The renowned Australian-Chinese chef is taking over Baba’s Place for a collaborative nine-course celebration of Sydney multiculturalism.
Renowned Australian-Chinese chef Kylie Kwong is returning to the kitchen, and she’s excited. For one night only, on October 28, Kwong is set to collaborate on an “extended family dinner” at Marrickville restaurant Baba’s Place.
It’s a culinary celebration of Sydney’s vibrant multicultural community, with cooking and conversation from Kwong; Palisa Anderson, the farmer-restaurateur behind Chat Thai and Boon Luck Farm; Blanca Mejia and Blanca Perera, the mother-daughter duo who run Newtown taquería Olotl; and Karima Hazim and Sivine Tabbouch, the digital creators, cooks and educators from Lebanese cooking school Sunday Kitchen.
“I feel so privileged to be working with these incredible women and to hear their stories of resilience, resistance and adaptation,” Kwong says.
“We have all come from immigrant families, and we all have an inherent respect for our elders, where we’ve come from, and our culinary heritage.”
Kwong, who called time on her 30-year career in the hospitality industry with the closure of Eveleigh restaurant Lucky Kwong in June 2024, plans to serve her signature crispy saltbush cakes as part of a shared nine-course menu inspired by family recipes, personal stories, and seasonal produce.
It’s a welcome initiative following recent displays of division in Sydney: “This dinner will bring people together,” Kwong says. “Food brings people together, no matter where we’ve come from, what we believe, or who we are.”
Kwong says she was inspired by Baba’s Place, the restaurant named as the inaugural Bill Granger Trailblazer in The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide for its work in honouring and amplifying the migrant experience in Sydney suburbia.
She visited Baba’s for the first time in August last year, dining solo at the bar beside a photograph of co-owner Jean-Paul El Tom’s parents. Kwong was so mesmerised by the dining room with its heavy Persian carpets, Rococo furniture, and crocheted doily tablecloths, she spent the first half hour wandering around taking photos.
“I left thinking, what an incredible singular business … marrying beautiful food with this creative, cultural voice,” Kwong says. “It was an enriching experience.”
Now, Kwong wants to share that feeling of connection and community with Sydney diners.
“That’s our goal, to hold space for cross-cultural pollination, from the ground up,” says Baba’s co-owner and restaurant manager Joy-Della El Tom.
For the past year, Kwong has worked as an associate for Powerhouse Parramatta, sharing stories of Western Sydney chefs, producers and restaurateurs through curated dinners, cooking classes and talks.
“I enjoy my new role … but I’ve been missing the essence of my craft, which is collaborating with food producers, thinking through dishes, cooking the dishes, … and watching [people] eat my food,” Kwong says.
The veteran chef assembled the group of women, some of whom she’d met at Lucky Kwong, others of whom she’d mentored.
“They are really my favourite types of chefs: they’re deeply passionate, they’re women who know exactly who they are and what they stand for, and they have deep cultural pride,” Kwong says.
Hazim says the proposal was a no-brainer: “For me, serving food that’s unapologetic, authentic and a reflection of how we eat at home is really important.”
For starters, there will be birria tacos from Mejia and Perera; kibbeh nayeh, lamb mince hand-beaten with spices and served with sliced radish, shallots and mint, from the Sunday Kitchen team; and salad made with organic produce from Anderson’s Byron Shire farm. And for the mains? That remains a secret, for now.
“This is what food is all about,” says Anderson. “It’s too easy to live in our own realities, without finding common ground, but when you’re all sitting around a table and sharing a meal, that starts to shift.”
An (extended) family dinner at Baba’s Place will be held at 6.30-10pm on Tuesday, October 28 in Marrickville. Tickets have sold out. Click here to join the waitlist.
Can’t wait? Try these restaurant and cafe recommendations
- Kylie Kwong recommends Olotl, Newtown
I went there recently and the birria tortilla is absolutely delicious, all handmade on the day, with so much heart and soul.
12 King Street, Newtown, olotl.com.au - Palisa Anderson from Chat Thai recommends Grape Garden Restaurant, Potts Point
I love the hot and sour soup and all the little sides they do, like the cold celery salad. Chinese food is my comfort food, it’s home.
2/14 Bayswater Road, Potts Point, instagram.com/grapegardenbeijingcuisine - Karima Hazim from Sunday Kitchen recommends Kiroran Silk Road Uyghur Restaurant, Sydney
[They serve] phenomenal cumin lamb skewers and the best cucumber salad of all time. Everything we ordered was full of flavour and soul.
6/12 Harbour Street, Sydney, instagram.com/kiroran.sydney - Blanca Perera from Olotl recommends MLK Deli, Surry Hills
From the first bite, we knew the sandwich had to be made by a woman [owner Myra Karakelle]. Every single element was there for a reason … and I mean, it’s just a sandwich, but it was perfect.
168 Campbell Street, Surry Hills, instagram.com/mlk.deli - Alex Kelly from Baba’s Place recommends Ayam Goreng 99, Kingsford
For me, it’s such a wonderful expression of honest, earnest hospitality.
464 Anzac Parade, Kingsford, ayamgoreng99.com - Joy-Della El Tom from Baba’s Place recommends Double Tap Coffee, Marrickville
I really love places with authenticity … [and] that ’80s style of hospitality service, and for me, that’s the boys at Double Tap.
54/56 Smith Street, Marrickville, doubletapcoffee.com.au
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Bianca Hrovat – Bianca is Good Food’s Sydney eating out and restaurant editor.