Fiona Yuen’s Husband Fails to Pay Rent for Restaurant Business

Fiona Yuen’s (袁彩雲) husband, Anthony Kong (江銘峰), has allegedly gotten in trouble with the law.

The Canadian restaurateur and his younger brother Louis failed to pay nine months of rent totaling $182,843 CAD for their two food establishments, the South Asian restaurant Tropika and Hakka restaurant Northern Delicacy. Both restaurants were located inside the Aberdeen Centre shopping mall in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada.

The landlord, Fairchild Developments Limited, issued a warning to the brothers in February 2013, demanding them to recover the due rent within a five-day deadline. Failing to submit the money in five days, Fairchild closed down the two restaurants. Joey Kwan, the Public Relations manager of Aberdeen Centre, had confirmed this to the Hong Kong press and is currently pursuing legal action.

However Tropika – a South Asian restaurant specializing in Singaporean, Malaysian, and Indonesian food – is still operating in downtown Vancouver, with one location on Cambie Street and another on Robson Street.

Fiona Yuen, who gave birth to her daughter Alycia two months ago in Hong Kong, said, “I never ask my husband about his business. I have nothing to comment.”

The former TVB actress debuted in the industry after winning third runner-up in the Miss Hong Kong pageant in 1996. She was given a starring role in the long-running TVB soap opera A Kindred Spirit <真情> soon after signing TVB, and also starred alongside Roger Kwok (郭晉安), Jackie Lui (呂頌賢), and Jessica Hsuan (宣萱) in the 1998 crime drama, Rural Hero <離島特警>. Her last TVB drama was 2009’s Man in Charge <幕後大老爺>.

Fiona met Anthony in Vancouver in 2003, and the couple married in Hong Kong in 2009. Their daughter Alycia Kong was born on August 13, 2013.

Source: Sudden Weekly #951 via ihktv.com

This article is written by Addy for JayneStars.com.

 

Responses

  1. sad for Fiona especially she now have a two month old baby. Hope they have other asset to cover the dues otherwise it will be a problem very stressful for the family when it comes to owing money.

    1. This is another good example of how women should be more independent instead of thinking that you can marry a guy that is well off and have him and his family take care of everything financially for you. Not having money or enough, especially if you want to live high life that can cause many problems and stress.

      1. AGREE.

        Amazing how many of these traditional-mindset thinkers there are in the showbiz industry, or among even modern women from traditional cultures/mindsets.

        Where men take care if the ‘outside stuff’ while women take care of the domestic inside stuff and look pretty for their men. C’mon – are we still in the 40s? 60s?
        I find people like Cathy Tsui a disgrace = all she does is produce babies, and please her FIL bec he controls the money, and her husband’s future.

        I don’t care how wonderful her wedding of the century was ….. it’s not enviable. Are we still in the foolish fairytles of Disney Princesses who need to be supported and rescued? What makes her different from a golddigger?

        Take ownership of your own life.
        Isn’t it better for a woman to be independent? Not just financially, but also psychologically and emotionally.

        Being happily and contentedly self-sufficient on your own should be a given … before contributing as a team-mate to couplehood (that is a bonus, whether or not it happens).

  2. its funny how can a wife doesnt know anything about his husband business… lol

    1. I don’t think it is that strange because in some cases, the wife is just a housewife or just does her own thing. Therefore, she is not involved with her husband’s business nor does she help him so how can she know about it???

      1. Of course she knew the business is in trouble. Playing the stupid housewife is just to get the media off her back and not have to answer embarrassing questions.

      2. I was not only referring to her case but other similar cases like this too. Business is after all a gamble. You either make it big and earn a lot of profit or you do not profit at all and end up in debt.

      3. Are you saying if you’re a stay at home wife you’re likely to be useless, helpless and stupid? I respect stay at home Moms or wives, their responsiblilities are the future of our children, their job is more rewarding then any big title careers. I think she knows…it’s smart of her to not comment than being question like a criminal from the media.

      4. I did not mean to say that and it also varies from case to case too. In many cases, people who are stay at home moms are from well off or rich families it else how can they afford it?? Also, just because you do not stay at home 100% of the time does not mean that you cannot take care of your kids. If you do not have a career then how can you support your kids?? I do not think it is always wise to rely entirely on your husband because just like in Fiona’s case as you can see. If you had to struggle for even the most basic needs of life like food, shelter or even paying your bills, even if you did the best job at home ever, is it enough??? But of course if you are from a well off it rich family and do not even need to work then it is best to take care of your kids yourself. However, sadly in these tough economic times, it is difficult to do so. But if course, it varies from case to case.

