Golden Cafe was 58 years of HK cha chaan teng history — then 40 stores became none

Golden Cafe (金記冰室), one of Hong Kong's most recognized local cha chaan teng chains, was ordered wound up by the High Court on October 22, 2025. The chain started as a dai pai dong (street stall) in 1967 and grew to more than 40 branches across Hong Kong. By the time of the court order, only a handful remained.

The chain's collapse was caused by chronic financial mismanagement. Golden Cafe defaulted on rent across multiple locations, failed to pay employee salaries, and was taken to court by the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority for HK$720,000 in unpaid MPF contributions. Creditors petitioned for winding up, and the government's Protection of Wages on Insolvency Fund took over the case.

In the months before the closure, it emerged that Golden Cafe's business had been secretly transferred twice. A new entity, 'Golden Xi Catering' (金浠餐飲), had taken over operations, but the brand and its debts could not escape each other. The chain's decline mirrored a broader crisis in Hong Kong's local dining scene, where rising rents, labour shortages, and changing consumer habits squeezed traditional cha chaan teng chains.