Hong Kong eatery run by the disabled needs new partner to keep mission going

Hong Kong’s social enterprises empowering vulnerable communities are struggling to survive amid a dire economy. In the first of a two-part series, the Post looks at how a Singapore-based catering business is trying to chart a new path forward for its disabled workers.

Dignity Kitchen, a beacon of hope for disabled people seeking training and employment in Hong Kong, is at a crossroads.

The Singapore-based social enterprise restaurant is urgently looking for a local partner because its founder, Koh Seng Choon, can no longer fly often to the city to manage the business after undergoing heart surgery in March.

Over the past six years, the 66-year-old travelled from the city state to Hong Kong every two months to set up and run the hawker-style restaurant in Mong Kok that has so far trained and placed more than 200 disabled people in jobs.

“The only thing I regret now is I don’t have the health to carry on,” he told the Post earlier this week, three months after his surgery.

“I’m not selling the business. The idea is to find a partner with a good heart, commitment, and experience working with disabled people, letting Hongkongers help Hongkongers.”