Yonghe King

Yonghe King, also known as Yonghe Dawang, is a Chinese fast-food restaurant brand centered on noodles and other Chinese-style quick-service foods. The chain opened its first restaurant in Shanghai on December 12, 1995, establishing a format aimed at convenient, relatively standardized meals for urban Chinese consumers. Its name is associated with the broader Yonghe restaurant naming tradition, although the brand is distinct from other businesses using “Yonghe,” including Yonghe soy-milk and breakfast-oriented chains originating in Taiwan. The brand expanded beyond its original Shanghai base into a multi-city restaurant network. Reference material describes branches in major Chinese cities including Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Jinan, and Suzhou, with more than 70 restaurants reported. Its business model is that of a Chinese fast-food chain rather than a full-service regional restaurant: the menu emphasis is on quickly prepared noodle dishes and familiar Chinese meal components served through standardized outlets. A major ownership turning point came in 2004, when Yonghe King was acquired by Jollibee Foods Corporation, a major Philippine fast-food group controlled by Tony Tan Caktiong. The acquisition placed the Chinese brand within a larger international restaurant portfolio while preserving its Chinese culinary identity and domestic-market focus. The available reference material does not provide acquisition consideration, detailed ownership percentages, or subsequent financial performance, so those details are omitted. Brand identity has also changed over time. Yonghe King’s original logo used a smiling, grandfatherly Chinese man against a red background. The design was reported as visually similar to the Colonel Sanders imagery associated with KFC. In 2005, the chain replaced that identity with a logo depicting a steaming bowl of soup, shifting the visual emphasis from a character mascot to the food category and the warmth of a freshly served meal. Yonghe King’s current positioning is therefore built around accessible Chinese fast food, especially noodles, delivered through a recognizable chain format. Its principal geographic footprint is China, and the available sources do not establish a substantial international retail network under the Yonghe King name. Publicly available reference material also does not identify a current chief executive, a standalone listed entity, a current official website, or detailed recent operating figures. The brand’s documented history is strongest on its Shanghai origin, domestic expansion, 2004 acquisition by Jollibee Foods Corporation, and 2005 logo redesign.

Yonghe King is a Chinese fast-food restaurant chain known primarily for noodles and other Chinese-style quick-service meals. The brand began operations in Shanghai, where its first restaurant opened on December 12, 1995. Its initial concept placed Chinese comfort-food products into a standardized fast-food setting, allowing customers to purchase familiar noodle and soup-based meals in a comparatively convenient chain environment. After its Shanghai launch, Yonghe King expanded into other major Chinese cities. The documented network includes outlets in Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Jinan, and Suzhou, and reference material describes the chain as having more than 70 restaurants. The available sources do not provide a complete store chronology, outlet-by-outlet history, or a detailed account of regional operating structures. They do, however, establish that the brand developed from a Shanghai restaurant into a wider domestic Chinese chain. The most significant ownership event in the available history occurred in 2004, when Jollibee Foods Corporation acquired Yonghe King. Jollibee is a major Philippine fast-food conglomerate associated with Tony Tan Caktiong. The acquisition connected Yonghe King to a larger restaurant group while the brand continued to operate as a Chinese-focused concept. No reliable acquisition price, transaction structure, or standalone financial information is provided in the supplied material. Yonghe King’s visual identity changed soon after the acquisition. Its original logo featured a smiling, grandfatherly Chinese man on a red background. Contemporary descriptions noted a resemblance between this character design and the Colonel Sanders logo used by KFC. In 2005, Yonghe King adopted a new logo showing a steaming bowl of soup. This redesign moved the brand’s visual communication away from a human mascot and toward a direct representation of its food and dining proposition. The brand name should not be treated as interchangeable with every restaurant using “Yonghe.” Other Chinese restaurant businesses also use the term, including Yonghe soy-milk and breakfast-oriented chains associated with Taiwan. Yonghe King is the specific Chinese noodle-focused fast-food chain described in the reference article. The documented present-day profile is that of a China-focused restaurant brand operating within the Jollibee Foods Corporation group. Its headquarters are identified as being on the fourth floor of Building B of Rainbow Hongqiao Centre in Minhang District, Shanghai. The available reference does not establish an official current website, a listed standalone company, current senior executives, recent sales figures, or a comprehensive account of present store numbers. Those fields remain unspecified rather than inferred.

