Well, of course they’d be violating the law and license requirements and health codes and whatnot if they were serving roadkill venison as beef or seagull as chicken. But it’s not clear that that’s what they were doing or planning to do, as I see it.
The article says they were “closed for serving seagull...” Was it actually proved by the police or health inspectors that they were serving seagull, or did the police close them on the basis of the rumors?
If it was proven, where’s the newspaper reports about it from that time? How much were they fined? Was it on the menu as seagull?
It’s not against the law to prepare your own food in your own restaurant’s kitchen, is it?
I actually don’t know if they were closed for serving seagull... Truthfully, it’s been one of those things that’s been said around town, but I’ve never actually seen it first-hand. Apparently the police confirmed that it was true, but why it wasn’t made available to the public (like in this instance) is beyond me.
I don’t see anything wrong with preparing your own food in your restaurant’s kitchen. I think it’s the image it conjures up that turns people off, in their case. The restaurant is your typical Chinese dive: very small quarters, very hot, very greasy. That, coupled with the butchered deer, probably at the very least created the illusion that something unhealthy was going on.
I’ve always preferred the other Chinese restaurant in town. It’s much, much cleaner and the kitchen is more visible.