Tsui Wah Restaurant (SEHK1314) (traditional Chinese: 翠華餐廳; simplified Chinese: 翠华餐厅; Jyutping: ceoi3 waa4 caan1 teng1; pinyin: Cuìhuá Cāntīng) is a chain of tea restaurants (cha chaan teng) owned by Tsui Wah Holdings Limited, headquartered in Hong Kong. The restaurants serve Hong Kong-style food.[1]

Tsui Wah Restaurant Group
Company typePublic
IndustryRestaurants
Founded1967; 57 years ago (1967) in Mong Kok
FounderChoi Cheung Po
Headquarters
Number of locations
51 (2022)
Areas served
Hong Kong, Macau, China, Singapore
Key people
Lee Kun Lun Kenji (CEO)
Websitetsuiwah.com
Tsui Wah Holdings Limited
Traditional Chinese翠華控股有限公司
Simplified Chinese翠华控股有限公司
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinCuìhuá Kònggǔ Yǒuxiàngōngsī
Yue: Cantonese
Jyutpingceoi3 waa4 hung3 gu2 jau5 haan6 gung1 si1
Tsui Wah Group Centre in Ngau Tau Kok
The entrance to the Tsui Wah Restaurant on Wellington Street

As of 2022, the group has 51 branches[2] in Hong Kong, Macau, mainland China and Singapore. The possibly best-known one was on Wellington Street near Lan Kwai Fong, but this has now closed and has surrendered its lease due to trading problems surrounding the COVID-19 epidemic. Affected by COVID-19 lock-downs, the group surrendered leases of many of its locations in Hong Kong; during peak-Covid in 2020, it closed twelve locations at once.[3][4]

Background

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Mr. Choi Cheung Po first opened TsuiWah Ice Dining Room (冰室), the predecessor of Tea Restaurant, in 1967 in Mong Kok. By the time of his retirement in 1989, the company had grown to seven branches, including the first one branded as TsuiWah Tea Restaurant, in San Po Kong, Kowloon.

Originally, the restaurant was intended for the use of construction workers, and the food was cheap and service efficient. As the business grew, it began to target more middle-class customers such as white-collar workers and tourists,[5] while also increasing its prices, which are now above average for the segment.[6][1] The company also targeted locations in Hong Kong's central business districts, despite higher rents.[7]

For marketing reasons, the company has made a concerted effort to appear in Hong Kong-made films such as Love in a Puff and Lan Kwai Fong, in order to establish Tsui Wah as a cultural icon of Hong Kong.[8]

Operations

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Since 2008, Tsui Wah has used a central kitchen to supply branches within a radius of approximately 200 kilometres (120 mi) or delivery time of two hours, in order to ensure operating efficiency and quality and the benefits of centralised purchasing.[9]

Speed of service is a key operating parameter: from the time customers come in to the time they pay their bill is planned to take place within 40 minutes.

Tsui Wah has a communal seating arrangement, with customers expected to share a table with others during busy periods. The tables are also packed more closely, enabling the restaurants to generate more business per square metre.[10]

The company's head office was located in the Tsui Wah Group Centre (翠華集團中心; 翠华集团中心) in Ngau Tau Kok, Kowloon.[11] It was later moved to Tai Wai, Sha Tin.

The first unit outside Hong Kong was opened in Shanghai in 2009, followed by outlets in Macau (2011) and Wuhan (2012).

In 2012, the company was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Comparison between Cha Chaan Teng". Yahoo! News. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
  2. ^ "Branches". TsuiWah.com. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  3. ^ "香港明星常出没的翠华茶餐厅". Retrieved 27 November 2012.
  4. ^ 溫多娜 (3 March 2022). "營業逾十載終離場 翠華棄守荃灣眾安街地舖 目前僅餘12家分店". 香港01 (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  5. ^ "最貴茶餐廳,翠華今路演". HongKong News. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
  6. ^ "走中高價路線,加價有牙力". Sina news. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
  7. ^ "一年交租逾9600萬元 打造「翠華王國」好貴". Hong Kong Headline. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
  8. ^ "翠華7000萬投資動畫電影 首部3D土產動畫擬進軍荷李活". MingPo News. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
  9. ^ "Business of Tsui Wah" (PDF). HKexnews. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
  10. ^ "也談翠華". WiseNews. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
  11. ^ "Contact Us." Tsui Wah Group. Retrieved 17 August 2014. "Tsui Wah Group Office Address: Tsui Wah Group Centre, 50 Lai Yip Street, Ngau Tau Kwok, Kowloon." – Traditional Chinese: "九龍牛頭角勵業街50號翠華集團中心" – Simplified Chinese: "九龙牛头角励业街50号翠华集团中心"

Further reading

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