Sydney’s historic Chinatown has been Chris Lam’s “playground” since he was born.
When he graduated with a finance degree and joined a in Melbourne more than a decade ago, he never thought he would return to run his family’s grocery.
The 35-year-old is now the third-generation manager of Dong Nam A Brothers & Co, which his family believes is the oldest Asian grocery in Chinatown. It's been servicing the Chinatown community and restaurants since 1979. Its name means South East Asia in Chinese and reflects his family's diverse roots.
The timeless Asian grocer is a snapshot of the area’s recent past. It's barely changed since 1988, when Dong Nam A Brothers & Co moved from the original Pitt Street location to its current corner of Chinatown on Thomas Street and Ultimo Road. And that’s how Lam wants it to remain.
Baskets of “discount” items line the front of the corner store, filled with soy sauce, chicken stock, instant noodles and other staple Asian perishables. As you enter, there are rows of fresh Asian greens – bok choy, choy sum, and more – that Lam picks up daily from Chinese-Australian market gardeners.
Dong Nam A Brothers & Co has become a Chinatown fixture. Source: Dong Nam A Brothers & Co
Inside, the original tiled floors form the backbone of the shop, with rows of Asian dried goods, spices, condiments and snacks. The constant hum of the fridges filled with tofu, seafood and dumplings underscores the action on the shop floor.
At the counter, you’ll often see Lam’s mother, Pik, engaged in an animated conversation with a local in Cantonese. Perched on the shelves behind her is the “good stuff”: ginseng, Chinese tonics, abalone and premium XO sauce.
Raised by the streets of Chinatown
Lam grew up above his grandfather’s other Haymarket store, a butchery on Campbell Street, which is still open today. It's located across the road from the original Dong Nam A Brothers & Co shop.
“My grandfather bought that shop on Campbell Street the year before I was born. Before that, they were running Dong Nam A on the corner of Pitt Street and Campbell Street where is now,” he says.
His father, Duc, arrived in Australia by boat from Vietnam in 1977, working in factories before he was joined by other family members and eventually settled in Chinatown. Three generations of family lived in the two levels above the butcher, which Lam said was always a cacophony of activity.
“It was the best time. Absolutely. You grow up living in the house with so much family… my cousins are essentially my brothers and we’re all about the same age, so we really shared our childhood,” he says. “Chinatown was our playground.”
Chris Lam surrounded by shelves of Asian staples at Dong Nam A Brothers & Co. Source: Kevin Cheng
With their parents busy running the stores, Lam, his sister and their cousins would roam Chinatown. And living with 14 family members in one place was “really something like you see in the movies”.
“We grew up running around the butcher, where there were pigs hanging and everything. And dinner time, you'd call through the house on all three levels. Everyone would come down and you'd share a meal together,” he says.
"The kids that became the labour"
Lam’s father was one of nine siblings who were the “kids that became the labour”.
“Everyone had different responsibilities. My mum tells me about them waking up and going out to the Flemington Markets early in the morning, and then Dad doing deliveries late into the night,” he says.
Lam's grandparents were “serial entrepreneurs” who dabbled in various industries after arriving as refugees.
“They had all sorts of different businesses in Sydney, with family operating in furniture shops, textiles, groceries, meat,” he says.
The call of family
After university, Lam moved to Melbourne where he began a decade-long career in banking. He met his wife and they had their first child there.
While corporate life brought stability, he said there was still something missing from their lives.
“The call of family was too strong… we had no family down there," he says. “Ultimately, parents get old and someone needs to look after them. And so the timing was right. There was an opportunity to leave work at that time and it was right before COVID in 2019.”
Lam spent the next six months “bouncing” between Sydney, Seoul and Singapore chasing different opportunities.
“My son was turning three at that time and it was a great opportunity for him to live overseas for a bit, experience the culture, learn the language, get to know his family on my wife's side in Korea, and we did just that."
They landed back in Sydney in November 2019 - just before COVID-19 brought the world to a standstill.
"A sense of responsibility"
As the pandemic began shutting down Chinatown and the rest of the world, Lam entered the business: it was being impacted by rolling lockdowns and the exodus of international students. It was a decision that his parents didn’t necessarily agree with.
“My parents didn't want that for me. But ultimately, It's a sense of responsibility… my grandfather opened the shop, then my dad ran it. I feel like it's time for my watch,” he says.
Lam began learning the ropes from his parents, doing everything from ordering stock, doing deliveries and all of the admin work behind the scenes. He also used this time to launch their online distribution channel, with his cousin Ben Tang.
But it’s been a “complete blessing” to be able to work with his family.
Chris and his cousin Ben Tang outside Dong Nam A Brothers & Co. Source: Dong Nam A Brothers & Co
“They have shown me the ethics around hard work, not giving up, you know, really serving your customers. I wouldn't say that doesn't exist in my generation, but I definitely learned a lot of that observing them,” he says.
“Not a lot of people get that opportunity to work side by side with their parents. You learn a lot about their character as well.”
What’s in store for the future?
Lam said he’s unsure what the future will hold, but loves “being on that corner” of Thomas Street and Ultimo Road in Chinatown.
“I’m just focusing on trying to make that corner a better place,” he says.
“Sure, we're just a simple business, but there’s a reason we still attract so many customers after such a long time. A lot of people come to us just to share a story… It’s the concept of the corner store, giving people a place to go, not necessarily to hang out, but it's not only transactional.”
My parents didn't want that for me. But ultimately, It's a sense of responsibility… my grandfather opened the shop, then my dad ran it. I feel like it's time for my watch.
Some customers – after visiting the shop for the first time in years – tell him: “it’s so great that you’re still here.” It’s those interactions that motivate him to continue building the Chinatown community.
“Those are the sorts of experiences and conversations that I really, really value and cherish,” he says.
“I don't have other plans on the horizon. I actually love doing what I'm doing... it's engagement with the community, it's seeing my customers every day. So the people that have watched me grow up, I get to see their kids grow up, it's just that sense of community.”
In the meantime, Lam is working on a project to document his family’s story and the neighbourhood's common experiences to share with future generations. It's just another way he's adding to the four-decade-old history of this Chinatown institution.
215A Thomas St, Haymarket
Daily 9 am - 7 pm
From Chinatown, with love
Prawns roasted with vermicelli noodles (gung op wun sen)
