Out-of-date meat, mouldy pineapple and dirty utensils were among the shocking discoveries at Hong Kong Express in Ryde, which has once again been slapped with a 1-star food hygiene rating – its third in a decade.
Environmental Health officers from the Isle of Wight Council visited the Chinese takeaway and restaurant on Esplanade last month and found expired food, unclear labelling, inadequate cleaning, and multiple breaches of food safety law.
This marks a significant drop for the business, which was rated 3 stars in 2024. Prior to that, it received just 1 star in both 2015 and 2019, and 2 stars in 2016 – highlighting a long-running struggle to maintain consistent food hygiene standards.
During the most recent inspection, officers discovered:
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Numerous containers of cooked meats, rice, shrimp and spring rolls, either unlabelled or labelled with expired dates – some dating as far back as August and September
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A discoloured and potentially mouldy open can of pineapple with no label or record of when it had been opened
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Containers reused without cleaning off old date labels, causing confusion about shelf life
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Food safety logs and temperature records left incomplete for weeks
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A lack of sanitiser on site, meaning equipment used for high-risk food was only washed in hot soapy water
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Evidence that allergen-free meals were being prepared using shared utensils previously exposed to allergens, posing a risk to allergy sufferers
Stock control was a major concern, with inspectors stating that significant improvement is needed. In one example, 6 containers of cooked chicken were found with no labels or clear indication of when they had been prepared or defrosted. Staff were unable to confirm whether the meat was within its safe shelf life.
There were also structural hygiene issues, including cracked floor tiles, dirty wall cladding, and fly access through an open rear door. The area underneath the wok station had a visible build-up of dirt and debris.
The report concluded that there was poor confidence in management to maintain safe standards, citing failures in daily record-keeping, cleaning, and allergen control.
As previously reported by Island Echo, the owner of Hong Kong Express was fined £1,200 in 2014 for breaking food safety regulations. Just a year before, a 15-year-old Island boy died after eating a meal at Hong Kong Express, believing it was nut-free. He died after suffering an anaphylaxis shock.
Won’t be going there then
Another island filth hole that needs closing down.
Omg why is this disgusting place still open? Close it down. The fact a young boy died from eating food that he had an allergy to, obviously no allergen control.? So glad I’ve never eaten there, and nobody else who values their health should? They haven’t taken a blind bit of notice of previous visits from environmental health officials so WHY are they still allowing them to trade?? SHUT THEM DOWN NOW!!!
Total tourist trap. Never understood why it remained open after the tragic death of the child. Can you imagine being the parent reading the owners have learned nothing!?
If it is that bad then the council should force the place to cease trading until they can rectify all issues, allowing these people to threaten peoples health is disgusting.
The public have the ultimate power here and that is just stop buying their food.
Close it down till its up to scratch
I’m not surprised about the out date issue after seeing Chinese turn up at afternoon 2nd reduction time and filling up or 2 trolleys up at Morrisions in Newport.