      5. HTS,
        The difference is whether the female married into a wealthy or well off fam. I personally would never stay home if my husband is well off. If my husband is wealthy… yes I would stay my butt home and make everything orderly at home. It does not make sense for me to be working and making 100k (not even since taxes!!!!!!!) or so when my husband is a million or billionaire. Lol.

        I think women who are independent, I would clap for them. Women who are wealthy wives.. I would clap for them too. Its all about acceptance.

      6. Crystal,
        I agree with you but you wonder where is the fine line between being well off versus wealthy?? Of course wealthy is like millionare or above level, but what about well off?? How much would someone have to have in order to be classified as someone well off?? I personally would still want to work and help my husband out as much as I can even if I had kids because it is even more stressful to carry the economic burden. However if he were like a millionare or billionaire then what is the point of me working?? I would more likely do charity work to help out the less fortunate.

      7. Yes there is a difference and there is a line. Let me tell you how. Well off is usually something like this.. the sole money earner passes away or drops dead.. nothing is left because he or she can no longer work. Well off is just that.. money comes from you working like mad.

        Wealthy is where anyone can drop dead. Their family or who ever will still have $$ because of residual income. Thats the difference. This is why most wealthy people do not view well off people on the same ground as them. This is why to anyone who isnt well off or wealthy always laugh in dramas like “how is it realistic you see two people dressed in suits who have money but are having an intense exchange of words” lol

      8. Thanks Crystal for your info! I learned something sort of new that I never thought about before. I used to think being well off was having a sufficient amount of money but just not as much as someone really rich like a millionaire. I did not think about the residual income and all that. But millionaires and all have to work as well too don’t they??

      9. Yeah the confusion is almost always on the amount cause if you knew someone who is a millionaire, almost 99% of the time, we all just say ‘he or she is wealthy’ Cause that is a lot of money…

        Of course “well-off” individuals can be millionaires too but it really depends on what they do in terms of ‘work’ Lets just say manufacturers.. do they just open store after store to earn that income or the CEO invest in other places. If it’s just store after store with no other business affairs.. ugh yeah.. if that person drops dead or if anyone screws the business over.. they’ll go from millionaires to nothing. Cause their stores is their main source of income..

        And the whole thing about investing.. I’m not even talking about stocks cause apparently if you talk to a real businessman about “stocks” as investment.. they’ll laugh at your faces. LOL. Oh man.. my youth days were filled with naive-ism. Anyways, but yeah… investing usually has to do with land and such. That is about all the vague info I can give cause I am an OT (med field), business ain’t my forte. 😀

      10. Thanks Crystal and I must say that I do not like business and have never been into it. I am in the educational field and will never truly understand business and anything associated with it. Oh gosh, I am really blank when it comes to stocks. Even one of my cousins who just came to the US about 10 years ago knows about stocks more than I do. She even buys and invests in them which is something I have no clue about. Plus, I am not a gambler…

      11. They’ll never call stocks gambling, they’ll call it, “investing” Lol

        But yeah, I stay away from business as much as possible. The only thing I ever done anything close to business is attend those seminars and “parties” my husband has once in a while. That’s about all.

        And wow education field? Teaching? Counseling? I thought about being a counselor during my undergrad days, like for a little bit, but then found OT.

      12. Of course who wants to use the word gambling since it sounds so negative.

        Does your husband do business?? I would not mind my future husband doing it but I would not want to do it myself.

        I am an English teacher but thought about counseling back in the days. I even thought of being a pharmacist which was what my late brother was. However, I took a few classes and realized that it was not for me… I am not into the medical field. Being a teacher was something always in the back of my mind so I finally decided to do it.

      13. I wanted to add that I was hesitant to enter the educational field since it is not looked upon highly due to the low pay. But I do not want to do everything for money only. The medical field is really highly prestigious in my family and many were disappointed that I did not take that route.

