Cult Chinatown Cream Puff Store Emperor’s Garden Shuts Down With $845K Tax Bill

By Elliot Nash - News

Updated: 13 August, 2026

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Readtime: 3 min

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• Emperor’s Garden’s Hay Street restaurant and bakery are currently closed.
• The ATO is seeking to wind up the company over $845,133.11 in tax debt.
• The business has previously said the closure is only a “small break”, while its Thomas Street venue remains open.

Emperor’s Garden has been part of Sydney‘s Chinatown for 47 years, pumping out cheap little pastries straight from the window, an iconic store that satisfied many a late-night craving for locals and tourists alike. But if you’re craving an Emperor Puff, you may soon need to cough up considerably more than your usual loose change. The Chinatown institution currently owes close to a million dollars in unpaid taxes.

But with the eatery previously charging eight puffs for five bucks, the company behind Emperor’s Garden would need to sell about 1.35 million cream puffs just to cover its tax debt.

Unfortunately for Sydneysiders, it doesn’t look like they’ll be able to sell their way out of this situation. The famous Hay Street restaurant and bakery has now shut up shop, and the ATO is taking matters seriously. It has applied to wind up Emperor’s Garden Pty Ltd over $845,133.11 in unpaid tax, according to Federal Court documents reported by the ABC.

They Owe How Much?

With that kind of bill sitting on the table, the ATO argues the company may be insolvent and wants a liquidator appointed. A demand was reportedly sent to the business in March, while a notice now attached to the shuttered shop at 98–100 Hay Street says the premises were “lawfully re-entered and possession taken” on 2 August, with the locks changed.

Someone had to claim that little machine that makes the cream puffs. I’m gonna miss waiting in line, watching it turn out those delicious treats.

Is Emperor’s Garden Actually Closing?

But not all hope is lost. A post on the restaurant’s Instagram page said the restaurant and bakery were taking a “small break” and “we’ll be back soon”, while its Emperor’s Garden BBQ & Noodles restaurant on Thomas Street remains open.

Honestly, it’s Chinese Noodle House all over again. Are they closed? Are they coming back? And where am I supposed to get my fix now?

As for what happens to the Hay Street site, there’s another wrinkle. It already has conditional approval for a major 16-storey mixed-use redevelopment, although there’s nothing linking that project to the current closure or the ATO action.

For now, the shutters are down, the cream puffs are off the menu, and an AUD$845,000 tax bill is hanging over one of Chinatown’s most familiar food stops.