GEORGETOWN: A famous Nasi Kandar shop in Bukit Jambul and a nearby kopitiam were ordered to close after cockroaches were found in the restaurants.
The Nasi Kandar shop was ordered to close for 14 days after Timur Laut district health officials found cockroaches crawling in the vegetable compartment of the restaurant's refrigerator.
The authorities also ordered a nearby kopitiam to close after cockroaches were found on a shelf where drinks are prepared, on its walls and in the eatery's grease traps.
A check on the restaurant also found the area where dishes and cutleries were being washed to be dirty and infested with cockroaches. Food was being prepared along the sidewalk.
A man, believed to be the kopitiam's owner, even tried to provoke the health officials after they shut down the premises.
Timur Laut District Office food quality and safety unit officer M Shashikumaran said the Nasi Kandar shop and kopitiam were among six eateries ordered to close as part of Op Merdeka yesterday.
All the restaurants were closed under the Food Act for various reasons, including hygiene violations.
The operation saw 17 premises being inspected and 21 compounds worth RM20,300 issued to restaurant operators.
Shashikumaran said they also seized expired food items and those without import labels.
These included milk, biscuits and other ingredients worth RM2,624.20.