Latest news with #Australian-Chinese
The Age
20 hours ago
- The Age
This old-school regional Chinese restaurant is a delicious time-warp to the 1970s
Shandong chicken is a highlight, with vinegar-sharp skin and juicy-enough flesh under a foliage of coriander. Mapo tofu eats more like a Country Women's casserole than anything from Sichuan, but it's exactly what you want on a cold Bowral night. The fried ice-cream is as good as it gets. Before Teresa and Michael took the keys, the dining room was shuttered for two months. Many locals were worried it wouldn't reopen – a place of countless first dates, final birthdays and celebrations gone forever. Like the wonderful Chan's Canton Village in Casula, which did permanently close last year, it's the kind of place that invites calls of 'It should be heritage-listed'. Maybe, but a listing can also bring about increased maintenance costs, and these Australian-Chinese institutions should function as restaurants, not museums. The best way to keep these regional institutions alive? Stop in for a Crown Lager and ham roll when next in town. Good Food Guide.
Sydney Morning Herald
20 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
This old-school regional Chinese restaurant is a delicious time-warp to the 1970s
Shandong chicken is a highlight, with vinegar-sharp skin and juicy-enough flesh under a foliage of coriander. Mapo tofu eats more like a Country Women's casserole than anything from Sichuan, but it's exactly what you want on a cold Bowral night. The fried ice-cream is as good as it gets. Before Teresa and Michael took the keys, the dining room was shuttered for two months. Many locals were worried it wouldn't reopen – a place of countless first dates, final birthdays and celebrations gone forever. Like the wonderful Chan's Canton Village in Casula, which did permanently close last year, it's the kind of place that invites calls of 'It should be heritage-listed'. Maybe, but a listing can also bring about increased maintenance costs, and these Australian-Chinese institutions should function as restaurants, not museums. The best way to keep these regional institutions alive? Stop in for a Crown Lager and ham roll when next in town. Good Food Guide.
The Age
13-05-2025
- Business
- The Age
Tough day at the office? Take out your frustrations at this ‘smashing' city lunch spot
Chinese restaurant Pounding Rice Bowl provides the mortar, pestle, rice and pork and asks diners to smash away. Chinese$$$$ You've ordered food, the kitchen has prepared it, and it's arrived at your table looking lovely. There's only one thing to do: wreck it. Pick up the provided pestle and pound your meal into a mash. That's the concept at Pounding Rice Bowl, a new city restaurant that explains its key activity in its name. Smashing a bowl of rice, minced pork, and soft braised eggplant is a great idea. The broken rice absorbs the juice from the pork, the eggplant becomes almost creamy and the amalgam makes for comforting chopsticked mouthfuls. Macerated screw peppers, a type of twisty green chilli, are served alongside. Other rice bowl toppings include braised pork belly and meatballs, but no matter the garnish, the rice is the star. Premium wuchang rice is imported from Heilongjiang province in north-east China: medium grain and slightly sticky, it's a perfect carrier for bold, savoury flavours. China's south-central province of Hunan is the main inspiration behind these dishes but don't go there and expect to be given a pounding stick whenever you eat out. There is a Hunanese dish of preserved century egg, chilli and eggplant that it's traditional to bash – either in the kitchen, or at the dining table – but Pounding Rice Bowl owner Ben Wen expanded the concept for his Melbourne restaurant, building a whole brand around the idea of self-smashed food. Originally from the famous beer town of Qingdao (home to Tsingtao) in eastern China, Wen is an ever-creative entrepreneur who's opened 70 venues since 2008, including pizza parlours, dumpling houses, barbecue chicken joints and a Peking duck restaurant. His fast-casual smarts and an expansive vision for modern Australian-Chinese food combine in this restaurant, which he plans to expand to Asian hubs Box Hill and Glen Waverley. 'The scallion oil noodles are one of the best sub-$10 lunches in town.' Open from lunch to late (and soon for breakfast), Pounding Rice Bowl is just out of the Chinatown fray. There's cosy seating downstairs near the kitchen, while the first floor is spacious, decorated with custom illustrative artwork by an employee with a background designing Chinese film paraphernalia. Ordering is via QR code, but there's no problem engaging with a waiter if you prefer. Limitless pickles and sweet plum juice are available at help-yourself stations, just one more sign of the hospitality here. The menu is broad and savvy, reflecting a kitchen that employs chefs from all over China, and allows them to showcase their specialties. A range of classic Aussie-Chinese dishes, such as sweet-and-sour pork and honey chicken, keeps nervous guests on-side. The more adventurous – or simply acculturated – go hard on offal and odd-bits such as fried duck head and spicy pork ears. I love the 'fried chicken bone', a whole carcass that is marinated, braised, fried and served with a zingy Sichuan spice salt featuring 21 ingredients. Gloves are provided so you can eat with gusto: crack some bones, nibble their edges, get messy and give yourself extra points for eating the last (delicious) scraps from a product that often hits the bin. You'll also want to try the springy, fresh house-made noodles. To make them, Wen uses the '00' flour he fell in love with during his pizza shop days. He's also a fan of Melbourne water, saying it's not even necessary to add salt to make a wonderful dough. The scallion oil noodles here are one of the best sub-$10 lunches in town, using three different types of onion to create a piquant but sweet dressing for the long noodles. Meanwhile, the dumplings are better than decent. Pork parcels everywhere often include cabbage; these ones smuggle in water chestnut for a more sophisticated crunch, just one more way Pounding Rice Bowl shows a level of detail and care at a keen price point. Smashing may be the activity; smash hit is the result.
