A holding company, Maxim's Caterers Limited, was formed in October 1972 to acquire the Maxim's and Jade Garden restaurant brands. By early 1973, the group operated 15 restaurants.[10]
The Woo Brothers' Entrepreneurship
In 1956, Wu Shun Tak and James Wu, who were then managing the Queen's Theatre on behalf of the prominent Chinese business conglomerate Loong Hoi Tong, were inspired to start their own Western-style restaurant after an unpleasant dining experience at the New Paris Café (Café de Paris) located at 8 Queen's Road Central. Motivated by this encounter, the Woo brothers opened the first Maxim’s Western restaurant — "Maxim's Restaurant" — at Café Wiseman, a venue nicknamed “the smart people’s restaurant,” located in the basement of The Landmark (Hong Kong) on Des Voeux Road Central. Operated in the style of a nightclub and frequently hosting large-scale performances, the restaurant quickly became a hotspot for celebrities and high society, laying the foundation for the Maxim’s Group in the food and beverage industry. The Woo brothers put great effort into preparing for the launch of their restaurant. Inspired by Café de Paris, they included a dance floor and hired a live band to enhance the dining experience. They also emphasized food and service quality by recruiting experienced French chefs and ensuring the freshness of ingredients. Having once experienced poor service themselves, they placed particular importance on courteous, attentive hospitality, making it a core value of their restaurant. James Wu recalled that in the 1950s, Western restaurants in Hong Kong were much like their counterparts abroad — they did not serve hot tea. However, at Maxim’s Restaurant, as soon as a Chinese customer was seated, they would be offered a cup of hot tea, since Chinese diners typically had little interest in a glass of cold water. At that time, most Western restaurants only placed a single box of matches on the table, but Maxim’s took extra care by ensuring every waiter carried a lighter. Whenever a guest lit a cigarette, a waiter would promptly step forward to offer assistance. This thoughtful service left a positive impression and delighted many customers. In the early days of the restaurant’s operation, a number of foreign performers were hired as resident entertainers to attract customers.
In 1963, the Hilton Hotel and the Mandarin Hotel opened one after another in Central, Hong Kong, both featuring Western-style nightclub dining. At the time, Maxim’s Group also operated a high-end Western nightclub in Central, but found itself unable to compete in terms of décor, hired singers, and other aspects. As a result, the group decided to close the nightclub and shift its focus to opening coffee shops.
In 1966, the completion of Ocean Terminal marked the opening of the first Maxim’s Café, **Maxim's Boulevard**, which featured a French restaurant and a British-style Mermaid Bar. Later, pastries were also sold, forming the prototype of what would become "Maxim’s Cakes." After transforming into a coffee restaurant business, Maxim’s opened 20 café-style restaurants within two years.
By 1969, Hong Kong Food Products Ltd. had already opened Maxim’s restaurants in locations such as The Landmark, Ocean Terminal, Prince’s Building, Wing On House, and International Building.
In 1970, Maxim’s appointed Annie Wu Suk-ching and Wong Shek Leung to participate in the Hong Kong Pavilion at Expo ’70 in Osaka under the brand name "." Annie Wu served as the restaurant secretary and promotional ambassador for the pavilion. The exquisite dim sum they provided received widespread acclaim.
On 2 March 1971, Maxim’s opened its first Cantonese restaurant — **** — on the 4th floor of Star House in Tsim Sha Tsui. Woo Cham Tak served as general manager, while Wong Shek Leung was the head chef. The restaurant introduced an innovative management model of “Chinese cuisine with Western-style service,” which included selling Western-style pastries in the restaurant and eliminating traditional table-sharing practices.
Jardine Matheson acquired a stake
In 1972, during the Dairy Farm acquisition battle, Woo Shun Tak earned the admiration of Henry Keswick, then Chairman of the Board at Jardine Matheson. Two months later, Jardine's subsidiary, Hongkong Land, became a shareholder of Maxim’s. However, decision-making power has remained with the Woo family to this day. Soon after, Maxim’s rapidly expanded by opening numerous restaurants in properties owned by Hongkong Land, such as Jardine House, Landmark, Exchange Square, and the Hong Kong World Trade Centre.[12]
In the same year, the first Maxim’s Fast Food (now known as Maxim’s MX) was established, and it gradually developed into one of the largest chains in the city.
