The dedication to their restaurant and cooking can only be shown by the burns and scars on Joe and Kenny’s arms.
If you’ve been here long enough, you’d know that Joe (67) has been operating Southern Wok for almost 40 years here at UNSW. The intuition of running a food-related business runs through his family, as Joe explains, back in Guangdong, his father used to own a small convenience store. As he grew up Joe began to unintentionally follow in his father's footsteps. He explains:
“I worked in many restaurants as an apprentice in Hong Kong, then I came here, worked in a few restaurants as a chef, got married, earned some money, kept gaining experience in the industry, worked at UTS for ten years, UNSW quadrangle 6 years, learnt how to make barbecued meats, ran a sandwich stall at UNSW food court.”
Original: 我在香港很多餐廳當學徒，然後我來到這裡，一直在餐廳工作，結婚，賺了一些錢，不斷積累行業經驗，在悉尼科技大學工作了十年，在新南威爾士大學工作了 6 年, 燒烤肉攤, 學習如何製作燒烤肉, 在新南威爾士大學美食廣場經營三明治攤。
And it wasn’t just the students who fell in love with Joe’s cooking. Joe says
“We were running a restaurant in Kensington, and the university union liked our food. So then, they asked us if we were interested in opening up a restaurant at the University. They wanted someone with a certificate/degree/diploma in Chinese cuisine, so it made it hard for the university to find someone because those who knew how to run a Chinese restaurant did not have the degree for it.”
Original: 當時我們在Kensington經營一家餐館，the university union問我們是否有興趣在大學開一家餐館，他們想要一個有中國菜證書/學位/文憑的人，所以大學很難找 這樣的人，會開中餐館的人都沒有證書/學位/文憑。
Not only is Joe an incredible chef, but he’s also a master business owner. Joe says “at one point, we had multiple businesses running at the same time. We had a restaurant on Anzac parade that was just mainly doing noodles and rice dishes. And we had a shop in the Quadrangle that was doing more roast duck, roast pork, and barbeque pork dishes. People like the Asian barbeque styles.”
“During the Sydney 2000 Olympics, we also had a stall in Olympic Park to serve food where we worked for a few weeks supplying food for the police, staff, and security.”
Original: 在2000 年悉尼奧運會期間, 我們工作了幾個星期，為警察、工作人員和安保人員提供食物。
Hardworking & Grateful:
Joe said he has many memories at UNSW and says that
“working at a restaurant on campus makes me really happy. [That includes] being part of the university union, working with the union, the really enjoyable environment, and the many holidays during term breaks.”
Original: 在大學的餐廳工作讓我很開心。作為大學工會的一員，與工會一起工作，非常愉快的環境，有很多假期。當我們在新南威爾士大學美食廣場的三明治攤上工作時，他們也和我們一起工作，當時沒有美食廣場的二樓 。
Part of that enjoyable environment is the staff who are like family to them. Some have worked at the restaurant for over 10 years, some 20 years. Joe adds,
“they worked with us even back when we worked the sandwich stall at the UNSW food court when there wasn’t the second storey of the food court.”
Original: 當我們在新南威爾士大學美食廣場的三明治攤上工作時，他們也和我們一起工作，當時沒有美食廣場的二樓 。
Joe brightly laughed that,
“just last week, a guy came in with his daughter who is starting at UNSW this year. He said to her that he used to eat our laksa here 20 years ago and asked if we recognised him.”
Original: 我們必須燃燒豬蹄上的所有脂肪 就在上週，一個男人帶著他今年開始讀新南威爾士大學的女兒進來，他對她說他以前在這裡吃過叻沙，問我們認不認識他。
It can be said that everyone who works there has had a long time to get used to the routine of running a restaurant. Every week after the fresh produce gets delivered at 8 am, Joe, his wife, his son, and staff start preparing the food. Preparation time differs depending on the meal. For instance, the pork trotter takes a whole day of preparation, saying “we have to burn off all the fat off the pork first which takes hours.” Because of that, the family usually finishes work at around 7 pm, then starts all over again the next day. If you’ve been to Southern Wok before, you’d know that the menu is quite extensive and that they don’t just serve Cantonese dishes. There are dishes from Guangdong, where Joe is from, and there are dishes from Malaysia, where his wife is from. They also sell sushi and are renowned for their Laksa.
It seems that while Joe might retire soon, he is more than thankful for the connection and the memories he was able to build here at UNSW with the students and staff. This is especially true for Kenny, Joe’s son who has spent every single holiday since he was a child helping out at the restaurant. Today, Kenny is no longer a child but a father, meaning that Joe is now a grandfather. On top of raising a child, Kenny also joined the business to help out his father. Kenny says he might want to follow in his father’s shoes, and run the family business in the future. When asked what his hopes for the future are, Kenny added that he wishes for the business to be kept as it is for the well-being of his family and their children since that is what it has always been about: prosperity and longevity.
