The cafe was an off-shoot of a takeaway loved by Michelin, 6,000 miles away in Hong Kong
A popular Bury café is saying farewell to Greater Manchester after two years of calling it home. Nestled in a row of terraced houses, LOJO Mate came to prominence early last year as an inconspicuous dining spot serving up dishes from thousands of miles away.
Established in 2024, it was an off-shoot of highly rated takeaway called Sai Kwan Lo Jo, which was established over 6,000 miles away in Hong Kong. Operating for several years, the original spot specialised in food from China’s Guangdong’s Xiguan region, such as hand-made lai fun noodles and sticky rice dumplings.
For three years it consistently made it onto the Michelin Guide’s prestigious Bib Gourmand list. But then it suddenly closed with its owners called it quits on its takeaway citing the pandemic, closures happening around them and a period of low earnings.
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However, one of its founders decided to up sticks and move to the UK, landing in Bury, where he established LOJO Mate with a focus on Hong Kong-inspired dishes. Run only by Alex, the café situated on Tottington Road seated no more than 12 people and had a WhatsApp reservation system, served up amazing bowls of char siu – otherwise known as ‘Sorrowful Rice of Ecstasy’.
Over the weekend though, Alex confirmed to customers via a social media post that he was bidding farewell to Manchester. “Two years in Manchester. Time for the next chapter. Thank you to all our char siu lovers. See you soon…in another city,” he wrote on Instagram over the weekend.
Many of the cafes dishes were made to order, and its menu spanned classics from its original Sai Kwan including noodles, rice dumplings and cheesy rice pops, to Lo Jo special rice bowls featuring an array of ingredients such as SPAM sticks, pork chop and scrambled egg.
Illustrating the British crossover, he also served up traditional Hong Kong Breakfast with soup-based pasta and ham, a all-day meal with noodles, eggs, butter and toast as well an English fry up. Snacks included sandwiches, French fries, deep-fried chicken leg, Hong Kong French toast, as well as the much-loved char siu.
Reacting to the post that Lo Jo Mate was no more in Bury, one customer wrote: “I travelled there from London and really loved your place. All the best with your next project.”
Another wrote: “Never even got the chance to try in Manchester! Long shot, but please move to Glasgow.”
While a number of customers shared where they think Alex should head to next, including Leeds, London and Bristol, the café owner is remaining tight-lipped about the future of Lo Jo Mate, though he confirmed to the Manchester Evening News that it will reopen in a new location, which will be confirmed soon.
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