Goodbye Nam Loong
Last night we headed into the city to see Joshua Ladgrove's show for Melbourne International Comedy Festival. This is an almost-annual event for us and is almost always accompanied by dinner at Nam Loong on Russell Street.
Nam Loong (not to be confused with the other Nam Loong, also on Russell Street, but a more upmarket seafood restaurant) is one of those longstanding Melbourne Chinese restaurants that feature cheap rice and noodle dishes, good dumplings, plastic crockery and brusque service (just like Camy Shanghai Dumpling House and Gong De Lin).
I say is, but I mean was. We arrived to find a gutted, empty tenancy. There was another group of people there whose facial expressions matched ours. Nam Loong can't close?
It has been around for decades, far longer than I have lived in Melbourne. It has always been an automatic choice, especially for the lifelong Melburnians I hang out with, for its unfussy, cheap and cheerful, tried and true menu.
According to Google Maps it is "temporarily closed" but I can't imagine they are going to renovate and reopen. Restaurants like this don't get renovated. At best it will reopen as a new, third kind of Nam Loong.
One of the people in the other disappointed group pointed us towards Empress of China on Little Bourke Street. Sure enough, it was packed and a worthy replacement. Our night was back on track.
By the way, Joshua Ladgrove's show is excellent this year. He is back to his extremely silly, chaotic best and he has two more shows left.
