Hundreds flock to hole-in-the-wall spot for famous puffs in Sydney

Customers are flocking to a hole-in-the-wall food spot for its famous cream puffs - just two months after it unexpectedly shut up shop.Emperor's Garden has brought back its famous puffs, reopening at a new location on Thomas Street, about a minute's walk from its previous...

Ghanamma

October 15, 2026Ghana

By CINDY TRAN, ASSOCIATE EDITOR – LIFESTYLE & SHOPPING, AUSTRALIA Updated: 02:25 15 Oct 2026

Customers are flocking to a hole-in-the-wall food spot for its famous cream puffs – just two months after it unexpectedly shut up shop.

Emperor’s Garden has brought back its famous puffs, reopening at a new location on Thomas Street, about a minute’s walk from its previous address.

The puffs are now being offered from a tiny window at Emperor’s Garden BBQ & Noodles Chinese Restaurant in Sydney’s Haymarket.

The owners have kept the prices the same, with a single puff costing 70 cents or $5 for a pack of eight.

Since opening on October 9, hundreds of people have been lining up from midday every day to get their hands on freshly baked puffs filled with steaming hot custard.

Thousands are delighted by the return of the puffs, with one sharing: ‘My soul has been healed by this news.’

‘I was genuinely devastated when they closed, so seeing them back in business makes me SO happy,’ another shared.

‘Nothing but love for these little nuggets of joy,’ one revealed.

‘I am so ready for the third degree burns to my mouth,’ another joked.

‘See you soon! We will be there to burn the roof of our mouths while we scoff down those delicious hot morsels,’ one added.

In August, Emperor’s Garden quietly shut its doors after a family dispute over more than $845,000 owed to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).

At the time, customers were greeted by a closed green shutter door with a note stating the Chinatown premises had been ‘lawfully re-entered and possession taken’.

‘There’s a family disagreement involving the building as well as financial matters. We felt terrible that the shutters came down and all you got was a repossession sign outside,’ the owners said in an Instagram post on August 28.

‘We’ve consistently paid our taxes and met our obligations over the years. But as you know, since COVID, it hasn’t been easy on small businesses in Australia.

‘So as costs and inflation went up, the financial pressure became part of the bigger situation we’re dealing with now.’

It’s understood the family business has agreed to repay the ATO.

Many were devastated over the sudden closure.

‘I just fell to my knees,’ one said upon arriving at the closed shop.

‘Nooooo this is my childhood. I’m heartbroken,’ another revealed.

‘This makes me incredibly sad. The lining up was worth the wait,’ another added.

‘I can’t believe it. An iconic piece of Sydney’s Chinatown gone,’ one said.

At the time, the owners of Emperor’s Garden restaurant and bakery claimed the bakery was only temporarily shut.

‘Plot twist: we’re not closing. We’re just making a few moves behind the scenes,’ the owners said in a social media post.

‘Our bakery is taking a short break. That means the puffs are deflating for now… We’ll be back soon. Our BBQ and Meat Restaurant remains open across the road.’

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