It’s difficult to make sense of the unravelling of MissChu. What was, for a short while, Sydney’s go-to Vietnamese restaurant will now be renamed, reopened and reinvigorated but not as we have known it. And not with Nahji Chu.
The restaurant first opened in Darlinghurst in 2009, drawing in crowds with its lanterns and street-food-style dining. The self-identified tuckshop quickly expanded, opening stores in Bondi and Melbourne, and it had plans to open in London. But because of a series of fraught relationships with managers, and the general mismanagement of funds, the store went into [voluntary administration] (https://www.broadsheet.com.au/sydney/food-and-drink/article/misschu-goes-voluntary-administration) last year; the MissChu name at that stage remained, and Chu was kept on as the businesses creative director. Now the NSW stores have undergone a complete rebranding; there are different recipes and new owners. The Glebe, Bondi, Darlinghurst and CBD restaurants will reopen as Saigon Lane on December 5. Owner of Bali’s Saigon Street Aki Kotzamichalis has taken over the venues. Some MissChu dishes will remain on the menu along with dishes from Saigon Street. Interior designer Alex Zabotto-Bentley updated the…