A CHINESE restaurant in Summertown has been slapped with a low food hygiene rating after its special fried rice was blamed for making two people ill.

An infestation of cockroaches was also found in the New Dancing Dragon's kitchen after environmental health officers paid a visit in March.

Inspectors gave the restaurant and bar a two-star rating and ordered it to improve.

Two people were allegedly made ill after eating at the New Dancing Dragon before the visit and inspectors blamed special fried rice cooked and cooled "inadequately".

The city council inspectors also ordered the kitchen be deep cleaned and raw food to be kept in a separate fridge from ready-to-eat foods.

The bar and restaurant, which was recently refurbished, was told to tackle the cockroach infestation immediately.

Manager Kin Lau said most of the work that needed to be done had been completed already.

He added: "We have sorted everything out and are waiting for the council to come back and inspect us at the end of the month.

"We have had the pest control in.

"I’m 100 per cent confident we can turn it around."

The report read: "Total Pest Control have identified a light cockroach infestation in the kitchen by using sticky traps.

"Please request them to develop an action plan and treatment to eradicate the infestation.

It added: "You must cool hot foods within 90 minutes and place them in a refrigerator.

"This will prevent the growth of food poisoning bacteria that make people ill.

"Two people were allegedly made ill after eating at your restaurant on Saturday night and in my opinion the special fried rice that was cooked and cooled inadequately was the likely cause of their illness."

The management was also hit with a hygiene improvement notice, which if not complied with by July 4 could lead to a fine or imprisonment.

The notice related to repairing and replacing the floor covering in the kitchen as it was lifting and missing in sections, meaning it could not be "maintained in a clean condition".

The restaurant scored 'poor' when it came to food hygiene and safety and 'fair' in the structural compliance' category leading to suggested improvements in both.

The report said: "Containers of raw meat were stored next to cooked foods in the freezers in the basement. This poses a risk of cross contamination -– you must allocate one freezer for storage of raw meat only.

"The kitchen must be deep cleaned, especially behind and underneath equipment.

"This will ensure there is no food debris or grease for the cockroaches to feed on."