I knowsaidtheywouldonlygotoa restaurantthatwas
notChinese.Theywerescaredtheymightcatchit.”
Thoughheacknowledgestherehasbeenanincreasein
racialabusedirectedtowardspeopleofAsianappearance
duringCovid-19,hecontendsthatracisminthebroader
communitywasnotthecauseofChinatown’sdownturn
inthoseearlypre-lockdownmonths.
ForWingKee,however,thelanguagebeingused
todiscussthenewillnesswasdrivingxenophobic
attitudes.“Especiallyaroundthattimewhenpeople
werecallingit ‘theChinavirus’,it washardtosee
howthatlanguagewasn’timpactingChinatown.”
That’sthethingaboutracism.It’soppressionthat
echoesthroughhistoryandtimeat differentdecibels.
AtoneendofthescalesitstheWhiteAustraliapolicy;
themiddleis thesoundofwhitebusinessowners
namingtheirpan-Asianrestaurant“SumYungGuys”;
andat theotherendis thesilencethatfallsovera precinct
renownedforitsChinese-ownedfoodbusinesseswhen
fear,uncertaintyandbigotrytakehold.
TheMarchlockdownwassomethingofa relief- a mandate,at last,toceasetradingforthesakeof
publichealth,aftera mercilessfewmonthsofdecline.
“Itwasa matteroftime.It wasa goodthing.Wefelt
thesoonerwegetthisoveranddonewith,thesooner
wecancomebackout,”saysWong.
BarslikeBanchohadtoclosefortheforeseeable
future.Onthelastdayoftrade,staffdida finalclean
ofthevenueandheadedtoSuperbowlfora latesupper.
Asit happened,it wasalsoSuperbowl’slastday,not
justforlockdown,butforgood.Somespeculatethat
highrentandlowtradecausedtheownerstoshutup
shop,whileotherssaythepandemicgavethema good
reasontoretireafterdecadesoffeedinghungrydiners.
BanchostafferswereSuperbowl’sfinal-evercustomers.
“Itwasactuallya reallysaddinner.We’dpackedand
wrappedupeverythingat Bancho,thenwentto
Superbowlandwatchedthemwrapup,”saysWing
Kee.“WeweremoresadaboutSuperbowlclosing
downthanusclosingdown,”addsAng.
If Superbowlstandsforthecasualandcomfortable
endofarchetypalChinatowndining,GoldenCentury
is itsglamorousotherhalf,a placefrequentedbychefs
knockingoffafterdinnerservice,LadyGagaand
Rihanna,andvisitingdignitaries.Overthreelevels,
it seats 550 patronswhoaretendedtobybilingual
front-of-housestaffwearingblackwaistcoats,polished
shoesandearpieces.Innormalcircumstances,Golden
Centuryis openfrommiddayto4am, 365 daysa year.
A 10-weeklockdownwasunprecedentedinthe
restaurant’s30-yearhistory.“There’sconstantlypeople
inandout,sotowalkinthereduringthepandemic,
it wasquitesurreal,”saysWong.Thetables,usually
drapedinpristinewhitecloth,werestrippedbare.
Theliveseafoodtankswerestillandquiet.
DannyFu’sconnectionwithSydney’sChinatown
runsdeep.Asa teenager,hewrangleda jobduring
weekend yum cha service at Marigold. In yum cha
restaurants,it’stypicallywomenputonfront-of-housetrolleyduty.“I was
probablya pioneerbackintheday,”saysFu.Hewasoftenassignedtothe
doufufa cart,peddlingthedessertofwarmsilkentofuwithgingersyrup.
“ItwascalledtheMercedes-Benzofthecartsbecauseyoucouldpushit
aroundandnotmanypeoplewouldorderit.”
Thereareothermemoriestoo.Completinghishomeworkonstacksof
riceat thebackofSeason’sFruitMarket,thegrocerystorethathisparents
IreneandChiChinghaverunfor 38 years.Deliveringwholesaleordersto
Chinatownrestaurantswhilestudyingat university.Watchinghisfather
riseat 4amtoselectproduceat Flemingtonmarkets.Andtheenduring
memory– oneofwhichmanyfirst-generationchildrenofimmigrantscan
relateto– ofhisparentsworkingback-breaking,longhours,sevendays
a week,toseetheirbusiness,andtheirchildren’sfutures,thriveinAustralia.
Season’sFruitMarketis a pokyshopfrontonChinatown’sThomas
Street,itsnarrowentranceflankedbyageingbilingualsignsinChinese
andEnglish:“Postersprohibited”,“Freshfruitandvegetables,chicken
fillet,frozenfood,Asianfood”.Theretailshelvesarecrammedwith
bokchoy,bamboosteamerbasketsanda rainbowofcondiments.But
it’stheirsupplytorestaurantsthatformsthebackboneofthebusiness- 80percentofSeason’stradeis wholesale.
Whenlockdownsawrestaurantsshuttered,thehittoSeason’swas
massive.It forcedthefamilytothinkofwaystoweathertheworstofthe
Covid-19storm.Witnessingpanickedbuyersliningupat supermarkets,
Fu’spartnerJenNghada revelation– noonewasdoinghome-delivery
ofAsiangroceries.Whydon’ttheygiveit a shot?
Atfirst,orders,mainlyfromfamilyandfriends,werecompiledon
a Googlespreadsheet.Whenit wassharedtoa cousin’smother’sgroup,
demandballoonedto 45 orders.Ng,whoworksinmarketing,established
anonlinestoreandthefamily– includingFu’ssisterJessica,brother
Vincent,andtheirpartners – would pitch in packing orders; Fu delivered
them to people’s doors.
62 GOURMET TRAVELLER