Dun Nai Lo spent 44 years as a HK milk dessert chain — then 24 stores became none

Dun Nai Lo (燉奶佬), a Hong Kong chain that started as a dessert stall in 1981 selling steamed milk pudding, double-skin milk, and ginger milk curd, closed its last branch in Mei Foo on May 29, 2025. The brand had grown to 24 stores across Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, and the New Territories at its peak. Its last two years saw a steady retreat: the Tin Shui Wai branch closed in December 2024, and only Mei Foo remained until the final shutters came down.

The chain was founded by Cheng Lin-hao (鄭連校), who opened the first store on Portland Street in Mong Kok in 1982. Over the decades Dun Nai Lo evolved from a niche dessert shop into a full cha chaan teng chain, and at its peak employed over 400 staff serving more than 300,000 customers monthly. It also developed a retail packaged food line under the brand 'Dun Nai Lo Chef', built a central kitchen and logistics centre, and standardized its operations.

Despite these efforts, the chain could not reverse its decline. Changing consumer tastes — younger Hong Kongers preferring trendy Taiwanese taro balls or Japanese matcha desserts over traditional steamed milk — eroded its core customer base. High rents, the rise of food delivery platforms taking a large commission, and the post-pandemic shift of Hong Kong residents travelling north to mainland China all compounded the pressure. The Mei Foo branch's lease expiry was the final trigger.