A local family sits down for dinner and finds unwelcomed guests at the table – maggots in their Chinese take-out

“Don’t go to Chinese Kitchen because their kitchen is filthy,” said Maria Marti who ordered the food.

Marti and her two daughters are sick to their stomachs after ordering Chinese food delivery Friday night only to discover it was full of maggots and they had already started eating.

“I was like, there’s some kind of worm in this food. What is it? And I had to keep looking at it and I’m like, this is a worm. It kinda looked like a caterpillar and then I look and I’m like, these are maggots! I counted at least a dozen and then I stopped after that,” said Marti.

It was Maria’s 12 year old daughter Marlena who first spotted the critters.

Maria immediately snapped some pictures and called the restaurant to complain.

Seven Eyewitness News went to the restaurant looking for answers on Saturday. Once inside the Chinese Kitchen Restaurant located at 224 Elmwood Avenue, we showed employees the pictures of the maggots and asked them what the tiny objects were.

The workers said they had no idea what it was and said that Maria was the only customer to complain.

However, the restaurant said they gave Maria a refund and one cook seemed to indicate that this has happened before.

“I say that happened before because when we cut the broccoli…they find out some of them there’s things from the vegetables. I can’t do anything,” said Brian Weng.

According to the Erie County Health Department’s restaurant inspection database, The Chinese Kitchen had five health inspection violations in May and one critical violation issued for a 60 pound bowl of raw chicken left out and un-refrigerated.

The other violations were for dirty surfaces and food left un-covered and un-protected.