Posted on: Friday, March 30, 2001

Yong Sing Restaurant may soon serve last meal

By Scott Ishikawa
Advertiser Staff Writer

Yong Sing Restaurant, a popular downtown Honolulu gathering place, may shut down next week, but it's unclear whether the closure is permanent.

Yong Sing manager Sarah Loui, whose family owns the Chinese restaurant at 1055 Alakea St., would not confirm whether the final day of business is Saturday.

Loui said the family is in negotiations with another party to possibly lease the site.

But restaurant patrons, particularly clubs who reserved the location for monthly meetings, said they were told by restaurant officials earlier this month they must find a new site for their gatherings.

Clifford Wong, who makes meeting arrangements for the Honolulu Chinatown Lions Club, said the club has met on the second and fourth Thursdays of each month at Yong Sing for the last 10 years.

The Lions Club held its last meeting at Yong Sing last week, and will now meet at Wo Fat Restaurant in Chinatown.

"They informed us they were closing at the end of the month," Wong said. "Its a longtime establishment, not only for family parties, but the Chinese societies used it for their spring banquets."

The restaurant has been a popular meeting spot for downtown business people and government officials, as well as for traditional family gatherings.

Some of the customer's favorites include hot ginger onion chicken and taro basket with mixed vegetables and shrimp.