Tan & Cheng's investments in Dragon-i

February 19, 2020

Datuk Henry Yip was working with the Sime Darby Group's IT Division before he left to start the Dragon-i group. He could not have done it however without the financial backing of the late Datuk Vincent Tan Ting Wong and his friend, Datuk Douglas Cheng Heng Lee, who were the pioneer investors for the restaurant chain venture. They were persuaded to invest an initial capital of RM1 million to set up Dragon-i restaurant which would offer Shanghainese and Szechuan cuisine with the signature xiao long pao dish. Datuk Henry Yip rolled up his sleeves and laboured on to make Dragon-i a success. It proved to be so and the chain has become a household name in Malaysia.

Canton-i was then launched to serve Cantonese cuisine and dim sum along with the famed Hong Kong milk tea (nai cha). Subsequently Dragon-i Peking Duck restaurant was set up in Pavillion Kuala Lumpur and I Utama Shopping Mall. A new branch of the Peking Duck restaurant was scheduled for opening at the KLCC Signature food court area but the MCO set in on 18 March 2020.

Tan Boon Seng, the eldest son of the late Datuk Vincent Tan is now the Chairman of the Dragon-i Group of restaurants.