- Kylie Kwong to co-host bimonthly dinners.
- Kwong has also been appointed to the board as an associate for the new Powerhouse Museum food department.
- The museum will open in mid-2026.
After the closure of her South Eveleigh’s Lucky Kwong in June, acclaimed Australian-Chinese chef Kylie Kwong will begin her next chapter in the depths of Western Sydney.
She will be co-hosting a series of six bi-monthly dinners to showcase the “deeply delicious” Indian cuisine of Harris Park.
Kwong has also been brought on the board as an associate for the new Powerhouse Museum food department.
She will be tasting her way through Western Sydney’s restaurants and telling the stories of the chefs, cooks, and business owners when the $915 million Powerhouse Parramatta opens in mid-2026.
“The most unifying force is food … [and] we want to create a safe space for people to share their rich, important stories of migration, their intergenerational recipes, and their culture,” Kwong told the Sydney Morning Herald.
Powerhouse Parramatta is set to become the largest museum in New South Wales which includes an extensive food program, rooftop gardens, and regular farmers’ markets. There will also be demonstration kitchens and apartments for international chef residencies.
“It’s a natural next step for me,” Kwong says, “because it allows me to continue to use food as a catalyst for positive social impact and cultural exchange.”
“I have told my story. Now what fulfills me is amplifying and sharing other people’s stories,” she says.
“I walk into these places and they are filled with not only the most beautiful, authentic, and home-style food, but also all of this history and love.
“These are long-standing family restaurants, some [of which] have been around for more than 40 years, and they’re still busy. In such a hard industry … that is a story that deserves the spotlight.”
For the first of her three projects with Powerhouse, Kwong has partnered with Bhavna Kalra Shivalkar, owner of The Modern Desi cooking school, to curate and host six dinners at Harris Park restaurants Chatkazz, Adyar Ananda Bhavan, Mitran Da Dhaba and IndoChainese.
Each meal will look at different regional Indian cuisine which includes the spiced biryani from Hyderabad, roadside treats from northern Punjab and diners can also expect other things like cultural performances and traditional chai tastings.
Each guest will also receive a one-off recipe for an Indo-Chinese dish co-written by Shivalkar and Kwong.
There has been more of a shift in focusing on Western Sydney restaurants – earlier this year, when the Good Food awards were announced, Sinclair’s in Penrith and Cricca in Windsow were awarded one coveted hat each.
Gursha Ethiopian in Blacktown took out the Critic’s Pick award.
