“Like a death in the family” is how one Sydneysider described the closure of Golden Century in 2021. After 32 years, the beloved Cantonese restaurant ended its lease on Sussex Street and went into administration during Sydney’s second lockdown. It was the clearest canary in the coalmine for how Sydney’s hospitality industry was struggling.
But yesterday, Golden Century’s co-owners – Eric and Linda Wong and son Billy – announced that the seafood tanks would run once again, with the restaurant set to reopen permanently at Crown Sydney in January next year.
“We closed in a way that was quite abrupt and sudden, and we didn’t really get time to say a proper farewell to anyone,” Billy tells Broadsheet. “We were overwhelmed by the support and love from our customers. Ever since then, we’ve looked at different venues to [re]open Golden Century. The opportunity to work with Crown came up a few months ago and it ticked all the boxes.”
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SIGN UPGolden Century 2.0 will take over Crown’s third level, joining a stable of high-end restaurants including A’Mare, Woodcut, Nobu and Oncore by Clare Smyth. Though the new waterfront digs will be an upgrade from the original Sussex Street site, Wong says the menu is “all about the classics”.
“The focus is what people know, what we’ve always done. It’s about doing authentic Cantonese Chinese cuisine.”
Diners can expect the return of GC’s famous yum cha service, plus signatures including the XO pipis (a dish Momofuku’s David Chang famously called “the best in the world”) and live lobster cooked two ways.
Billy says the live seafood tanks were a key element in resurrecting the restaurant. “Golden Century has always been known as a live seafood destination, which comes with our heritage from Hong Kong. At Hong Kong restaurants, it’s all about the ingredients, the freshness. You can’t get any fresher than seafood from the tanks.”
The new site will have eight private dining rooms for “an elevated dining experience”, and the Wongs are also thinking about a hotpot service on the harbour-facing terrace.
The second coming of Century also comes with an unexpected companion – Maurice Terzini will open a sibling to his Bondi institution Icebergs, in Crown’s lobby and terrace. Icebergs Harbour Bar will open ahead of Golden Century in December, and promises to be an all-day affair inspired by the great hotel bars of Europe. Favourites from the mothership (the Iceburger, fried school prawns with aioli and lime) are set to make an appearance.
Golden Century at Crown will open in January 2025. Icebergs Harbour Bar opens in December.
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