HIALEAH, FL. State inspectors visiting Asian Garden Chinese Food and Sushi Bar at 2451 W 68th Street on April 22 found food from unapproved or unknown sources in the kitchen, a violation that means the restaurant was serving ingredients that had bypassed federal safety inspections entirely, with no traceability if a customer got sick.
That was one of seven high-severity violations documented that day. The restaurant was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The April 22 inspection produced a list that reads like a cascading breakdown of basic food safety practice. Inspectors cited employees for not reporting symptoms of illness, a violation that creates a direct route for pathogens like norovirus to move from a sick worker to a customer's plate. They also cited improper handwashing technique, meaning employees were attempting to wash their hands but doing it wrong, leaving contamination behind.
Toxic chemicals were found improperly stored or labeled near food. That violation is not theoretical: mislabeled or misplaced chemicals can contaminate food directly, and in a kitchen where no person in charge was present or performing duties, there is no one whose job it is to catch that before food leaves the kitchen.
The restaurant was also cited for failing to use time as a public health control properly. At Asian Garden, a sushi bar, that matters acutely. Sushi operations that hold raw fish without adequate temperature control or a properly documented time log are relying on a system that, when misused, allows bacteria to multiply in the danger zone unchecked.
The menu features raw and undercooked fish. Inspectors found no consumer advisory posted to inform customers of that risk, leaving elderly diners, pregnant women, and anyone with a compromised immune system without the information they need to make a safe choice.
What These Violations Mean
Food from an unapproved or unknown source is one of the most serious violations a restaurant can receive, and it is especially significant at a sushi bar. When ingredients bypass USDA and FDA inspection channels, there is no documentation of where the food came from, how it was handled, or whether it was tested for Listeria, Salmonella, or other pathogens. If a customer gets sick, investigators have no supply chain to trace.
The employee illness reporting violation compounds that risk. Norovirus is the leading cause of multi-victim foodborne outbreaks in the United States, and it spreads most efficiently when infected food workers handle food without reporting symptoms. At Asian Garden, inspectors found no system in place to catch that before it reached customers.
Improperly cleaned multi-use utensils, one of the four intermediate violations, are not a minor housekeeping issue. Bacterial biofilms form on inadequately sanitized surfaces within 24 hours and are significantly harder to kill than free-floating bacteria. In a kitchen that also had single-use items being reused, the contamination pathways multiply.
The broken-down toilet facilities and inadequate ventilation round out a picture of a kitchen where basic infrastructure was not being maintained. Employees who cannot easily access functioning restroom facilities are less likely to wash their hands at all, which connects directly back to the improper handwashing violation inspectors also documented on the same day.
The Longer Record
April 22 was not an anomaly. State records show Asian Garden has been inspected 23 times and has accumulated 239 total violations across its history. The restaurant has never been emergency-closed.
The pattern in the prior inspection data is consistent and specific. The October 2024 inspection produced eight high-severity violations and two intermediate. The May 2024 inspection produced the same: eight high, two intermediate. The October 2023 inspection produced seven high-severity violations, exactly matching this week's count. Every inspection on record going back to April 2023 has included at least four high-severity violations.
That is eight consecutive inspections, spanning roughly three years, each with a high-severity violation count ranging from four to eight. The categories have not changed materially. The restaurant has not been closed once.
A follow-up inspection was conducted the day after this report, on April 23. That visit found one high-severity violation and one intermediate, a sharp drop from the prior day's eleven. Whether that reflects genuine correction or the difference between a full inspection and a callback check, the underlying record across 23 inspections speaks for itself.
Still Open
As of the April 22 inspection, Asian Garden Chinese Food and Sushi Bar remained open to the public, serving a menu that includes raw fish, with seven high-severity violations documented by state inspectors that day and no consumer advisory on the wall to tell customers what they were ordering.