• 2005

  Logo redesign

  [1]Yonghe King - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org

  Yonghe King replaced its original smiling-character logo with an image of a steaming bowl of soup.

• 2004

  Acquisition by Jollibee Foods Corporation

  [1]Yonghe King - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org

  Jollibee Foods Corporation acquired Yonghe King, making the Chinese chain part of the Philippine restaurant group’s portfolio.

• 1995

  First restaurant opens in Shanghai

  [1]Yonghe King - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org

  Yonghe King opened its first restaurant in Shanghai on December 12, 1995.

Accessible Chinese fast food with a focus on noodles, soup-based meals, and standardized quick-service dining in urban Chinese markets.

• Fast-food noodles

  Noodle dishes

  Noodles are the central product category associated with Yonghe King. The chain’s identity is built around serving Chinese-style noodle meals through a quick-service restaurant format, with standardized preparation and presentation across its network.

• Chinese fast food · 2005

  Soup-based meals

  Soup-based food is part of the brand’s documented visual identity, particularly after the 2005 logo redesign introduced a steaming bowl as the primary symbol. The available reference does not specify individual soup recipes or menu names.

• 2023

  Beijing Huayuan Road outlet notified by regulators over food safety issues

  In July 2023, the Haidian market supervision authorities notified that the Yonghe King Huayuan Road branch had food safety problems and was investigated and penalized in accordance with the law. The scope of responsibility is limited to that inspection and the outlet involved.

  Source

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• 2005

  Redesign the brand logoOther

  Background

  The original logo showed a smiling, grandfatherly Chinese man on a red background and was reported as visually similar to KFC’s Colonel Sanders imagery.

  Action taken

  Yonghe King replaced the character-based logo with a design showing a steaming bowl of soup.

  Aftermath

  The new identity emphasized the brand’s food offering rather than a human mascot. No independently documented sales or brand-equity impact is provided.

  Source

• 2004

  Join the Jollibee Foods Corporation portfolioM&A

  Background

  Yonghe King had developed from a Shanghai restaurant into a broader Chinese fast-food chain before being acquired by Jollibee Foods Corporation.

  Action taken

  Jollibee Foods Corporation purchased Yonghe King and incorporated the brand into its wider restaurant group.

  Aftermath

  Yonghe King continued to be described as a Chinese noodle-focused restaurant chain, while operating under the ownership of the Philippine fast-food group. The supplied sources do not provide detailed post-acquisition financial or organizational results.

  Source

• 2020.09.16

  Ele.me announces collaboration to develop a group standard for small-portion takeaway dishes[3]饿了么宣布联合制定外卖小份菜团体标准donews.com

  Ele.me announced that it would jointly develop a non-mandatory group standard for small-portion takeaway dishes with Beijing Business Today, Beijing Huatian, Yonghe King, Xiabuxiabu and Hongzhuang, under the guidance of the Beijing Cuisine Association.

  Weekdays and relative dates follow the original report; their exact calendar dates have not been verified.

• 2020.02.04

  Reported2020.02.04

  Yonghe King suspends operations at 14 Hubei stores[4]永和大王暂停湖北14家门店营业manilatimes.net

  Jollibee Foods Corp. suspended operations at its 14 Yonghe King stores in China's Hubei province in response to the 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak; the stores were to remain closed as part of government containment efforts.

Read more

1. 1Yonghe King - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Beijing Huayuan Road outlet notified by regulators over food safety issuesthepaper.cn
3. 3饿了么宣布联合制定外卖小份菜团体标准donews.com
4. 4永和大王暂停湖北14家门店营业manilatimes.net