Labour shortage forces historic Chinatown restaurant to close

After serving up authentic Cantonese dishes for more than 40 years, the family-run restaurant Daisy Garden Kitchen has shut its doors permanently. 

Since its opening in 1979, the restaurant has been a pillar of the Chinatown community. 

Its owner, Susanna Ng, confirmed the heartbreaking news with Daily Hive Wednesday adding, “It was a hard decision to make.”

“Due to labour shortage, I have to give up Daisy and concentrate on my other business,” she said. “I will look for a buyer who will be able to run the restaurant better than I did.”

Ng also owns the iconic New Town bakery next door. 

Daisy Garden Kitchen reopened in March last year after it was forced to temporarily halt its operations due to a devastating a fire in 2015.

The restaurant, which was located at 142 East Pender Street, had been serving comforting dishes like congee, wonton noodles, and steamed shrimp dumplings using traditional recipes and fresh, local ingredients.

They served long-time favourite dishes like BBQ duck on rice and their sliced beef with seasonal greens on rice.