It seems that the Hui Lau Shan on Cook Road and Buswell Street is finally ready to open its doors.
The popular mango dessert franchise hailing from Hong Kong had teased its new city centre location for at least three years, with a plethora of mango motifs advertising "Hong Kong homemade mango desserts."
Plans to open inside its Lansdowne T&T Supermarket were announced in 2018, but never came to fruition.
Hui Lau Shan started as a traditional herbal tea and jelly trolley in Yuen Long, Hong Kong in the 1960s. It eventually began selling mango desserts in the 1990s and launched its fresh fruit drinks a decade later.
At its prime, Hui Lau Shan was one of the most popular tourist attractions in the city.
But as Richmond waited, the COVID-19 pandemic hit and the franchise filed for winding up in Hong Kong in 2020. The last store in its home city shut its doors at the end of 2021.
For a while, all hope was lost.
However, just recently, the bright yellow stickers covering the exterior of Richmond location were spotted to have been removed. With chairs and tables set up inside the store, it appears that the long-anticipated opening may finally be happening this year.
In the meantime, anyone craving Hui Lau Shan desserts can visit their Vancouver location on Denman St.
