Latest news with #KokHem'Peter'Chee
The Age
2 days ago
- Business
- The Age
With no one to take over, Australia's oldest Chinese restaurant is closing
'We are getting old,' says Sai Yoke 'Sue' Wong, 74, who runs Toi Shan in Bendigo with her husband, Kok Hem 'Peter' Chee, 71. 'We have been wanting to retire for a long time. We looked for someone to take over, but no one has.' The couple will permanently close their restaurant in Bendigo's CBD on July 30. It will later reopen as an Indian restaurant. Toi Shan has been around since 1948, when Allan Chan took over On Loong cookshop and renamed it after the southern Chinese city he was born in, more commonly transliterated as Taishan. On Loong, however, dates back further, possibly to 1892. Its first iteration was on Bridge Street, in the heart of Bendigo's Chinatown, and it moved to the current location on Mitchell Street in 1942. The Chan family sold the business to Sue Wong's family in 2003. 'We've been here 20 years,' says Wong. 'It's a hard job with long hours. Staff are hard to find, and you don't make enough money to pay them anyway, so you work until midnight. One day it's busy, two days quiet, one day busy. It's hard for old guys.'
Sydney Morning Herald
4 days ago
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
With no one to take over, Australia's oldest Chinese restaurant is closing
'We are getting old,' says Sai Yoke 'Sue' Wong, 74, who runs Toi Shan in Bendigo with her husband, Kok Hem 'Peter' Chee, 71. 'We have been wanting to retire for a long time. We looked for someone to take over, but no one has.' The couple will permanently close their restaurant in Bendigo's CBD on July 30. It will later reopen as an Indian restaurant. Toi Shan has been around since 1948, when Allan Chan took over On Loong cookshop and renamed it after the southern Chinese city he was born in, more commonly transliterated as Taishan. On Loong, however, dates back further, possibly to 1892. Its first iteration was on Bridge Street, in the heart of Bendigo's Chinatown, and it moved to the current location on Mitchell Street in 1942. The Chan family sold the business to Sue Wong's family in 2003. 'We've been here 20 years,' says Wong. 'It's a hard job with long hours. Staff are hard to find, and you don't make enough money to pay them anyway, so you work until midnight. One day it's busy, two days quiet, one day busy. It's hard for old guys.'
