ORLANDO, FL. The day after China Lee on South Kirkman Road was allowed to reopen from an emergency roach closure, inspectors returned and found staff with no demonstrated knowledge of food allergens, improper sewage disposal, and food contact surfaces that had not been properly cleaned or sanitized.
That was September 23, 2026. The restaurant was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The September 23 inspection produced 7 high-severity violations and 4 intermediate ones, for a total of 11 documented problems. No person in charge was present or performing duties at the time of the visit.
Inspectors cited improper handwashing technique, meaning employees were attempting to wash their hands but doing so incorrectly, leaving pathogens on their skin. They also found no written employee health policy, no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked foods, and inadequate shell stock identification records for shellfish the restaurant was handling.
Single-use items were being reused. Multi-use utensils were not properly cleaned. And sewage or wastewater was not being disposed of correctly.
What These Violations Mean
The allergen violation is the one that most directly threatened customers on September 23. Food allergies affect 32 million Americans, and reactions send roughly 30,000 people to emergency rooms each year. When kitchen staff cannot demonstrate allergen awareness, a customer who discloses a peanut or shellfish allergy has no reliable protection, because the person preparing their food does not know what cross-contact means or how to prevent it.
The sewage violation compounds that risk. Improper wastewater disposal creates pathways for fecal contamination throughout a facility. Raw sewage carries bacteria including E. coli and Salmonella, and when disposal is inadequate, those pathogens can reach food preparation surfaces, utensils, and hands.
The food contact surface violation and the multi-use utensil citation together suggest that contamination from one food item could transfer to the next. Improperly cleaned surfaces are a primary vehicle for bacterial transfer, and utensils that are not fully sanitized can harbor bacterial biofilms that resist standard cleaning within 24 hours of forming.
The shell stock traceability violation matters for a different reason. Shellfish, including oysters, clams, and mussels, are high-risk foods often consumed raw or lightly cooked. Without proper identification records, there is no way to trace a contaminated batch if customers become ill after eating them.
The Longer Record
China Lee has 77 inspections on record and 1,551 total violations documented across its history. That is not a facility with a bad week. That is a facility with a pattern stretching across years of inspections.
The restaurant has been emergency-closed eight times in its recorded history. Three of those closures occurred in the ten weeks before this inspection. Inspectors shut it down on July 7 for roach and rodent activity, allowed it to reopen on July 8, and found 8 high-severity violations on that same reopening day. They shut it down again on July 21 for roach and rodent activity, allowed it to reopen July 22, and found 5 high-severity violations on that day as well.
Then came September. Inspectors closed the restaurant on September 22 for roach activity, citing 11 high-severity violations and 5 intermediate ones on that day alone. The restaurant was cleared to reopen September 24. The September 23 inspection, the one producing this story's 7 high-severity violations, fell in the single day between that closure and that reopening.
The September 24 follow-up inspection, the one that cleared the restaurant to reopen, still found 6 high-severity violations and 4 intermediate ones.
The Facility Remained Open
State inspectors documented no allergen awareness among staff, improper sewage disposal, unclean food contact surfaces, no employee health policy, no posted advisory for raw or undercooked foods, and no responsible manager on site. They documented 11 violations in a single visit at a restaurant that had been emergency-closed the day before for roach activity.
China Lee was not closed on September 23, 2026.
Customers who ate there that day had no way of knowing that the person preparing their food had demonstrated no knowledge of food allergens, that the surfaces their food touched had not been properly sanitized, or that wastewater was not being disposed of correctly on the premises. The restaurant's 77 inspections and 1,551 cumulative violations are a matter of public record. The doors were open.