Sydney Morning Herald
13-05-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Tough day at the office? Take out your frustrations at this ‘smashing' city lunch spot
Chinese restaurant Pounding Rice Bowl provides the mortar, pestle, rice and pork and asks diners to smash away. Chinese$$$$ You've ordered food, the kitchen has prepared it, and it's arrived at your table looking lovely. There's only one thing to do: wreck it. Pick up the provided pestle and pound your meal into a mash. That's the concept at Pounding Rice Bowl, a new city restaurant that explains its key activity in its name. Smashing a bowl of rice, minced pork, and soft braised eggplant is a great idea. The broken rice absorbs the juice from the pork, the eggplant becomes almost creamy and the amalgam makes for comforting chopsticked mouthfuls. Macerated screw peppers, a type of twisty green chilli, are served alongside. Other rice bowl toppings include braised pork belly and meatballs, but no matter the garnish, the rice is the star. Premium wuchang rice is imported from Heilongjiang province in north-east China: medium grain and slightly sticky, it's a perfect carrier for bold, savoury flavours. China's south-central province of Hunan is the main inspiration behind these dishes but don't go there and expect to be given a pounding stick whenever you eat out. There is a Hunanese dish of preserved century egg, chilli and eggplant that it's traditional to bash – either in the kitchen, or at the dining table – but Pounding Rice Bowl owner Ben Wen expanded the concept for his Melbourne restaurant, building a whole brand around the idea of self-smashed food. Originally from the famous beer town of Qingdao (home to Tsingtao) in eastern China, Wen is an ever-creative entrepreneur who's opened 70 venues since 2008, including pizza parlours, dumpling houses, barbecue chicken joints and a Peking duck restaurant. His fast-casual smarts and an expansive vision for modern Australian-Chinese food combine in this restaurant, which he plans to expand to Asian hubs Box Hill and Glen Waverley. 'The scallion oil noodles are one of the best sub-$10 lunches in town.' Open from lunch to late (and soon for breakfast), Pounding Rice Bowl is just out of the Chinatown fray. There's cosy seating downstairs near the kitchen, while the first floor is spacious, decorated with custom illustrative artwork by an employee with a background designing Chinese film paraphernalia. Ordering is via QR code, but there's no problem engaging with a waiter if you prefer. Limitless pickles and sweet plum juice are available at help-yourself stations, just one more sign of the hospitality here. The menu is broad and savvy, reflecting a kitchen that employs chefs from all over China, and allows them to showcase their specialties. A range of classic Aussie-Chinese dishes, such as sweet-and-sour pork and honey chicken, keeps nervous guests on-side. The more adventurous – or simply acculturated – go hard on offal and odd-bits such as fried duck head and spicy pork ears. I love the 'fried chicken bone', a whole carcass that is marinated, braised, fried and served with a zingy Sichuan spice salt featuring 21 ingredients. Gloves are provided so you can eat with gusto: crack some bones, nibble their edges, get messy and give yourself extra points for eating the last (delicious) scraps from a product that often hits the bin. You'll also want to try the springy, fresh house-made noodles. To make them, Wen uses the '00' flour he fell in love with during his pizza shop days. He's also a fan of Melbourne water, saying it's not even necessary to add salt to make a wonderful dough. The scallion oil noodles here are one of the best sub-$10 lunches in town, using three different types of onion to create a piquant but sweet dressing for the long noodles. Meanwhile, the dumplings are better than decent. Pork parcels everywhere often include cabbage; these ones smuggle in water chestnut for a more sophisticated crunch, just one more way Pounding Rice Bowl shows a level of detail and care at a keen price point. Smashing may be the activity; smash hit is the result.
