EXCLUSIVE: Ma Mon Luk ordered closed over alleged sanitation, tax violations

Iconic Quezon Avenue restaurant eyes Sept. 22 reopening as staff clean up.

The iconic Ma Mon Luk restaurant along Quezon Avenue was ordered closed by the Quezon City government over alleged sanitation and tax violations, radar Business has learned.

According to the Quezon City Business Permits and Licensing Department’s closure notice, the order cited alleged violations of the Sanitation Code of the Philippines and the Quezon City Revenue Code of 1993.

Netizens first pointed out the closure notice on Friday, Sept. 18, but restaurant staff told radar Business that they had ceased operations since Thursday, Sept. 17. The staff declined to comment on the alleged violations outlined in the closure order.

The establishment’s official Facebook page also announced its temporary closure on Sept. 18, saying, “We’ll be back soon, thank you for your support.” The post did not mention the alleged business violations.

The restaurant aims to reopen on Sept. 22, with cleaning efforts underway to have the order lifted, a staff member said.

The staff member also told radar Business that they were hoping to reopen on Sept. 21 and that they would “lalakarin ang pagbubukas,” but declined to clarify what this meant.

radar Business witnessed cleaning operations inside the restaurant, with staff members cleaning floors and tables while moving equipment around. The surrounding area strongly smelled of bleach, but a foul, urine-like stench previously noted by netizens remained.

Some equipment would also be replaced to comply with the city order, a staff member said. The restaurant’s original wooden siopao steamers, for instance, would be replaced with stainless steel equipment.

Ma Mon Luk is named after the Chinese entrepreneur who established the restaurant. He is said to have started selling chicken noodle soup, popularly known as mami, on the streets of Manila in the 1920s.

The first Ma Mon Luk restaurant opened in the 1950s, according to its official website. Several branches were opened across Metro Manila, but only the Quezon Avenue branch remains.

The closure order identifies the restaurant’s parent company as Ma Mon Luk International Corp. and indicates that its business permit was acquired in 1997.

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