      14. That’s great! Sometimes it takes trial and error with all the pressure about education. I actually teach one of the OT classes in a university here in NY and I feel really bad when I have to give out Fs to some of these students…

        I think with the school system, it’s too quick. Teens and young adults just don’t have the time to sit down and really think it over what they want to do. And some of them take forever to realize what it is they really want to do with their lives.

        And my husband.. yes family. Family business. Lots of business. Drives me crazy.

      15. LOL@HTS, I’m in the education field too, and yeah, our wages suck! I also almost became a pharmacist too…but my math and science sucked. Or else, I would have totally become pharmaceutical researcher.

      16. @Crystal,

        As with many things, it did take trial and error to choose our career. It is that way with love in many cases too. I had to teach a class full of students that were all careless until they knew they were failing.It is sad that they do not care until they see what the consequences are.

        I do not like business and have sold some things on ebay before and have seen what a pain it is. I don’t mind my future husband doing business, but I just hope that I do not need to get involved if he did do business.However, many say that if you want to get really rich, business is the only way to go. I personally hate business and do not need to get rich.

        @iampheng,
        Glad to see another educator. I know that our wages suck and my mom constantly tells me to change professions but it is not only money. We have to like what we do too. It’s not like we are so poor that we can’t live decently. I don’t need to be rich anyways. We have so much in common since I am weak in math and science too or else maybe I would have entered the medical field. But then again, my interest just isn’t there…

    2. Or it can just be she’s trying to not expose too much of her own family matters?

    3. Perhaps there are ‘stupid’ wives in this world that do not know what their husbands are doing….like a highly influential & powerful politician in my country who had no idea her hubby bid for a national cattle rearing project & then utilizing some part of the loan (earmarked for cattle rearing project) to purchase condos…how often do we get ignorant & stupid wife like that? Should we give these ppl the benefit of the doubt? Either they are really plain stupid or they are mighty shrewd & scheming ppl.

      1. Some women might be naive and ignore their husband’s bad behaviors but that doesn’t apply to a healthy marriage/relationship; they share their days and lives and ideas together as a team. Don’t give all stay at home wives or Moms an F due to a percentage of them are like that. I knew many aren’t like that.

      2. Food for thought – not all the wives (housewife or otherwise) are to be blamed if the husband does not respect the wife enough to trust her with his work/business details.
        Sometimes it’s not a matter of the wife being ignorant, but when someone goes all out to fake something, it’s not that easy to spot (until it’s too late).
        Of course, there are those who knows but pretend not to (ignorance is bliss).

    1. How is he a bad husband?? His business was probably struggling but he was afraid to let his wife and others know.

  3. wtf he owns northern delicacy?! that’s actually a good restaurant 🙁 ..

    1. I went there the other day and was wondering why it was closed down. Now it makes a lot of sense. That place is freaking good though…shame.

  4. Tropika still has other branches doing ok.

    Tropika in Aberdeen Center quietly closed down many months ago (Spring or before Spring 2013). As did Northern Delicacy.

    So her husband is a shareholder/owner in both? Doesn’t the family also have some seafood-dimsum restaurants in Burnaby?

    It’s not that easy running businesses in Vancouver. Redtape, bureacracy and high competition, especially in Richmond where Chinese restaurants come and go. Aberdeen Center stores have been taking turns to come and go anyway = it’s common to see turnovers in stores, and many remain empty and unrented since Day 1.

    The 12% tax on bills also deters some people from dining out as often, or giving far less tipping as before.

    Not sure if Tropika is run on a franchise-basis or the family owns the whole chain.
    That particular Tropika branch catered to HK tastebuds anyway, unlike the Cambie branch which is more authentically SE Asian tastewise. So depending on the HK crowd to patronise, is chancing fate and it was a huge place to rent.

    Right now it’s been in a long process of being converted to a Korean restaurant, Sora.

    Tropika also faces fierce competition from Banana Leaf which also caters to the well-travelled, savvy yuppie Caucasian and Asian crowd.

  5. The money issue again. one is one two is two not one two three four five. That’s usually the down of every marriage.

  6. That is another case of spreading yourself to thin…have a good foundation before branching off. course, greed has a lot to do with it because the economy is not all that great and profit margins are minimal…

  7. Spreading yourself too thin, especially on your business empire really is next to impossible without any real consulting. Add to that, her husband is a classic case of conquer and greed; only he botched it due to the unstable foundation.

