Ms Lim has closed her Orient Express Chinese restaurant in Wanaka's main street and retired.
Her partner Gong Han has ''semi-retired''.
The couple, reknowned for their hospitality, have been a long-standing Wanaka institution.
''The whole town, they are my friends,'' Ms Lim told the Otago Daily Times this week.
Ms Lim is recovering from a hip operation but said that was not why the restaurant was closing.
The main reason was her lease had come to an end and the Helwick St building was to be demolished.
Ms Lim is originally from Malaysia and Mr Han from China.
After a career in hotels in Malaysia, Ms Lim decided to open the restaurant in 1991 because she liked cooking.
For all but the last two of the restaurant's 27 years, the couple have worked day and night, seven days a week.
''I suppose it was our interest in cooking and our interest in meeting people, because that is my profession,'' Ms Lim said.
Asked which dish was the favourite of Wanaka customers, Ms Lim said: ''Sweet and sour pork, lemon chicken, chicken cashew nuts, crispy roast chicken, crispy roast duck ...''
Ms Lim said she had no plan yet for how she would spend her retirement.
''Maybe rest a while, then travel.''
