Netizens recently noticed that the once buzzing Chinese restaurant Sha Sha Noodles had quietly disappeared from the food scene.
Some spotted the restaurant marked as “permanently closed” on Google, while others who visited its Puchong outlet found the shop no longer operating.
Soon after, Lisa, widely seen as the face of the brand, confirmed the closure on XiaoHongShu.
What followed was a lengthy explanation that revealed a far more complicated story behind the restaurant’s sudden shutdown.
Here’s what she shared.
Started as a small stall
According to Lisa, Sha Sha Noodles began as a humble street stall.
Later, she partnered with a food supplier who shared similar business goals, and together they opened a physical shop.
As her partner was unfamiliar with online operations and marketing, Lisa took charge of the shop’s public image and daily management.
Over time, customers naturally assumed she was the boss. But in reality, she was never registered as the official owner.
Name was never on the company
Lisa claimed her name did not appear in any company registration documents.
She only discovered in June last year that one of the partners behind the business was a well-known online influencer.
Even the shop’s name, Sha Sha Noodles, was suggested to her by her partner and inspired by her own name.
Ran the shop almost entirely alone
During the shop’s nearly two-year operation, Lisa said the original partners were rarely present, spending less than 24 hours at the store in total.
As such, she had to handle cashier duties, daily operations, staffing, customer complaints, and crisis management all alone.
Among the challenges she faced were food safety complaints and an alleged case where a manager stole RM200,000.
To keep the business afloat, Lisa said she used her personal funds to pay suppliers when company payments fell short.
Expanded despite financial strain
At a time when the shop was already under financial pressure, Lisa said the original partners pushed to open three new branches.
Feeling she had little choice, she followed the plan and even brought family members from overseas to help with renovation work.
After an alleged theft incident, trust within the team broke down and the business switched from online banking to cheque payments.
When I attempted to recover my invested funds, I discovered the company account had been emptied, and my partner had become unreachable,” she said.
A new person took over, but problems continued
Later, another individual known as “Finance Sister” took over operations and registered the business under her own company.
Lisa said she requested to become a shareholder and receive a proper salary. “But all I got was verbal assurances,” she said.
While business briefly improved, she managed to recover only part of the money she had personally invested.
Suppliers left unpaid, finances kept out of reach
From last October onwards, payments to suppliers reportedly stopped.
Although internal claims suggested most debts were settled, Lisa said account checks showed many bills remained unpaid, including some registered under her own name.
She added that she had no access to the business bank accounts and was not allowed to review financial records.
Initial checks suggested money was first transferred into personal accounts before being used for business expenses, raising concerns about transparency.
Despite running the shop daily, Lisa said she never received an official salary.
The only money she received was about RM20,000 during early profitable months, far less than what she had personally invested.
After the closure, rumours circulated that Lisa had fled back to her home country, but she clarified that her visa had expired and had to return to China temporarily to renew it.
Salary delays, staff backlash, and collapse
In an effort to prioritise supplier payments, Lisa delayed staff salaries by 10 days.
Some workers allegedly changed the shop’s QR payment code to their personal accounts to collect money directly. When this was discovered, disputes broke out.
Lisa claimed angry staff then vandalised the shop and took valuable items to sell for cash. With no remaining funds to repair the damage, Sha Sha Noodles was forced to shut down.
‘I was only the public face’
Lisa said she has now lost her personal savings while being left to shoulder public blame as the face of the brand.
She hopes that by sharing her story, others will be more cautious when entering business partnerships without proper ownership protection.
She added that she plans to return to Malaysia to resolve outstanding matters and has released SSM records, urging affected parties to report the case to authorities.
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