In this interview Shirley Lee, Susan Pang and Jack Ah Yong talk about their family background and their connection to the Hingara Chinese Restaurant in Haymarket.
As Susan and Jack worked at Hingara they had an intimate knowledge of the restaurant’s history, the highs and lows of business over the years in the changing Haymarket area, as well as the impact of the local markets moving to Flemington. They also reflect on how the business trade picked up when Darling Harbour opened.
RW [Interviewer]: Can you remember the start of the Hingara?
SP [Interviewee Susan Pang]: Yes, I could remember the start of the Hingara. It was after – a couple ‘o’ years after the death ‘o’ my father that, you know, mum thought that, you know, she would have to do something to keep the family going. So, because the New Southern Inn was left empty for three years we asked permission could we lease the property and then with all the help from the family – they cleaned it all up – and that’s when the Hingara started, on 27th of January, 1971. The name, Hingara, was chosen just to rhyme with the Chinese name. It was taken from my father’s name and my godfather’s name; Hing, from Hing Pang and Hing Yu Lee. So, rather than – in Chinese it’s called Hing’s Place but rather than keeping that name as Hing’s Place they made it rhyme, to rhyme with the Chinese, Hingara Hung Na.
RR: So, what does that mean – Hing’s Place?
SP: Hing’s Place. It means “lucky and beautiful”, yes.
RR: And was it?
SP: Oh, well, yes.
