Benz Hui with his wife Angeli Lung and their daughter Charmaine Hui at Cafe Bakeaholic at Wheelock Place, in a photo posted on social media in January 2022. Photo: Benz Hui/Instagram
Recent visitors to Cafe Bakeaholic and Juju at Wheelock Place in Orchard Road might have found both cafes closed.
These were run by veteran Hong Kong actor Benz Hui’s 26-year-old daughter Charmaine Hui, who is married to Singaporean Shane Sim.
Charmaine and Sim, who work in the banking industry, held a wedding ceremony and banquet in Hong Kong in December, and a second one in Singapore in January.
Cafe Bakeaholic has another outlet in Springside Green in Yishun, which is still in business.
Benz Hui, 75, told Chinese-language evening daily Shin Min Daily News that his daughter gave up the two cafes at Wheelock Place in February.
The actor is best known for his role as an undercover cop-turned-crime boss in Hong Kong broadcaster TVB’s Line Walker series (2014 to 2020).
“She just got married and her husband is working in Hong Kong. It’s not a good idea for newly-weds to be living in separate places, so they have decided to stay in Hong Kong and will make plans later,” he said.
Charmaine opened Cafe Bakeaholic in Springside Green in December 2020 and launched the second branch at Wheelock Place a year later, followed by Juju.
Her parents invested in all three eateries.
Her mother Angeli Lung told Shin Min in January 2022, after the opening of the second Cafe Bakeaholic outlet, that they had not fully recouped their outlay on the first one.
Asked by Shin Min whether the eateries were profitable, Benz Hui said: “There are profits and losses. I think that’s OK.”
Lung added that the cafes’ closure meant Charmaine would be able to accompany her husband in Hong Kong, as well as spend more time with her. – The Straits Times/Asia News Network
