Cha Li Boi closes after four months

It opened with a bang in May, but modern yum cha start-up Cha Li Boi has already hit the skids.

Easts Leagues, the Bondi Junction club where Cha Li Boi slid into its first floor, confirmed the restaurant had closed. The signs weren't great for the start-up. Ex Billy Kwong dumpling guru John Leong departed not long after its launch, and in late July Cha Li Boi's high-profile frontwoman Nahji Chu split with the restaurant's investors and declared her work at Cha Li Boi "done".

"They didn't tell me they were going to close it, but they've told me they'll pay any debts. I'm not sure what they are going to do with the space next," Chu tells Good Food.

Chu has gone public in recent weeks, facing up on SBS-TV's Insight program on the implosion of her Miss Chu chain in 2014. She's also revealed her catering start-up, Lady Chu, is being threatened with legal action by the current Miss Chu owners given its similarity to her old moniker.

"I'm sticking to my guns with it, it's my surname," she adds.