Malaysian restaurant chain Hai Kah Lang spotted heading to Hangzhou, bucking trend of inbound Chinese F&B brands

Banners announcing Malaysian seafood noodle chain Hai Kah Lang’s planned expansion into Hangzhou, China, are seen highlighting its four consecutive Michelin Bib Gourmand distinctions from 2023 to 2026. — Pictures via Xiaohongshu/是海哥呀

By Ben Tan

First Published: Thursday, 29 Oct 2026 8:52 PM MYT

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 29 — At a time when Chinese food and beverage brands such as Mixue, Chagee and Haidilao are expanding their presence in Malaysia, one homegrown seafood noodle chain is reportedly heading in the opposite direction.

Hai Kah Lang, a Malaysian restaurant chain with roots in traditional Chinese cuisine, is reportedly expanding into China, with plans for an outlet at The Mixc shopping complex in Hangzhou.

The move would see a Malaysian brand with Chinese culinary roots enter a market where such dishes are already familiar, reversing the more common trend of Chinese F&B chains expanding into Malaysia.

The expansion was featured in an October 27 Instagram post by Malaysian food and lifestyle platform KL Foodie, following earlier posts by Hangzhou locals on Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu, also known as RedNote, who shared pictures of banners announcing Hai Kah Lang’s arrival in the city.

The planned Hangzhou outlet would mark the brand’s entry into its second overseas market, following the opening of its first international branch at Singapore’s Funan shopping centre in September 2025.

The move comes less than five years after Hai Kah Lang opened its first restaurant in Taman Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, in January 2022.

Founded by Steven Tan, the restaurant began as a new venture after the Covid-19 pandemic forced him to close a seafood steamboat restaurant he had operated in Balakong for seven years.

In a 2024 interview with the Michelin Guide, Tan said he subsequently opened a seafood retail business before deciding to take over a nearby breakfast noodle shop that was closing.

The restaurant’s popularity grew through word of mouth, and its Taman Cheras outlet received a Bib Gourmand distinction in the inaugural Michelin Guide Kuala Lumpur and Penang in 2023.

It has retained the recognition in subsequent editions, including the 2026 guide.

The Bib Gourmand distinction recognises restaurants offering good-quality food at reasonable prices.

Hai Kah Lang’s menu centres on fresh seafood noodles, allowing diners to choose from fish, shellfish and other seafood, alongside eight types of noodles and five soup bases.

In the same Michelin Guide interview, Tan said nearly 99 per cent of the seafood used at the restaurant was wild-caught and brought in daily from Sabah, Indonesia and the Philippines.

The business also draws on Tan’s family heritage as Teochews, whose ancestral roots lie in the Chaoshan region of China’s Guangdong province.

The opening date and other details of the planned outlet at The Mixc in Hangzhou have yet to be announced.