Terry Lim feels ‘sad and sorry’ for closing Liverpool’s oldest Chinese restaurant

The owner of Liverpool’s oldest Chinese restaurant has shared his sadness at the closure of his treasured Chinatown establishment, delivering a heartbreaking message to his loyal customers. Yuet Ben, meaning “guest of honour”, first opened its doors in 1968 on Great George Street in the city center.

Since 1978, the restaurant has been on Upper Duke Street and the unique style of Northern Chinese cuisine from Shandong-born founder Yuh Ho Yau. kitchen is still served there. Since 1992, the business has been run by Yuh’s daughter Theresa and her husband Terry Lim, who was taught the trade by her father-in-law as a waiter. decades ago.

Terry made the difficult decision to close the restaurant in September and told the ECHO he felt “lost” without the routine his business provided as he tried to adjust to retired life. Terry said: “It was with great reluctance that I finally closed Yuet Ben. Exhausted physically and mentally after the last two difficult years, post COVID. The lockdown period ruined my initial retirement plans.

He added: “I haven’t worked since September 1 and I still can’t shake the feeling of not having to work anymore. I feel lost and I haven’t adjusted my life accordingly. I feel really sad and sorry to have ended my job at the oldest Chinese restaurant in Liverpool.

Terry made the decision to close the restaurant in order to spend more time with his grandchildren, ending a family business that had welcomed people to the town for over 50 years. Sharing a message with his customers following the closure of Yuet Ben, Terry said: “I couldn’t thank our loyal customers enough, some are fourth generation. Many wished me well and thanked me for providing them and their families with delicious food. “

Over the years, Yuet Ben’s celebrity clients included Cliff Richard, Dawn French and Les Dennis. The family restaurant also gained international fame and was featured on cooking programs broadcast around the world. Terry has also counted Liverpool FC players among his celebrity clients over the years. He said: “There was a period in the 90s when the ‘Spice Boys’ were coming in and we became friends with them.

“Every Wednesday after training they would call me, it was behind closed doors. Redknapp, McAteer, McManaman, they had my number and would call me when they wanted to come and sometimes they would come with the cast of Hollyoaks.

“Ian Gillan from Deep Purple, when he came to Liverpool to record at Parr Street Studios, he came here for the crispy duck.”

Yuh Ho Yau, who opened the restaurant in 1968, was well known for his noodle pulling skills, with his son-in-law Terry describing it as “a form of entertainment for his customers”.

Terry’s stepfather, Yuh Ho, was born in Yantai, Shandong and learned cooking in Dalian from the age of 16. Before moving to Liverpool, the father of four had worked in restaurants in Beijing, Hong Kong and New York.

Previously speaking to ECHOTerry said: “He had friends from the same village who were here in Liverpool much earlier and were opening their own Peking-style restaurant. He was asked if he wanted to join them, so he came to Liverpool. The Yuet Ben had just been established and he was an employee for the first year. But the company’s partnership failed, so the remaining partner offered him the partnership, which is how he became a partner of Yuet Ben and eventually owner.

“He had the whole family help. Theresa worked there after school and before school, helping clean the restaurant or in the kitchen or washing dishes and things like that, so the family was very involved.”