The local, small-town Chinese restaurant holds a special place in the hearts – and stomachs – of Australians, and next Thursday at Moree, Jennifer Wong and Lin Jie Kong will be celebrating the place honey chicken, sweet and sour pork, and chicken and cashew have on the lazy susan of Australian culture.
The pair behind the hit ABC TV series Chopsticks or Fork? will be making the journey out from Sydney to launch their tie-in book at the of the restaurants featured: Moree’s New Bo Wa, run by Whitney and Ernest Lai.
“The New Bo Wa was the first restaurant we actually went to for the series,” Lin Jie says.
“It’s the quintessential regional Chinese restaurant – it looks the part, it tastes the part, and Ernest and Whitney and their entire family were so fantastic, and really took us in.”
The book celebrates such restaurants that have become important fixtures in country communities, and acknowledges the history and stories behind them – and, of course, the unique food that’s been created (and tailored) here.
Jennifer and Lin Jie have captured the stories of these restaurants, as well as the history behind them and the place they hold in Australians’ memories – and unravelling the mystery of just how nearly every town in Australia, no matter how remote, seems to have a Chinese restaurant.
“I think one thing that really illuminated for me is that a historian that Lin Jie spoke to called Sophie Couchman kind of put it really eloquently when she said the people who are running the restaurants are already so far from home,” Jennifer said.
“So it’s no big deal to go a little bit further from the city to a regional town.”
The book is a love-letter to all the Chinese restaurants scattered throughout the country, filled with tales from the restaurateurs and patrons – and, of course, recipes for all your favourite dishes.
The launch is one at the New Bo Wa, 358 Frome Street, Moree, on Thursday, 5th of September, from 5PM to 6PM. Tickets are free, but you need to register at the link on this page, with copies of the book available for purchase.
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