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Read the Charter of Independence here.
Read the Charter of Independence here.
BY ANNIE LIU
I have often wondered why a Vietnamese restaurant has survived in Box Hill, a thriving centre of Chinese cuisine with more than 1000 eateries, for more than three decades.
Indochine hasn’t just thrived; it has flourished since 1991.
From walking past, you can see there is never a dull moment, only peak or off-peak.
Even in the less busy moments, the diners' enjoyment is obvious. You can always hear the sounds of slurping Pho eaters.
The restaurant's longevity results from decades of impressive perseverance during good times and bad.
The never-compromising qualities of the food and the never-extinguishing passion of the owners drive fantastic service to customers whenever they step through the doorway.
When the sun goes down, the warm light of Indochine brightens up the street.
From 1887 to 1954, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos were French colonial possessions.
Indochine is a French word for Indochina. The restaurant was proudly named by its two founders, Loc Quang Chu and his sister Yen Thi Ngoc Chu, who call themselves Indochinese.
Loc and Yen are amongst the first Vietnamese refugees to introduce Vietnamese cuisine to Australians.
They sparked this passion in 1978 when they first migrated to a country which they would later call home.
Hoa Pham, an owner of the second generation, said food is an inseparable part of their lives.
“Food is in our blood. We always had food businesses, even back home in our country. We were food brokers back home,” Pham said.
Walking slowly in and out of the kitchen is a short-haired woman with an apron tied in front of her body and her sleeves rolled up high. This is Yen, Pham’s mother, who is 78-years-old.
Pham said the fact that the restaurant is family-owned significantly contributed to the durability of the business.
Despite being impacted by the staff shortage in the recent couple of months, like many other catering service providers in Victoria, Pham is dedicated to working hard for the family business, just as Yen and Loc have always done.
“We are short on staff, but we work a bit harder, and it is all right. You put in extra effort,” Pham said.
“We’d love to take it easy, but it is the customers that make us want to work; regular customers make us feel happy to go to work,” she said.
Working alongside Pham is an Australian man flipping through the reservation book and constantly rearranging tables for the flow of customers. This is Steven Rentoul, the husband of Pham and the co-director of Indochine.
Surprisingly, there is no sense of incongruity when you see Rentoul in the restaurant, greeting the Chinese customers by asking, “have you eaten yet,” a Chinese way of asking, “how are you?”
“I can see people are curious as to why I am here. People often say to me: 'you are not Asian', and I say, 'really, thank you for telling me',” Rentoul said.
Utilising his advantage as a native English speaker, Rentoul assists Pham in the procedures of running a restaurant. He deals with Whitehorse Council, the health department and bureaucracies to make the operation work smoothly at all times.
“We are not five stars. We are not fine dining. People catch up for a bowl of Pho during the weekend, or friends like to catch up for dinner and have a glass of wine and a beer. We cater for everyone,” Pham said.
Pham said the restaurant was not trying to compete or compare; it only strives to do what it can with its best effort.
Surviving under the same ownership for 31 years, Pham hopes that the restaurant will have a third, fourth or fifth generation. One thing she is certain of is that the virtue of hard work will be passed on.
“We like to leave a legacy so the next generation can carry on,” Pham said.
A legacy of community service, hard-working and dedication.
I love the restaurant. It feels right when the yellow light is on, when I drive past in the dark.
There is only one home. Like Indochine, there is no second branch of it, not third and no fourth.
There is only one home called Indochine.
Rentoul and Pham embody multicultural Australia, and their restaurant welcomes everybody.
