Covid takes toll on Din Tai Fung

Chinese restaurant chain Din Tai Fung is feeling the heat of the pandemic, with one store falling into administration.

Din Tai Fung: Dumplings being made with measured precision. Picture: Nicole Cleary

One of Sydney’s popular restaurant chains Din Tai Fung is the latest hospitality and dining group to take a hit from Covid lockdowns, forced to shutter a prime location in Sydney’s CBD fringe.

Saffron Felix Joop Investments, which formerly traded as Din Tai Fung, the owner of the Central Park store in Chippendale quietly entered administration earlier this month. Chifley Advisory Australia liquidators Gavin Moss and Mohammad Najjar have been appointed to the entity. Chifley Advisory has been contacted for comment.

The Din Tai Fung chain has 10 restaurants – one in Melbourne and the rest in Sydney – recognisable for their large glass windows for passers-by to watch the dumpling masters at work.

The popular restaurant chain, which started life in Taiwan in 1956, has expanded to stores across Asia, the United States and the UK. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has not been kind to the business, recently being forced to shut its first restaurant in the United States.

In August last year, the Fair Work Ombudsman commenced action against operators of four other of the chain’s Australian stores for allegedly underpaying employees by as much as $150,000 and using false records.

Local Din Tai Fung director Dendy Harjanto with xioa long bao dumplings. Picture- Nicole Cleary

Director Dendy Harjanto, the local face of the company, general manager Hannah Handoko and HR co-ordinator Sinthiana Parmenas are also being pursued for their alleged involvement in the breaches.

The two entities under scrutiny, DTF World Square Pty Ltd and Selden Farlane Lachlane Investments Pty Ltd are slated to face the Federal Court for a case management hearing next month and could face penalties of up to $630,000 per serious contravention.

The New York Times hailed Din Tai Fung as one of the Top 10 in the world in 1993, while in 2013 it made No. 1 on the The Daily Meals’ 101 Best Restaurants in Asia.

*An earlier version of this story reported Sydney’s Lotus Dining Group had also appointed liquidators on Thursday.

A spokeswoman for Lotus said the appointment was linked to the restructuring of a number of corporate structures into one entity and the group’s seven restaurants were trading as usual.