Perspectives:Asia | Stories, food and belonging: Jennifer Wong explores Australia’s regional Chinese restaurants
PERSPECTIVES:ASIA | JENNIFER WONG |
On 3 September, Griffith Asia Institute welcomed writer, comedian and broadcaster Jennifer Wong to the latest Perspectives: Asia lecture at the Gallery of Modern Art in Brisbane.
Drawing on the acclaimed ABC series and book Chopsticks or Fork?, Jennifer took the audience on a journey through regional Australia, exploring the history, culture and community connections found in Chinese restaurants across the country. Moving through stories from Western Australia, Tasmania, the Northern Territory, New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, she introduced the families behind restaurants that have become enduring fixtures of regional life.
Through humour, storytelling and personal reflection, Jennifer showed that these restaurants offered far more than a meal. They became gathering places, family legacies and cultural bridges, often giving local residents their first meaningful encounter with another culture. Her presentation invited the audience to look beyond familiar shopfronts and menus to the histories of migration, work, adaptation and belonging that helped shape Australia’s multicultural identity across generations.
In the final minutes of the presentation, Jennifer surprised the audience by inviting Garry Bong to join her on stage. Garry and his family’s story appeared in Jennifer’s book and in Episode 3 of Chopsticks or Fork?, which featured Hervey Bay and the Oriental Palace restaurant. He reflected on the two decades he and his wife, Aneliesa, spent leading the restaurant, continuing a family tradition of serving Malaysian Chinese cuisine and building lasting relationships within the local community. Garry also spoke candidly about their decision to sell the restaurant in 2023 and move to Brisbane to create more opportunities for their two children. The move enabled Aneliesa to pursue her ambition of working as an accountant, while Garry began studying nursing. Thanking Jennifer for sharing his family’s story, he said her support and recognition had given him confidence to keep pursuing his dreams beyond the restaurant industry.
The audience responded warmly to the exchange, which brought Jennifer’s wider themes of migration, family sacrifice, cultural identity, resilience and opportunity into sharp focus. By pairing carefully researched regional stories with humour and lived experience, she demonstrated how food can carry memory, connect communities and open conversations about culture and belonging.
The lecture invited attendees to see familiar places through a new lens and to recognise the people and histories woven into regional Chinese restaurants. Jennifer’s storytelling highlighted how seemingly every day spaces can reveal broader stories about Australia’s communities and the relationships that have developed around the dinner table.
At Griffith Asia Institute, understanding Asia is about more than learning about our neighbours. It involves engaging with the histories, cultures, communities and lived experiences that shape our region and our shared future. Jennifer Wong’s presentation demonstrated how powerful these insights can be when conveyed through stories, humour and food, reminding us that some of the most meaningful lessons about culture and belonging are often found around the dinner table.
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