Following the successful operation of, Maxim’s further expanded in the late 1970s by opening multiple branches of Peking Garden, marking its entry into the business of regional Chinese cuisine restaurants, including those serving Beijing, Sichuan, Shanghai, and Hunan dishes.[13] In the 1980s, Maxim’s opened two Japanese restaurants: BenkeiJapanese Cuisine in the basement of The Landmark,
Expansion of the mass market
Starting from the late 1970s to the early 1980s, Maxim's gradually expanded from focusing solely on the high-end dining market to entering the mass catering sector. They successively opened several Cantonese-style restaurants, such as and, offering traditional dim sum and banquet services. Later on, Maxim's also launched, venturing into the business of Teochew cuisine restaurants. In 1982, Maxim's established numerous Maxim's Cakes outlets along the Hong Kong MTR (now known as the MTR) network. By the end of 1985, Maxim's Cakes had 33 branches along the railway lines, and together with 37 outlets outside the MTR stations, it became the largest bakery chain in Hong Kong at the time. In 1988, they further expanded by opening outlets at every station along the Kowloon–Canton Railway (now the MTR East Rail Line).[17]
In 1986, Maxim's ventured into the mooncake market. Although only 100,000 boxes of Maxim's mooncakes were produced, they sold out within just a few days of launch. The Ng brothers were greatly encouraged by this success, and from then on, Maxim's made a major push into the mooncake market.[18] In the same year, Jardine Matheson underwent a corporate restructuring, and its stake in Maxim’s was transferred to its subsidiary, Dairy Farm International
Ng Wai Kwok takes over the helm
Development of trendy dining brands
In 1992, Ng Wai Kwok, the eldest grandson of Ng Shun Tak and a member of the third generation of the Ng family, joined Maxim’s Group at the age of 21. At the time, Maxim’s operated around 300 outlets. In 2000, Ng Wai Kwok was appointed Managing Director of Maxim’s. As early as 1998, he had already established m.a.x. concepts to drive the development of new-style restaurants for Maxim’s. Under this brand, restaurants such as MAX, Cellini, Mecca, Thai Basil, and eating plus were launched, offering customers unique and innovative cuisine. In addition, the previous Japanese restaurants were revamped into Hyo-Kiku and Miso, creating a trend for contemporary Japanese cuisine. Several Chinese restaurants were also rebranded and refreshed, including The Square, Jasmine Place, and Peking Garden.
In September 2005, Hong Kong Disneyland officially opened. Under the leadership of Ng Wai Kwok, Maxim’s secured the operating rights for the Plaza Inn restaurant and the Market House Bakery within the park.
Introduction of foreign restaurant brands
At the same time, Ng Wai Kwok actively worked on bringing well-known international restaurant brands to Hong Kong. The first to collaborate with Maxim’s was Sanrio, opening the Hello Kitty Cafe at Luk Yeung Galleria, followed by three more branches the following year. However, after the initial craze subsided, all outlets were closed.
Development of trendy dining brands
In 1992, Ng Wai Kwok, the eldest grandson of Ng Shun Tak and a member of the third generation of the Ng family, joined Maxim’s Group at the age of 21. At the time, Maxim’s operated around 300 outlets. In 2000, Ng Wai Kwok was appointed Managing Director of Maxim’s. As early as 1998, he had already established m.a.x. concepts to drive the development of new-style restaurants for Maxim’s. Under this brand, restaurants such as MAX, Cellini, Mecca, Thai Basil, and eating plus were launched, offering customers unique and innovative cuisine. In addition, the previous Japanese restaurants were revamped into Hyo-Kiku and Miso, creating a trend for contemporary Japanese cuisine. Several Chinese restaurants were also rebranded and refreshed, including The Square, Jasmine Place, and Peking Garden.
In September 2005, Hong Kong Disneyland officially opened. Under the leadership of Ng Wai Kwok, Maxim’s secured the operating rights for the Plaza Inn restaurant and the Market House Bakery within the park.
Introduction of foreign restaurant brands
At the same time, Ng Wai Kwok actively worked on bringing well-known international restaurant brands to Hong Kong. The first to collaborate with Maxim’s was Sanrio, opening the Hello Kitty Cafe at Luk Yeung Galleria, followed by three more branches the following year. However, after the initial craze subsided, all outlets were closed. In May 2000, Maxim’s successfully introduced the globally renowned Starbucks coffee culture to Hong Kong by forming a joint venture, Coffee Concepts Ltd. Within the first two months of operation, the venture turned a profit, and in just two years, over 30 coffee shops were established in Hong Kong. By the end of 2002, the brand had expanded into Macau, Shenzhen, and several Southeast Asian countries. In June 2011, Starbucks and Maxim’s signed an agreement under which Starbucks acquired Maxim’s 30% stake in their joint venture, thereby gaining full ownership of its operations in Guangdong, Hainan, Sichuan, Shaanxi, Hubei, and Chongqing. Meanwhile, Maxim’s acquired Starbucks’ remaining shares in the Hong Kong and Macau operations, giving Maxim’s 100% ownership of the Starbucks business in Hong Kong and Macau following the acquisition.
When initially negotiating with Starbucks’ U.S. headquarters, Maxim’s believed that relying solely on selling coffee and cakes, as in places like Canada and Singapore, would not be sufficient. They proposed cooking food on a griddle, but Starbucks U.S. headquarters objected, arguing that it would overpower the aroma of the coffee. Maxim’s then suggested using warming cabinets to heat the food instead, a proposal that was eventually accepted. By offering light lunch options such as sandwiches alongside coffee, Starbucks in Hong Kong quickly achieved profitability.
