Billy Lee's Chinese Restaurant, Perth
I have always had a thing for Chinese restaurants in small towns. Whether they make their presence obvious using traditional roofing, octagonal windows and golden dragons, or their beige brick exterior makes them blend in seamlessly with the adjacent petrol station, the local Chinese restaurant is an essential and well-loved character in regional Australia.
In August 2021 when I was sort of stuck in Tassie prior to my move to Perth, I spotted a show on ABC called ‘Chopsticks or Fork?’. The show follows Jennifer Wong to country towns around Australia to visit and share stories about the local Chinese restaurants, their owners, and the people they’ve fed over the years. Small Australian towns? Obscure Chinese restaurants?! Community?!?! My favourite things!
Once I’d finished the series, I sent Jennifer a message on Instagram to tell her that I loved the show, and that I was excited to start making an effort to actually eat at the places that I had previously just admired in passing. She followed me back, and replied that she was glad I’d messaged her so that she could see my embroidery work. We were officially Instagram friends!
Fast forward to April 2024, and Jen sends me a message to ask if I’d like to come along to her comedy show - The Sweet and Sour Hour of Power - in Perth the following week. Of course I replied with an enthusiastic YES, and I was so excited that after a few weeks of creative block, it became immediately apparent to me that I MUST make a mini Chinese restaurant embroidery as a gift for Jen.
I wanted to stitch something casual, fun, and iconic to Perth, and eventually landed on Billy Lee’s - a late night Chinatown eatery featuring outdoor tables, wood-panelled walls, a 100+ dish menu and, naturally, a rivalry with neighbouring restaurant Uncle Billy’s. It turns out I chose the perfect contender, because when I met Jen at the show and gave her the embroidery, she told me that she had ordered food from Billy Lee’s the night before and loved it (almost as much as she loved my embroidered version of it)!
Jen’s show had us …in stitches! (If you’re not familiar with Jen’s work, she loves a pun). We ate outside at Billy Lee’s afterwards (obviously), and took our leftovers home in containers along with the insightful tea towel that Jen gave me (as a thank you for the embroidery that I gave her as a thank you for the tickets… and so on and so forth).
What this series of events made me realise (other than the fact that three years later I still haven’t really made any effort to eat at any regional Chinese restaurants) is that sending a simple message to someone whose work you admire can yield surprising results. I could have blended into the stream of endless content on Jen’s Instagram explore page (just like Sun Wah in Scottsdale blends into the adjoining fuel shop), but instead I decided to be like Toy Sun in Wynyard (turning on the neon lights and making myself as conspicuous as possible), and because I sent Jen a message, Josh and I got to have a fun night out, and I gained a wonderful new (now real life!) friendship based on creative reciprocity. And if you ask me, I reckon that’s as special as Billy Lee’s fried rice!
P.S. I have one extra Billy Lee’s embroidery available if anyone else needs a super fun hand-stitched Chinese restaurant on their wall - check it out at the link below!
