Blend of old and new as iconic tea house reopens

The 135-year-old Lin Heung Tea House will reopen at the same site in Central on Monday and will be run by the same staff before it closed in 2022 amid the pandemic.

Although it has a new boss, the tea house has employed former staff to be in charge of daily operations and will maintain the yum cha culture, including making tea in traditional pots and selling dim sum from carts. It will also maintain its old menu.

To attract young customers, a beverage shop will be added to the ground floor of the two-story restaurant on Wellington Street.

The beverage shop will offer hand-shaken drinks made with the restaurant's traditional tea leaves.

Founded in 1889 in Guangdong, the Cantonese restaurant is famous for dim sum dishes that are seldom seen in modern restaurants - including pork liver siu mai, roast pork belly buns and lace fat-wrapped beef balls.

A trial run was held on Monday, with the restaurant asking customers to "please forgive us for any mistakes."

The restaurant, now owned and operated by New Golden Ltd, was renovated to make its environment cleaner and more aesthetically pleasing than before.

In the past four years, Lin Heung Tea House experienced several ups and downs.

It had also closed in 2019 when it failed to renew its lease and was later taken over and renamed Lin Heung Cafe by former staff, with a plan to continue leasing the site for three years under a franchise model.

The fourth-generation heirs of the restaurant, the Ngan family, took over in March 2020 and reinstated its former name. The restaurant shut down again in August 2022.

Over the years, it has attracted celebrities, including food critic Chua Lam, director Stephen Chow Sing-chi and actor Anthony Wong Chau-sang.

adelyn.lau@singtaonewscorp.com