    Expansionism is not at all impossible, but it’s almost unmanageable. It has to be executed in an appropriate manner, such that it requires a solid foundation. First stabilize your own assets and/or holdings before going on expansion. It takes baby steps to build a foundation and to profit from the business, especially the restaurant business.

    With the weak global economy along with slim profit margins due to the high cost of labor and food, restaurants are bound to fail, especially if the food and service quality is not passable. Along with it, marketing is equally important.

    As for Fiona like Cathy Tsui, she’s a total disgrace to the smart women of today’s working world in general treating her husband as an ATM and living a life of materialism, which corrupts people mentally and spiritually. Just marrying, making babies with a rich guy and retiring from a professional world does not provide happiness. It’s like how young beautiful women are marrying old, bald, fat yet rich men, bearing his babies that could be calling him paps or grandpa and how many of these marriages end.

    Why can’t more women marry simpler, humbler men who are financially stable and are not involved in the complexities of a big business; like Sonija Kwok. Don’t marry guys that are full of materialism, simplicity always wins; even during hard times; the bigger you are the harder you crash n’ burn.

    1. So does that mean every women out there who married rich are all gold diggers and materialistic? Is that what you’re saying? Not a single married woman and her rich husband are in love?

      1. I’m not saying all women are gold or diamond diggers and marrying a guy that is full of riches. I find that a lot of women in Hong Kong, even the everyday women (no entertainment ties) are expecting quite a bit from their men, at least stable housing, which is nearly impossible in the HK market due to high property prices.

      2. Crystal,

        I don’t think so. Yes, there are some women in showbiz as I mentioned below are obvious golddiggers but i am sure there are still some that are marrying perhaps for love? hahaa LOL…
        We can’t say all of them are I mean that’s just not fair. And how do they know that some who married simple man and not rich men like Sonia Kwok, perhaps she had tried to try to marry rich man before but didn’t come true? haha It’s all about timing too. Biological clock is ticking and they want to marry for the sake of marrying. I mean different stages in life makes you have different priorities as well.

      3. I think gold digger just means that you marry a guy for money only and that is the main reason why you are with any guy is just because of money. However, if you love him as well then I don’t think you should be classified as a gold digger. But of course guys and girls both have their fair share of expectations for their other half. My late father told me that guys like “Se”(girls who are physically pretty) and girls like “Cai”(as in fortune and money). I can now she how true that is…

      4. It’s just the way people shade women who married to a man with money that makes me irk so much. Like really? I completely understand that some women don’t even try to hide that the sole purpose of a “rich” marriage is for their monetary gain, but don’t generalize too much. It’s upsetting man. =/

    2. I don’t think obvious golddiggers like Cathy Tsui and Isabella Leong should be compared w/once hardworking Fiona Yuen? I mean this Fiona, she was never a in demand and popular in TVB but at least she tries hard and work her asszzz off once upon a time? haaha..LOL…
      I mean, Isabella Leong is even more a disgrace too since at least that Cathy one is a bit educated and did starting popping those kids out after marriage? haha… Sigh…..

    3. @Phil,
      You made some good points and I agree with a lot of what you said. However, not every women who married a rich guy or someone more well off is a gold digger. I have seen that many actresses either marry someone well off or someone from the circle. Honestly, who would not want to live well and not have to worry about the basic necessities of life that others must struggle for?? My oldest brother once told me that many actresses enter the circle hoping to live the high life so of course they would want a rich/well off guy to marry and enjoy the rest of their life. But I think women like that are too traditional and just hope for the guy to provide for them. That is too old school and I believe that women should be more independent and help to provide as well.

      I totally agree that the bigger you are, the harder you crash. That reminds me of a quote that I saw in Bi Xue Jian. Li Yan told Yuan Cheng Zhi, “So what if I became a high official, the higher I climb, the more it will hurt when I fall, there will be a day that I end up like your father”. He was right and that did happen to him. It is always better in my opinion to live a more simple and humble life. If you have materialistic means and all but yet you are emotionally unhappy then it all becomes useless.

    4. Marry rich guy and be a stay at home wife/mom -> A disgrace to smart women.

      Marry humble not-so-rich-guy and be a stay at home wife/mom -> not a disgrace.

      What double standard.

