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Couple take ownership of Newcastle restaurant where they met and married

A couple who first met and went on to hold their wedding in a Newcastle restaurant have now become the new owners of the venue, with support from law firm Sintons.

Waterside Palace, on Forth Banks in Newcastle, has been bought by Jeab Prapunwong and his wife Sun Ye Lau, who have transformed it into Mantra Thai. The couple have invested over £600k in revamping the venue.

Jeab and Sun Ye first met in Waterside Palace, then one of Newcastle’s most esteemed Chinese restaurants, when it was owned by Sun Ye’s father Alec Lau, who is also the founder of the Lau’s Buffet King chain. Jeab, who came to the UK as a student, worked there as a waiter. The couple went on to marry and held their wedding there in 2003.

Now, the future of the venue has been secured with it passing to the next generation of the Lau family through its acquisition by Sun Ye and Jeab. The restaurant has been fully refurbished and its design and menu have been overseen by Jeab, who hails from Hua Hin in Thailand.

Leading lawyer Barry Speker has acted for the Lau family for more than 20 years, and acquired the Waterside Palace site for Alec in 2000. He and the real estate team at Newcastle law firm Sintons have enabled the transfer of the premises to Mantra Thai.

Since its reopening, the restaurant is proving a hit with diners, and the sizeable venue has hosted a number of weddings and conferences.

Laura Peace, Partner in the real estate department at Sintons, and solicitor Danielle Dale handled the property aspects of the transfer.

Jeab said: “I have always wanted to open a Thai restaurant since I moved to Newcastle as a student in 1997. This place is special to Sun Ye and I because we met here, and it has been in Sun Ye’s family since it was first built.

“We are so proud to become its owners and to be able to give a whole new look and identity to this fantastic building. Mantra is something special and unique for Newcastle and we are really pleased with how well it has been received.”

Barry Speker, Consultant at Sintons and prominent lawyer to Newcastle’s Chinese community, said: “It is very special that Sun Ye and Jeab have become the owners of a place that holds such personal significance for them, and furthermore, that they have transformed such a well-known restaurant into a venue which has its own separate identity.

“I wish Sun Ye and Jeab the very best of luck with Mantra – I am a regular visitor so can confirm they are making an outstanding success of it!”.

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