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A North Shore Malaysian restaurant that had been slapped a D-rating by Auckland Council following the discovery of rodent droppings has been returned to an A-grade after its latest inspection.

Alan Ahmu, team leader environmental health response, Auckland Council confirmed Langkawi Malaysian Restaurant received an A-grade on Wednesday.

“A food safety officer visited yesterday and found that they had complied with all the requirements of the improvement notice, with significant work carried out to prevent the entry of pests to the building,” Ahmu said.

“Deep cleaning had also been completed and no signs of vermin were observed.”

Henry Hew, owner of the Langkawi Malaysian Restaurant in Milford, says he is relieved at getting back the A grade. Photo / Jason Oxenham

Co-owner of the restaurant Henry Hew said he was relieved at getting back the A-grading, and the business had been hard hit by the rodent complaint saga.

“On the first two nights after the Herald reported the D-grade, we had no customers at all,” Hew said.

“Now I think we are still about half the business to what we had before all this happened.”

Hew and his business partners took over Langkawi just over a year ago with a plan to serve affordable Malaysian meals.

The restaurant is known for its $9.99 Hainanese chicken rice set and other cheap and cheerful Malaysian noodles and dishes.

Langkawi Malaysian Restaurant serves cheap and cheerful meals, like this $9.99 Hainanese chicken rice set. Photo / Jason Oxenham

“Our pricing means our profit margin is very low, so when we lose customers, it becomes very tough for the business,” he said.

Hew said they had spent upwards of $4000, working with a council-recommended pest control company, and implemented more stringent waste management, rubbish disposal, and secure storage practices.

“We have also sealed all the holes and every other possible entry points to stop pests from coming in,” he said.

The Langkawi saga started when a customer claimed she encountered a live rat in the eatery’s bathroom and posted her “most traumatic experience” on Facebook and Google Review.

Restaurant staff Mandy Huang installs the new food grade certificate. Photo / Jason Oxenham

She said she realised it was a rat when she stood on it and it squealed loudly.

The customer lodged a complaint with Auckland Council, and a food safety officer visited the restaurant and identified evidence of rodent droppings and maintenance issues.

Ahmu said that of the 54 food businesses in the Milford area verified by the council in the past year, none were known or identified by the environmental health team to have issues with rodents, and slapped it with a D-grading.

“Langkawi is the only food business in the Milford area known by the council to have had issues with rodents in the past year as the result of a complaint,” he said.

He said an unscheduled verification will take place within the next few months to confirm that the business was continuing to comply with its food control plan, including pest control requirements.