  8. The amount of shading on women marrying someone financially better than her. Wow.

    It’s like the old time where people are being criticized to marry within their social/financial class. “Bamboo match bamboo doors, wood match wood doors. Stop dreaming, gold diggers/toad wanting to eat swan meat.”

    Just wondering, how much should one limit the discrepancy of income between spouse to avoid being labelled as gold digger?

    1. Sometimes I feel like the education people receive now is what causes all of these social blunders. Lol… Not too sure if that is a good or bad thing. YET.

    2. Gossips and rumours are as old as the professions of prostitution and lawyers. Frankly, what about not caring the label? You’re what you are, you want the whole package. It is unavoidable; as much as people saying fat people are stupid, thin people are anorexic, celebrities are dumb and politicians are greedy. Labels are forever there.

  9. Fiona dated the son of one of HK real estate developers I.e hard cash for several years, constant companion to parties, balls.. When they separated she announced that their engagement is off but this guy came out to ‘protect his reputation’ saying that there was never an engagement, they had been close friends only.

  10. Working, contributing in society (volunteering, helping out, being hands on etc) actually alleviates one’s own sense of well-being.
    And among the rich, there are many who are down to earth.

    Housewives – the real multi-tasking kind who are hands on WITHOUT a bevy of maids, yes those are 24/7 seamless hardworkers.

    People who try marry rich and have 3 maids trailing after them taking care of their child/children and household needs = how are they housewives and homemakers?
    They just have to keep their long nails manicured, yum-cha (dimsum or have high tea)their facials and spa appointments daily. Aka focus on self-maintenance and always looking good for their man, so another gold-digger doesn’t come along and usurp the position.
    It’d like playing house, hardly the same as a real hands-on homemaker.

    I don’t know which category Fiona belongs to … but Cathy Tsui despite her education seems really nothing than a 40s housewife (at that – it’s all maids, not her being hands on) baby producing machine.
    Add Gigi Fu in there too … once the money is gone, the penthouses downtown bought for her parents …. she’s gone too once bankruptcy is declared. Time to move onto target #2 or #3.

    Even if wealthy and a stay-home tai tai there are 1000 things to do which encourage self-growth and intellectual stimulation.
    And it’s not utter devastation once the husband’s business empire dails.

    Nothing to do with being rich or not.
    And having a million these days is NOT rich. In Asia, and even in NAmerica, many are sitting on millions. Real estate bought from yesterday have increased 10 fold. A $50,000 house bought in cash in the 60s would have risen to become $5 million … even more in the right sought after localities of hot Asian/NAmerican cities.

    Millionaires are a term from yesteryr – the stakes have risen. Many homes cost a million and up.

    There’s also a fine difference. Many of the surface so-called ‘rich’ own little of what they have – ie it’s all mortgaged or put down as collateral, to generate more money. Or since they never paid up anything in full, so they really own nothing.

    At the end of the day, whether the female marries into a wealthy family or not …. keep busy, and keep fulfilled. It’s simply healthy self-growth!
    NOT post pictures of limited edition Hermes, or what she just ate at Cova on FB … ala Cathy Tsui.

    That’s just being an ostentatious wealthy bimbo, in my books … and once that’s removed (sometimes cruelly, when a new competitor comes on the scene) … there’s nothing except a closet of designer bags and clothing.

    1. I have not heard about Gigi Fu for a long time. Is she going bankrupt now?? I heard that her husband wanted her to retire from the circle once she got married. Did she just become a housewife?? Is her husband broke now or something??

      1. Ok just googled her and saw that she has been divorced. That is sad that some think they have found a rich/well off husband but are divorced. I never knew that since I have not followed her news for a long time. I wonder what she is doing now??

      2. Gigi Fu Meng-hin was married to some fugly China businessman. In Vancouver yrs ago, supposedly he bought her family/her some dtown penthouses (HSBC insider talk).

        Her mission in life seemed to be to party, be seen at social events, and be seen with her dogs~at dog events.

        Eventually he went bankrupt. Of course, there was all the talk about her sticking by him etc, but if I recall correctly – less than a yr later, she was free and divorced while the dude sat in jail.

        Now without a financial anchor again, it was time to fish in the ‘Fu-er-tai’ crowd (tai-chi-ye in Cantonese … 2nd generation wealthy).

        Not work hard herself and make efforts to be self-reliant, mind you.

