Melbourne Chinese restaurant CuPanda Kitchen shut down after Peking duck stored with rat poo

A “revolting” mouse-infested Chinese chow shop which served uni students and Vic Market tourists stored cooked meat with rat poo.

Melbourne City Council photos depict filthy conditions at the now closed down A'Beckett Street city Chinese restaurant CuPanda Kitchen. Supplied.

A mouse-infested Chinese restaurant was caught operating in “revolting” conditions which included allowing rat poo to be in contact with cooked meat.

CuPanda Kitchen boss Dianping Zheng pleaded guilty in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Monday to multiple “appalling” Food Act breaches.

Zheng, who represented himself at court, closed his business down after Melbourne City Council health inspectors discovered horrifying breaches during multiple inspections.

The court heard inspectors first hit CuPanda after it received a “complaint regarding alleged food hygiene concerns” in September 2022.

Inspectors ran an eye over CuPanda which Zheng had operated at the ground floor of the old UniLodge building at 106 A’Beckett St.

Council inspectors spotted filth including rat droppings on eating utensils and shelving at the restaurant located in earshot of Victoria Market.

Grease and grime build up, food debris, uncovered raw and cooked food, kitchen and food preparation area clutter, broken taps and inadequate access to hand wash basins were also observed.

Cooked stored in mucky food prep areas.

Inspectors also spotted “unacceptable” breaches including processed food stored uncovered on benches overnight and “large uncovered sauces” stored under a handwash basin.

The council, which also detected rampant rodent activity, ordered CuPanda be shut down immediately.

CuPanda and Zheng were able to rectify the issues and reopen to customers but the council returned almost 12 months later to discover filth had again engulfed the premises.

Inspectors discovered many of the same issues from its 2022 visit and evidence of “live mouse activity” in the food preparation area during last September’s inspection.

Alarmingly, inspectors also discovered rodent droppings in contact with stale meat juice and food including Peking duck and pork belly.

The council also found Zheng failed to “eradicate and prevent the harbourage of pests” in food preparation areas.

Horror conditions at the CuPanda Kitchen.

The council again ordered Zheng be closed down until all breaches were rectified.

CuPanda eventually reopened on October 5 last year but, according to Zheng, closed its doors for good in March this year.

Zheng told the court he owed money to suppliers and other creditors and couldn’t afford to pay the rent due to a lack of student customers.

Zheng also attempted to cry poor claiming he no longer ran any businesses and was unemployed and going through a divorce.

However, Zheng’s claims were debunked in court after council prosecutors indicated the shonky operator “owns and operates” a butcher in “another municipality”.

Poorly store food at CuPanda Kitchen Melbourne.

Zheng, who blamed Covid for his business downfalls, confirmed he owned the butcher shop but his wife “ran it”.

Zheng also claimed his butchery was also losing money because “customers now (buy meat) from supermarkets”.

The prosecution told the court there were “numerous inconsistencies” in Zheng’s plea submissions.

“Your honour, I raise the existence of the butcher that is currently operating and your honour had to pointedly ask twice whether or not Mr Zheng had a financial interest in the butcher,” the prosecution submitted.

‘Mice waste’ on customer plates.

“(Food Act breaches) are inherently serious … such breaches pose significant danger to members of the community who purchase and consume food on the understanding that it has been stored and cooked in a safe manner …

“In not doing so, all unknowing consumers who frequent a food premises are placed at serious risk of harm …

“The conditions maintained in (CuPanda) were appalling and obviously unacceptable to anyone accessing that space …”

Filthy soup pot at CuPanda Kitchen Melbourne.

Magistrate Belinda Franjic was scathing in her evaluation of CuPanda and Zheng’s conduct.

“(The photos) are revolting to look at … they depict premises that were filthy, clearly unhygienic and, even to the most untrained of eyes, clearly fell well short of any food standards and anything that a reasonable person will regard as appropriate conditions for food preparation and storage …,” she said.

“It would have been obvious for anyone who entered and worked at that premises that the standard fell well short of what is expected …

Food and equipment in “close proximity to mice waste”.

“The way the premises presented would have presented a very real risk to the safety of its customers, some of which would’ve had no opportunity to make any assessment at all of the state of the premises …

“This conduct must be condemned by the court in the strongest possible terms and other businesses who are minded to seemingly ignore food safety standards in a similar fashion must be deterred from doing so …”

Zheng and his company Nick & Alex Pty Ltd were convicted and collectively fined $38,000.

Zheng, 52, of Balwyn North, was also ordered to pay Melbourne City Council $11,328 in court costs.