Diners can't get enough of the kitschy fare at Hello Kitty Chinese restaurant

Man Kwong, the founder of Hello Kitty Chinese Cuisine, did not foresee the overwhelming response to the world's first Cantonese restaurant styled after its most recognisable cat.

Every item from the interior to the food gives a nod to the cartoon kitty. The kitchen prepares local fare accented with the brand's motif, including dim sum such as shrimp dumplings adorned with that mouth-free face and pink ribbon.

"Everything here had to be approved by Sanrio [the Japanese company that originated Hello Kitty], even the tissue," Kwong says, which is why it took 18 months to open the Jordan venue.

In the first half of April, only Hello Kitty fan club members were permitted inside. On April 16, the doors opened to the rest of the public.

"The response was enormous - huge - with long queues outside," says Kwong. "During that week we realised we were short of manpower and food as there were a few incidents when people complained because the popular dim sum were sold out by evening," he says.

Kwong hired more chefs and waiting staff and increased the inventory to cater to the demand. The queues are still extensive, especially on weekends when queues are one to two hours long.