Restaurant Inspections: Hong Kong Cafe Turns it Around

The state health department recently visited the Hong Kong Cafe in Lorton for a follow-up inspection. The Lorton restaurant had a number of violations on March 5, including improper handling of raw food and improperly using pesticides in the kitchen area.  

Hong Kong Cafe

9441 Lorton Market St.

Date of inspection: March 28

This was a follow-up inspection after a March 5 visit, when the Health department found seven critical violations. There were no critical violations in the follow-up visit. 

Non Critical: The hinges of a walk-in cooler were not working. 

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For prior restaurant inspection reports, click here.

In Virginia, restaurant inspection reports aren't quite as simple as getting a letter grade or an easy-to-see number rating to post in the front window.

Inspectors grade restaurants based on critical and non-critical violations. A "critical violation" is one that "poses a direct or immediate threat to the safety of the food being served." Non-critical violations are generally related to cleaning or maintenance.

"Ideally, an operation would have no critical violations, or none which are not corrected immediately and not repeated. In our experience, it is unrealistic to expect that a complex, full-service food operation can routinely avoid any violations," according to Virginia Department of Health's website.

The site continues: "Keep in mind that any inspection report is a 'snapshot' of the day and time of the inspection. On any given day, a restaurant could have fewer or more violations than noted in the report. An inspection conducted on any given day may not be representative of the overall, long-term cleanliness of an establishment."

The full reports can be accessed on the health department's website.

About this column: A round-up of inspection reports from Lorton and the surrounding areas.Related Topics: Restaurant Inspections