Planning on heading to Sizzling Wok at St. Vital for lunch? Think again… the food court restaurant has voluntarily shut down after a Winnipeg couple found a Baby Rodent in their food. Above is an actual photo of the rodent.

It is not clear yet exactly what kind of rodent it is, a baby mouse or rat, but it is obvious that it isn’t part of Combo 1. (I am going to spare you the stereotypical Asian food jokes that are supposed to come in about here)

Health investigators hope to determine where the rodent actually came from. At this point it unclear if it came from the restaurant itself or the supplier.

The restaurant will not re-open until it is cleared by health inspectors – but really, this is the kind of thing that a business wont be able to recover from.

UPDATE: The Sizzling Wok at St. Vital has reopened and has released a statement… click here to read it.

I apologize in advance if I just ruined your lunch/dinner. Unfortunately, this news is probably going to take a big hit on Winnipeg’s Asian restaurants/food industry. With all the stereotypes out there about Asian food, I hope this doesn’t discourage you. Things like this can happen anywhere – not only Asian restaurants. Manager of Public Health Inspection Programs Mike LeBlanc says this sort of thing does not happen very often. Unfortunately it had to happen here.

Official Statement from Sizzling Wok:
The Sizzling Wok group of companies wishes to express its regret that a customer has reported finding a foreign substance served with a meal purchased from the unit in the St. Vital Centre.

This is clearly a serious matter and the unit was immediately closed for inspection and cleaning voluntarily by the operator in cooperation with the landlord and the local health authorities.

The unit has been thoroughly inspected by the operator and by local health authorities and has been allowed to open.

The Health Inspection conducted on May 11, 2009 did not find any evidence of any mice or other rodent infestation in a survey of the kitchen or storage areas of the unit.

The report noted that the bait stations located in the unit were empty and there was no evidence of gnawing by mice.

The St. Vital Centre unit has never had any other reports of foreign substances found in the food served and has never had any sort of rodent infestation.

The Sizzling Wok Group of companies is committed to providing the best in food served in a timely manner to its customers.

SOURCE