Tien Chao was opened in 1949, and although the owner was born and raised in the small Taiwan town of Miaoli, the entire kitchen staff at the time was one hundred percent uniformly Kwangtung-bred Hakkas who had recently retired from military service. Hence the traditional Kwangtung methods of preparing Hakka cuisine remained prevalent here.
民國卅八年底，天橋飯店在物資局華山倉庫旁開張營業，雖然老闆梁鴻疇是苗栗籍的客家人，但是廚師清一色是贛南、廣東籍的客家退伍軍人，所以也就以嶺南系統的客家口味為主。