Expect traditional Vietnamese food with a modern fit out at Camden Park’s 7t7.
Stephen Wong, being the “youngest of 10”, admires what his parents did for his family when he was young. Growing up in Asia during the Vietnam War, he particularly remembers his family’s “constant migration”.
“Moving to safety away from war,” he says.
“And just from town to town to town, you know. Some years, we might move three, four times, and then we settled in a village for a little while.”
Stephen recalls his dad needing to “deliver some petrol from one town, to another village in Cambodia”.
“And that’s like 80k away, and he would get on this push bike. He had to do it at night because during the day if a plane goes past and sees someone, they might bomb him,” he says.
“So from 5pm, he would maybe get to that destination at 5am, sell his 100 litres of petrol, get the money, pick up some more steel – so scrap that he can potentially take back and sell – and then he would bring some stuff back home again, just to make a bit of living.
“This is just one of the many, many, many stories.”
Stephen says with each town he and his family moved to, they would always begin a family business as a method to stay afloat, one being a noodle bar, another selling rolled-up cigarettes.
“We have to hustle every day just to keep the family fed, and Dad, Mum all worked bloody hard,” he says.
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Uncle and niece, Stephen and Ida
Stephen migrated to Australia when he was “about 10 and a half” in 1984, and although he and his parents initially wanted to be sent to America as his brother and two sisters were there, he says “our name got called up to Australia [and we thought] let’s go”.
Stephen says when it comes to business, he and his family “always do things together”. When they migrated to Adelaide, this was no different.
“We had an Asian grocery store on Hanson Road for 25 years as well,” family member Ida Khou says.
“That’s something my parents and my aunties and uncles started and my grandparents as well were there.”
“Forbes Shopping Centre in Plympton, we had that for 14 years as well, similar thing as [7t7 but] not to this scale,” Stephen says. “This is different. We like to set ourselves a bit of a challenge.”
The crispy pork bánh mì is the most popular item on the menu
7t7, which opened at the end of August, is the family’s latest venture and offers traditional Vietnamese food like bánh mì, bún bowls, pho, cold rolls and Vietnamese coffee.
“We wanted to bring a modern take on bánh mì and Vietnamese food as well, just bringing the old and new together. I guess within our different generations like coming together,” Ida says.
The proteins include roast pork, lemongrass chicken and salt and pepper tofu for both the bánh mì and bún bowls.
“[Our bánh mì filling includes] homemade butter, pâté, pickled carrot and daikon together, coriander, cucumber, chilli and controversial one is the onion,” Stephen says.
“We don’t do lettuce. I don’t believe in that. We grew up eating a lot of bánh mì’s on the street of Vietnam and it’s never lettuce in there.
“The red onion – some say we shouldn’t have it in there. Some say it’s got to be in there. We put it in there because we like it.”
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One thing that 7t7 does differently is their range of pre-packed, ready-to-take-home meals made fresh in-house. Those dishes range from green chicken curry, Pad Thai, beef salad and more.
“Hopefully it gives people around here even more options to try Asian food rather than just Vietnamese because we’re Cambodian, Chinese and Vietnamese background. It’s a bit of a blend of everything,” Stephen says.
“We love different foods from different countries and we’re exposed to a lot of different foods as well.”
Ida says a new approach has been considered for the 7t7 fit-out, going against what a usual bánh mì place looks like in Adelaide.
“Bringing just like a modern feel to the fit-out and just drawing on the urban surroundings here as well,” Ida says.
“We’re in Camden Park, just making sure that the locals have a nice place to go to and making it feel open to everybody.”
These are all family photos
Ida, as an interior designer by trade, “wanted this place to feel like a second home”.
“It’s not really about what it looks like, it’s about how it feels. I just wanted it to feel a nice, homely and inviting space to be in,” she says.
The space is open and fresh, with white tiles lining the area and a “contrasting textured paint finish”. Family photos fill the back walls.
“We had so many great family photos over the years, so we try to include everybody – our family is so large. We’ve got my mum up there, and my grandparents and my dad, who passed away – it’s been 10 years now,” Ida says.
“I feel like the family photos give you a sense that you’re at home a little bit more, and gives you a little bit of reflection into our history and our past.”
7t7 is located at 77 Mooringe Avenue, Camden Park and is open from Monday to Friday from 10am until 3pm.
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