        But work harder at seducing some dude for a meal ticket. It worked – she’s been 3 yrs now with one of the sons from an influential family. Zhuang something – he’s also younger than her.
        The parents don’t approve, which is why they’re dating not married. She doesn’t need to work .. just remain party queen, and rear dogs/be dog spokesman.

        Ditto seemingly for a certain Ms Kwong, whose name for her dog Cash is somewhat revealing. Despite all the altruistic, simplistic Buddhist beliefs she supposedly has.

        Seems some parents do cultivate their daughters in Art, Music, Dance and to get some degree (doesn’t matter what degree) so they have better marriage qualifications.

        When I went to unversity in Canada, many of the HK crowd were in there to get degrees for ‘ka-chong’ (ie dowry boosting). To marry into the richer families, they needed all these ‘assets’ on their resume … esp if their own backgrounds was lower-middle class only.

      3. nomad 822,
        Wow, u r so detailed. haha…LOL
        I think I heard that a bit from my mom as well in regards to the ex that went into bankruptcy. She is one those ex TVB stars who never made it big and eventually their goal in life is to ‘land a gold turtle’ think cantonese metaphor….n i guess she is lucky then since she wasn’t young anymore right after that rich ex went to jail? Wow, no idea she landed another young one already. haha I don’t even know her chinese name but when i see you guys put FU I think that’s the woman I remember her on those tvb days, chubby-like face and not very pretty right? She sure is fast w/the rich crowd.
        Hey, let me tell you whoever believes all that marriage vows ’till death us do part’ is BS ok. haha…. I mean yes sure, some are real love but I once see a korean colleague divorced their other ½ faster than lightning right after he had a stroke. It was just unbelievable but believe me it happens.
        Wow, marriage qualifications huh? Haha I guess some woman are just born lazy u know what I mean? I mean I heard some HK cousins often say they see some see lai’s that can shop and play MJ all day. What a life? Haha… shameless….

      4. Thanks for all of the info nomad822! I can’t believe that Gigi is like that. But then again, a number of actresses and even women are like that. My parents taught me the opposite of all that. They emphasized for me and my brothers to all get an education so that we can have a stable career to support ourselves and our future family and not rely too much on our spouse. They emphasized that with me even more since I am female. My parents are traditional, but were modernized in that sense and wanted me to be self reliant and not rely on the guy too much or else his family and him would think I am leeching off them. I find it sad that some would want their daughters to marry well off/rich guys just to get a free meal ticket.

      5. @Windy,
        Did you ever watch Return of the Condor Heroes 1995? you know the version with Carmen and Louis?? She played Guo Fu(the one that chopped Yeung Guo’s arm off) and I think that was her most popular role.
        You cannot deny that money and love seem to be interwined these days. Loving someone is one thing, but you cannot deny that having money is a big part of it too especially if you are traditional and expect the guy to be the sole provider. But if you are more modernized and are capable of making your own income, then the amount of money the guy makes is less important. You know the saying, “love and bread” right?? In some cases, you can’t have love without bread.

      6. I got a question.. and it might seem rude.. but really that’s not my intention.

        Anyways, women since long long long time ago has have this mentality of digging into the guy’s pants for money… Of course modern day now… us ladies can choose to be independent, insanely independent, dependent or insanely dependent. But our female ancestors… they didn’t exactly have this choice to make. It was either lay on the streets and scrape literally dirt or sleep time with the rich men.

        Now then with that being said, all this talk about women such as Gigi Fu.. Lol. Ever thought maybe you’re sorta kinda very indirectly but still directly belittling your ancestors? ……………..

        I know. It is an extremely random thought.

  11. I think it is a bit of double standard. Guys like pretty girls. They have that requirement when looking. They can still love their (pretty) women. Some women like rich men. That is their requirement when looking. They can still love their (rich) men. I know that is shallow, but what makes these women more shallow. Obviously these requirments might not be a good base for a solid foundation. But they are part of our social life. I think it is more difficult to know a person than simply label them. I am sure there are many men who only date pretty women who are actually good people and women who only date rich men are just as good.

  12. I love to dine in at Tropika,,, I love that place in Cambie, eat there almost every month,,, their food is super good… Tropika in Cambie still in good business … I have no idea about Downtown one..

Comments are closed.