Hello Auntie first won over Sydneysiders with its Vietnamese Sunday roasts and bottomless brunches at eateries in Marrickville and Haymarket. Now, the restaurant’s expanding to the CBD with a new spot from chef and owner Cuong Nguyen – and it’s a bit different to the Hello Auntie outlets we know and love.

Look out for the logo, projected onto the pavement of Castlereagh Street outside Hotel Downing, then climb the stairs, past a wall adorned with neon signs and street art-influenced frescoes, and step into Hey Chu, a venue inspired by the vibrant and eclectic late-night drinking culture of Vietnam.

The ceiling is lined with handmade paper lanterns – but that’s where the nods to tradition end. “The food here is not traditional in any context,” Nguyen tells Broadsheet. Banish any notions of pho, spring rolls and banh mi from your mind, this is “a space were we as chefs have an open field to express [ourselves] through food”.

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The kitchen is helmed by head chef Bremmy Setiyoko (ex-Spice Temple, Sepia) and you can expect interesting takes on the Vietnamese-Australian experience, including congee en croute – a take on a pot pie with koshihikari rice and abalone cooked in roasted chicken broth, served in a dainty china bowl decorated with painted flowers. Other highlights from the snack-focused menu include fried oysters served with roasted chicken fat hollandaise and crispy chicken skin, and sizzling lamb served with shishito peppers.

There are also intensely hot mala wings that remind Nguyen of the first time he ate hot and spicy KFC, and a zooshed-up prawn toast that Nguyen is particularly excited about. “I know prawn toast is trending at the moment so for a bit of fun we thought we would take it to the next level, adding lardo and mayo made with prawn oil and lime gel,” he says.

After 9pm diners are treated to a late-night menu which will be available until close. You can order snacks and even a tableside hibachi until 3am, on which you can grill seafood from Northside Seafood and Red Claw Seafood, and O’Connor Beef which will be dry-aged in-house.

On the drinks front, sommelier Patrick Harrowsmith (ex-Love Tilly Devine, Dear Sainte Eloise) has curated a wine list packed with natural wines, mineral-heavy whites and 18 affordable by-the-glass options. The cocktail list is courtesy of Hello Auntie’s own Peter Pham, who is aiming to push boundaries with drinks such as What the Pho, which combines house-infused coriander tequila with pho syrup and spiced fish sauce.

Adding to the late-night atmosphere will be live music, with emerging artists performing every night, Monday to Thursday, and DJs playing old-school R’n’B hits until 3am on Friday and Saturday nights.

Hey Chu
Level 1, 249 Castlereagh Street, Sydney

Hours:
Mon to Thurs 5pm–midnight
Fri & Sat 5pm–3am
Sun closed

heychu.com.au
@heychurestaurant