friday, coinciding with media reports that both locations are either suffering from a rat infestation or are staffed with workers with poor hygenic standards.
Haidilao has verified that the undercover video taken by the Evening Law Report does in fact show the kitchens of its Jinsong and Taiyanggong locations.
In a public statement, Haidilao apologized to its customers, and says it will bear full responsibililty of any legal or economic consequences. The restaurant chain vowed to make rectifications at all of its stores.
"We are deeply saddened and sympathetic with the public revelation of rats and unhygenic conditions at Haidilao restaurants," read the statement in part.
The Beijing Youth Report confirmed both Beijing locations as being closed. When inquiring about the reason for the closure, a restaurant employee explained it was because of "business upgrades."
Video taken by an undercover reporter for Evening Law Report shows a behind-the-scenes glimpse of Haidilao that is extremely unsanitary.
The Jinsong branch of Haidilao is revealed to be infested with rats, one of which passes right in front of the hidden camera (shown above). Meanwhile, workers at the Taiyanggong location are shown to use eating utensils to fix a sewage trough, clean dustpans in a sink for washing dishes, and have a dishwasher of which is caked with food residue inside (shown below).
Both Haidilao branches are located on the Beijing Metro Line 10, with the Jinsong restaurant located just south of Shuangjing and Taiyanggong situated on the ring line's northeast shoulder.
Haidilao is an extremely popular restaurant chain with franchises all over China, almost 40 of which are here in the capital. The hot pot franchise had grown so big that it expanded its first store to the USA in 2013.
Haidilao is well-received by the Beijing expat community who honored it as Chinese Restaurant of the Year in the Beijinger's 2016 Reader Restaurant Awards where it won top awards for "Best Hot Pot," "Best for a Celebration," and "Best for Impressing Visitors." Haidilao also won for "Best Service" consisting of free shoeshines and manicure as well as hand-pulled noodles, something for which the Beijinger marveled as being a "highly entertaining bit of gastronomic gymnastics."
Images: NetEase (163.com), Miaopai.com
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