KEITH T. DENNETT | New South | CONTACT
In good news for local foodies, a cherished Chinese restaurant will be reopening this week after being given the all-clear by food safety authorities.
The Advocate understands that the Happy Garden Restaurant has had its licence to trade renewed after being thoroughly inspected by a team of Queensland Health officials.
Forced to shut down last week following an incident that saw an image of an uncooked chicken foot doing the rounds in local Facebook community groups, the Happy Garden had cast a sad, empty shadow over Betoota’s usually booming main street.
Of course, last month’s “feet in the soup” incident is just the latest in a long line of PR disasters that Happy Garden has had to navigate over the past decade.
Locals will remember the “pube in the fried ice cream” debacle of 2022, and the “mystery magpie stir-fry” saga that played out during lockdown.
But it appears the Happy Garden will live to sizzle another day, after convincing health officials that it’s simply too good of an establishment to remain closed forever.
“We found nothing untoward in the kitchen, the fridges, or the waste area, the whole operation got five stars from us,” food safety auditor Duncan Dooley told The Advocate, while wearing a white business shirt completely covered in sweet & sour sauce and splatters of black bean beef.
“The sizzling mongolian lamb was so hot and fiery, there’s not a chance any bad bacteria could survive that koi fish hot plate.”
“The joint is good to go, and may I suggest trying the garlic king prawns. They’re worth the three days of bad breath afterwards.”
The Jade Garden will be reopening Sunday evening and is now accepting bookings for corporate long lunch packages over the EOFY period.
The Advocate was not paid for this story, we did however enjoy a free succulent Chinese meal as part of the investigation.
