A conversation with Jenny Dinh – Fat Panda
Holding its place on Canley Vale Road over the last 12 years, the unassuming sushi restaurant Fat Panda has been a local favourite of the South-West suburbs of Sydney. So much so that people as far out as Campbelltown travel to feed their sushi cravings. Like many businesses this year, they were deeply affected by COVID-19 and have appeared to come out of the other side with even more strength and determination, buoyed by their loyal customer base. Here’s a piece of their story.
Check out the Fat Panda Instagram page here.
In this interview, Jenny refers to her husband, Viet Dinh (co-owner of Fat Panda) as ‘hubby’ as she’s speaking on behalf of them both.
D: “So, what were you guys doing before Fat Panda and how did Fat Panda start?“
J: “Myself, I did fashion for many years as did my parents. I was a production coordinator for 10-12 years and I used to do that in Artarmon.”
“Hubby is a chef by trade and was working long hours at hotels. We asked ourselves the age-old question ‘if we were going to do those sorts of long hours, why don’t we do it for ourselves?’ So, this place used to be ‘Sushilicious’. Word had gotten around and someone approached us asking whether we’d like to purchase this business. It’s not something we considered too seriously but 6 months later the price had significantly dropped, and we were offered it again. I think we were young enough and naïve enough to think ‘Yep, we can do it’. That was October 2008 and now we’re fast approaching our 12 year anniversary. Back then I’d work in Artarmon as my 9-5 and come back here at 6:30 to work until 11. When we first opened, we had one sushi chef and it was my husband, he’d take your order, go back to cook it and then serve it to you. During the night, I’d arrive and it’d be just us two. Our first Christmas party was a part of 1”
D: “That’s awesome! What made you guys want to do sushi?”
J: “There was actually no intention of keeping it as sushi. We can just continued it a sushi and the idea was to save enough money and flip it but it kind of didn’t work out that way. 12 years later and we’re still here.”
Jenny has a bit of a laugh as she reflects back on their journey so far. Her smile exuded here I feel isn’t just strictly comedic but more so one of pride to what they’ve managed to build and sustain. I have no doubt they would have ‘flipped’ it into something special, with the hard work and effort they showed in those opening years, seems like they could have done anything. Although they are still making sushi, it’s one of the best in our area and I’m certain many of their loyal fans would agree.
D: “Personally, what are your favourite things on the menu and why?”
J: “I like the salmon tartare. It’s one of those KFC secret menu things, if you know it you order it. For hubby and I, a staple for us is the small sashimi platter, the spicy rock and roll (Spicy Fresh Tuna, crispy ebi & with smashed avocado on top), some oysters and that will be our dinner – almost fortnightly we’d do that. To be honest, I actually didn’t eat sushi before we owned this place and it was a few years into this place I started eating sushi. Now, I can’t imagine eating salmon any other way.”
We both laugh and comment on how we’re both beyond cooked salmon now. And sorry, Jenny! I think more people are going to know about the salmon tartare now.
D: “When you guys first heard about COVID, what was running through your head? Were you worried?”
J: “We were totally worried. The first few changes were coming in – things like tables being 1.5 metres apart and the cleaning. The cleaning we were already doing, but now this is something that we had to make really obvious. It affected how many numbers we had in the restaurant. When there were no-dine ins… that’s when we were really scared. Sushi doesn’t transport well. Delivery was not an option for us because we would need a temperature-controlled fridge in the vehicle as sushi needs to be constantly at 5 degrees. We couldn’t do something like uber eats they do other deliveries at the same time. I did a video on Instagram where I was quite open and vulnerable about our situation and offering only ordered takeaway for pickup.”
D: “I like how you guys were unwilling to compromise on your product. It would’ve been quite hard not go down that road of using a delivery service as your revenue would’ve depended on it.”
J: “We put it to our team with every expectation that it wasn’t going to work (the pickup service). We have two options; we can close and see what happens but no one will get paid. Or, we can open for a week to see how we go. I didn’t know how much we could pay them but we would work it out accordingly. To their credit, they told me ‘whatever you decide to do, we’ll do it.’ So we decided to try it out for a week and it was really good.”
D: “So the pick-up service worked quite well for you then?”
J: “It actually worked too well. We overbooked on the first night and our pick-ups were backed up by an hour. We were nothing but apologetic. But it’s a testament to our customer base because they understood that we were trying. As the days went on, I got much better at managing the orders and how much we could handle.”
Click here to see my post on my dinner experience at Fat Panda.
D: “Now COVID is still quite prevalent. How much does it mean to you that people are still coming out to eat at some of their local favourites such as yourselves?”
J: “It means the absolute world to us. I think irrespective of whether you’re the owner or customer, we just want things to go back to normal. We just want to go back to enjoying our jobs, our social lives, friends and our family. People have been quite understanding with social distancing.”
D: “Now apart from Fat Panda, where is your favourite place to in Sydney and what did you eat?”
J: “Oh, you know what? We got sent to Café Venttoto and they were phenomenal. It’s sad because they are no longer there. Locally, we like Cream & Co. in Chipping Norton. They have good coffee and good wholesome food. I love their corn fritters. I also love Tuk Tuk down the road, their service is great and their portions are big. I generally love Mexican food too. I love Battambang in Cabramatta – great ‘home-y’ Cambodian food and so cheap! ”
D: “Lastly, you guys have been here since 2008. How much does the local food community mean to you guys?”
J: “They’re heart and soul of what we do. People would literally do as we asked every time we had a call to action during COVID and it’s a testament to them. I really am grateful for the local community. And I’m not talking about people within the 5-10km radius either, I’d consider Sydney in general as our local community. I did a poll a while back and the number of people who said they come from Campbelltown and Camden just blew my mind. And, I was seeing some of these people a few times a week. Without the local community, we wouldn’t be here. They’ve helped us shape a lot of dishes – things that have worked and things that haven’t.”
The interview concludes there. Just as it finishes, Viet Dinh (Fat Panda Co-owner) arrives at the restaurant and we exchange greetings. We then spend some time talking about these bottles of fruit-flavoured sake that will be used as part of a new series of cocktails that he’s working on.
Fat Panda is one of the neighbourhood gems in my local city. Tasty Japanese food, spectacular cocktails, lovely co-owners and an unwavering customer base are the Fat Panda DNA and I see it every time I walked past. Here for 12 years, and hopefully for another 12 more, make sure you get the chance to try some of the lovely food and drinks here on offer.