News & Discussion: Chinatown

[mshagg]

please don't let them turn this into some kind of generic shopping mall style food venue. Im not a fan of the renders, not grungy enough.

A few seem to be thinking along the same lines as me, but this comment captures it well, cheers.

The entire ethos of the Chinatown (and indeed central market) precinct is the focus on product (good, cheap food) with little focus on design concepts and decoration. The experience which accompanies the food feels authentic - bustling crowds of strangers sitting amongst each other eating. The two food courts perfectly fill the void between the 'street' foods and the casual restaurants in the area.

Also, FFS, nobody wants to sit on a bar stool at a high table while they eat.

Love the idea of it staying open later into the evening though.

[Nathan]

please don't let them turn this into some kind of generic shopping mall style food venue. Im not a fan of the renders, not grungy enough.

A few seem to be thinking along the same lines as me, but this comment captures it well, cheers.

The entire ethos of the Chinatown (and indeed central market) precinct is the focus on product (good, cheap food) with little focus on design concepts and decoration. The experience which accompanies the food feels authentic - bustling crowds of strangers sitting amongst each other eating. The two food courts perfectly fill the void between the 'street' foods and the casual restaurants in the area.

Also, FFS, nobody wants to sit on a bar stool at a high table while they eat.

Love the idea of it staying open later into the evening though.

It's not an either/or proposition. You can still have a well designed space that has character is feels authentic, it's just a delicate (and difficult) balancing act to get it right*.

* I'm not saying this proposal gets it right

[Ho Really]

Don't tell me that if I want to visit Chinatown and get that Chinatown experience I will need to travel to China, etc. Don't sanitise it or it will lose its Chinatown appeal.

Cheers

I always assumed Chinatown's around the world were more of a stereotypical version of what China looks like to the rest of the world, not an actual replica

China has progressed and becoming more westernised. This is an old-fashioned view of how China was. However I think it wouldn't hurt to keep this alive. Like others have said, why turn it into your typical Aussie (or westernised) style food hall? It's possible to modernise things but keep certain aspects of that culture, atmosphere and ambiance. I'm no expert but isn't that what gives these places character, stereotypical or not?

Cheers

[thecityguy]

Agreed, would hate to see a generic food court set up. The dinginess is apart of the charm.

I think the strip needs greenery, overhead hanging lights amongst the trees (possibly hanging lanterns) and maybe some pavers rather than the concrete.

It needs to feel inclosed with lots of restaurants tucked away (the density of places needs to increase, there isn't actually many place to eat at night), the cluttered look works for China towns. A mixture of cheap and expensive places is needed and open late is essential.

Having chairs spilling out into the strip also gives it that bustling/crowded vibe which certainly adds to the charm.

Make the street appealing and somewhat pretty, but let the dingy eateries be dingy





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Waewick]

pavers, we need more talk about pavers.

[Honey of a City]

I'm a local who eats in Chinatown food courts at least weekly. I'm attracted to the bustle, diversity, value for money, casual ambience, and just plain honesty of the vibe. Turn it into a glitzy cafeteria with necessarily higher food process and I'm outta there. Similarly, turn the Central Market into a supermarket and you won't see me for dust. Sure, Chinatown's amenity could be improved, e.g. appropriately designed roofing covering part of Moonta St to link both food halls, add more shelter and outdoor dining, extend trading hours, and flood the whole area with creative and evocative lighting....go for it. But turn it into an airport/shopping mall afterthought at your peril.

[Nathan]

pavers, we need more talk about pavers.

Chinese pavers?

[Patrick_27]

I don't want to see this area look glamorous, however I certainly think they could be better utilising the space they have and in turn providing some minor upgrades so that it doesn't look so much like a run-down hospital cafeteria. First and foremost as it's already been mentioned on here, I think the improvements that are key is encouraging a highly standard of food in the precinct without heavily impacting on the current price range. I haven't dined in this food hall for about eight years because the last two times I did I got food poisoning; people can judge it as a cultural thing but I think it simply comes down to the fact that there are a lot of cheapskates running the stalls in this place, leases should be granted based on the quality of their food because as we all know quality brings greater customer loyalty.

