Hong Kong chain Hui Lau Shan is shutting its last store at the end of November, marking the end of an era for the city’s local dessert scene.
According to HK01, Hui Lau Shan’s last remaining outlet—in Yau Tong’s Domain shopping center—attracted customers young and old over the weekend, all of them keen to make a last trip to the 60-year-old dessert chain.
“It’s a lot busier today,” a vendor at the shop told HK01.
Founded in the 1960s as a traditional desserts store, Hui Lau Shan first sold classics like herbal jelly and herbal tea. It wasn’t until the 1980s when it began offering more contemporary sweet treats—like coconut desserts and red bean jelly—that the store began making a name for itself.
In 1992, Hui Lau Shan introduced its mango pomelo sago, which soon became a signature dish. Other mango-themed combinations on their menu, like mango with glutinous rice balls and mango with mochi, are also popular.
Hui Lau Shan opened dozens of stores in Hong Kong, renting high-traffic spots in shopping districts like Causeway Bay and Tsim Sha Tsui.
The chain expanded globally over the decade, with outlets in mainland China, Singapore and Australia, among other countries. At its peak, Hui Lau Shan had 260 stores worldwide.
Its website is not updated and it is unclear how many are still in business. A vendor at a Hui Lau Shan store in Singapore said that the outlets in the country are not related to operations in Hong Kong.
Hui Lau Shan has reportedly been in the red in recent years. The chain faced legal action in 2020 for months of unpaid rent.
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