News.com.au
06-05-2025
- Politics
- News.com.au
Liberal's ‘extraordinary' claim helped Labor secure big swings with Chinese voters
Foreign Minister Penny Wong has revealed the Liberal Party's unfounded claim that 'Chinese spies' were handing out ALP how-to-vote cards was a factor that helped swing votes in key electorates for Labor. It now emerged there were huge swings of up to 26 per cent to Labor in specific booths with significant Chinese Australian populations, helping to deliver significant big swings across key electorates. In Bennelong, where more than 40 per cent of people have Chinese ancestry, Labor's Jerome Laxale was expected to lose the seat given he was on a wafer thin margin of 0.1 per cent. Instead, in individual booths such as Meadowbank, there was a 19 per cent swing to Labor delivering a 70:30 split of votes between the two major parties over two elections. In two booths – Chatswood and Eastwood – suburbs in Bennelong where more than 40 per cent of people have Chinese ancestry there were swings to Labor of 15 per cent and 26 per cent. 'They had no faith that they could represent the Chinese Australian community effectively,'' Labor MP Jereome Laxale told 'Peter Dutton, Scott Morrison, their language. They've got a record of poor performance.' On current counting that appears to have blown out to Bennelong to almost 10 per cent. 'Chinese spies' claims The Coalition finance spokeswoman told Channel 7's Sunrise on the Wednesday before the election that people associated with the Chinese Communist Party had organised campaigners for a teal and Labor MP, before the latter rejected the arrangement. Her observation followed a newspaper article outlining the claims. 'There might be Chinese spies that are, you know, handing out for you,' Ms Hume said to Clare O'Neil. She offered no evidence to support the claim. 'But for us, there's dozens, thousands, hundreds of young people that are out there handing out how-to-vote cards for the Liberal Party because they want a better life.' Sunrise host Nat Barr appeared shocked by the claim asking her, 'Chinese spies?'. Claims weaponised Accusing the Liberal Party of questioning the loyalty of Chinese Australians, Ms Wong used new social media advertisements targeting Chinese voters on WeChat and RedNote. 'I was out expressing the same thing I've been saying for a long time, which is that the Liberal Party's approach to a whole range of issues are of concern to the Australian-Chinese community,'' Ms Wong said. 'I thought Jane Hume asserting that Labor volunteers – Chinese volunteers – were spies was an extraordinary thing to say. 'And it continued a pattern of comments and behaviour by the Liberal Party that Chinese Australians were rightly concerned by. 'And we did see, in many seats – in Bennelong, in Chisholm, in Menzies, in Reid, and beyond – Chinese-Australians being really clear about their views about the Liberal Party.' Ms Wong sought to weaponise Liberal frontbencher Ms Hume's extraordinary and unsubstantiated claim in the advertisements. 'He didn't care about the consequences for us, for our communities. And now, when he wants your vote, he says something different,'' she says in the ads. 'But Chinese Australians know what Peter Dutton is like.' Ms Wong then speaks in Chinese before translating her words to English. 'He won't change,'' she says. Capping off a challenging campaign for Ms Hume, who was also at the centre of the work-from-home backflip, the comments have infuriated Liberal colleagues. Ms Hume previously claimed public servants who were 'working for home' were in fact driving around in campervans while travelling Australia. 'Beat up' over Voice Ms Wong also expressed the view that the blow up over her comments regarding the Voice, which were made to the Betoota Talks podcast, were disappointing and an inaccurate 'beat-up'. 'I think more importantly, what it did show Australians is that the reflex for the Liberal Party was to have a culture war and get very aggro, let's be frank,'' she said. 'Whereas most Australians weren't there. You know, most Australians wanted to talk about Medicare and schools and cost of living and tax cuts and fee-free TAFE and childcare and 20 per cent off their HECS debt. 'That's where most Australians were. But the Coalition – yet again – their reflex is to have a culture war, which is often very hurtful to First Nations Australians but, more generally, to people who care about reconciliation. So I think it was a demonstration of why the Liberal Party has done so badly in Australia's cities and suburbs. Ms Wong said the projected seat count of around 85 seats was a stunning result. 'Can I just say, it's at the upper end of my expectations,'' she said. 'But I think if you look at the metropolitan electorates around the country, overwhelmingly – overwhelmingly – Australians live in cities and suburbs, and they looked at the Liberal Party and said, 'You don't represent my aspirations. You don't reflect the things I'm worried about. You don't reflect where I want to go.' 'And that is the clear message from the election. As I said, we're really humbled by and grateful for the opportunity, and we understand what it means.' Peter Dutton and China During the 2022 election, the Liberals took a big hit among Chinese voters after taking an anti-China stance during the pandemic. In the Liberal Party's review of its election performance, undertaken by former party director Brian Loughnane and Ms Hume, it was reported: 'In the top 15 seats by Chinese ancestry the swing against the Party (on a 2PP basis) was 6.6 per cent, compared to 3.7 per cent in other seats.'