[dbl96]

I don't want to see this area look glamorous, however I certainly think they could be better utilising the space they have and in turn providing some minor upgrades so that it doesn't look so much like a run-down hospital cafeteria. First and foremost as it's already been mentioned on here, I think the improvements that are key is encouraging a highly standard of food in the precinct without heavily impacting on the current price range. I haven't dined in this food hall for about eight years because the last two times I did I got food poisoning; people can judge it as a cultural thing but I think it simply comes down to the fact that there are a lot of cheapskates running the stalls in this place, leases should be granted based on the quality of their food because as we all know quality brings greater customer loyalty.

The thing is that encouraging a "higher standard of food" will inevitably impact on the price of the food. While I appreciate that you may have been sick after eating at the food hall, this is not the experience of most people, and with South Australia's stringent food safety regulations, if there was a chronic problem with food safety in those restaurants, they would have had their licences terminated. Quality may bring greater customer loyalty, but lets face it; if people are looking for quality, they will go elsewhere. The reason people choose to eat at this food court is because it is the best place to get a cheap feed in Adelaide. Nowhere else comes anywhere near it in terms of price, and that is really all the customers care about. It would be a real pity for diversity of food options if this food court was sanitised.

[ghs]

I don't want to see this area look glamorous, however I certainly think they could be better utilising the space they have and in turn providing some minor upgrades so that it doesn't look so much like a run-down hospital cafeteria. First and foremost as it's already been mentioned on here, I think the improvements that are key is encouraging a highly standard of food in the precinct without heavily impacting on the current price range. I haven't dined in this food hall for about eight years because the last two times I did I got food poisoning; people can judge it as a cultural thing but I think it simply comes down to the fact that there are a lot of cheapskates running the stalls in this place, leases should be granted based on the quality of their food because as we all know quality brings greater customer loyalty.

The thing is that encouraging a "higher standard of food" will inevitably impact on the price of the food. While I appreciate that you may have been sick after eating at the food hall, this is not the experience of most people, and with South Australia's stringent food safety regulations, if there was a chronic problem with food safety in those restaurants, they would have had their licences terminated. Quality may bring greater customer loyalty, but lets face it; if people are looking for quality, they will go elsewhere. The reason people choose to eat at this food court is because it is the best place to get a cheap feed in Adelaide. Nowhere else comes anywhere near it in terms of price, and that is really all the customers care about. It would be a real pity for diversity of food options if this food court was sanitised.

I agree 100% with Patrick_27, the food is pretty dodgy in there. Notice that some of the stalls have signs saying 'Cash Only'. That's code for 'we don't pay tax'. Patrick's story above is one of many negative things which I've heard about those food courts. Many of the people working there are Chinese students who only get paid $8 - $10 cash per hour. I've also been told that the stall holders pay cash to the owner (Irena Zhang) and that way she doesn't have to pay tax.

[Waewick]

My local coffee shop only takes cash.

Card payments can be costly to a business.

[arki]

My local coffee shop only takes cash.

Card payments can be costly to a business.

Lol, what 17c per transaction and a nominal fixed fee per month are really costly to a business?

Don't be fooled - the only businesses who either refuse or make it difficult to pay by card (by setting ridiculous minimums) are ones trying to dodge the tax man.

[Waewick]

My local coffee shop only takes cash.

Card payments can be costly to a business.

Lol, what 17c per transaction and a nominal fixed fee per month are really costly to a business?

Don't be fooled - the only businesses who either refuse or make it difficult to pay by card (by setting ridiculous minimums) are ones trying to dodge the tax man.

So that can be 5% of a coffee plus the 20 to 30 per month for the physical machine (plus phone line etc)

It's not that straight forward.

[monotonehell]

My local coffee shop only takes cash.

Card payments can be costly to a business.

Lol, what 17c per transaction and a nominal fixed fee per month are really costly to a business?

Don't be fooled - the only businesses who either refuse or make it difficult to pay by card (by setting ridiculous minimums) are ones trying to dodge the tax man.

So that can be 5% of a coffee plus the 20 to 30 per month for the physical machine (plus phone line etc)

It's not that straight forward.

Handling cash, and banking it can be quite expensive as well. That's why many locations offer "cash out" rather than pay their staff to count and lug it down tot he bank these days.

The only places where this doesn't factor are the small places Waewick mentions where the boss does their own banking and the labour cost is hidden.

Compare that to the GLSC where they don't accept cash because of the costs associated.

[EBG]

The biggest improvement they could make to the food court is either to change the tiles on the floor or the chairs
so that that there is not the almost continuous scrapping of bare metal chair legs on the tiles. Ps I eat there 3 or 4 times a week and yes I got food poisoning