Customers have been swarming Chinese Noodle House in Haymarket, famed for its hand-pulled noodles and cafeteria-style outdoor seating, to say farewell ahead of the cult favourite’s closure on 12 December.
The landlords, who ran the eatery until 2016, plan to move into the existing venue on Thomas Street with a new restaurant – called Chinese Noodle House.
But the tenant owners hope to reopen nearby under the same name.
While the two identically named dining spots may confuse customers, Chinese Noodle House is no stranger to mistaken identity, sharing two-thirds of its name with a neighbouring diner: Chinese Noodle Restaurant.
The two share similar menus and decor featuring plastic grapes, as well as a common origin – former restaurateur Xiaotang Qin, whose many “Chinese Noodle” spots throughout Sydney are now run by his relatives and former employees.
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Eric Zhang says his family are sorry to have to leave the premises they’ve rented for a decade, but are looking forward to keeping their business going – anywhere except Thomas St.
“We make the business boom, go up and up … we’re working so hard,” Zhang says.
“All our customers are standing behind us, they said they’re going to come back and they always support us … We’re very touched.”
Tina Wang, Zhang’s mother-in-law and a former Chinese Noodle Restaurant employee, bought the business and took a 10-year lease on the shopfront from John Sun in 2016.
Sun and his wife, Susanna Chen, say they could not give the tenant a new lease after disputes over rent, and a breakdown in the relationship. They now plan to bring back their old kitchen team and menu and start a new Chinese Noodle House in February after they resume the premises.
“We built this restaurant, we do everything, the menu, everything, from the beginning,” Chen says.
“We already built a business, a very good foundation.”
Qin’s successors at local noodle spots have watched on dismayed as their former colleagues and competitors split the House. Chunfeng Zhang, owner of a restaurant around the corner, says the decision was always going to be in the landlords’ hands.
“The tenant has no decision-making power,” she says in Mandarin. “That is an unchangeable fact.”
But other neighbours will be sorry to see them go, like dumpling shop owner Andy Dong Lin, who worked with Wang at Chinese Noodle Restaurant.
“I knew them since I was a student, they are very nice people,” Dong Lin says. “I feel sad for them.”
The closure announcement has seen customers queueing even in quieter hours, not just at the Chinese Noodle House, but – curiously – at the Chinese Noodle Restaurant too.
Elvis Kernaghan, from the Gold Coast, dragged his siblings to Chinese Noodle Restaurant, devastated “the greatest restaurant in Australia” was about to close.
“It’s a highlight of every year – I have to come minimum 1,000 kilometres, sometimes 3,000,” he said.
“My dad was coming here before I was born … I was very sad last night when I saw the news …” he said.
But then he realised it was actually Chinese Noodle House that is closing – which was fine with him, because “I’ve never even tried it”.
House regular Fiona, who works at the ABC, says any new business being opened at the same spot won’t break their loyalty.
“That’s terrible, it’s not the same,” Fiona said of the replacement.
“There’s a real allegiance, you’re either a Chinese Noodle Restaurant or a Chinese Noodle House person.”
