Restaurant admits serving tourists with leftovers

A famous restaurant in Taiwan has been revealed to be serving leftover dishes to mainland tourist groups.

The action came to light after a 14-minute video, taken by a former employee of the Baishawan restaurant in Taitung county, emerged showing leftovers being served, in an attempt to cut costs according to a report on www.chinanews.com.

The report estimated more than 10,000 tourists had eaten the leftovers.

The restaurant owner first denied the accusation, but later admitted it, blaming the decision on the restaurant’s manager, and claiming the company’s senior management knew nothing about it.

The manager has since been fired, and the owner has made a public apology.

The local health bureau has ordered the restaurant to sort out the problem, or face a potential fine of NT$60,000 to NT$6 million ($2,070 to $206,700).

The 10-year old outlet is popular among not only mainland tourists but also local residents.

According to statistics provided by the China National Tourism Administration, a record 1.97 million mainland tourists visited Taiwan last year, up 58 percent from 2011.