Double Bay Chinese and Bodhi restaurants close in Sydney

When chef Ming Pang plated-up his last Mongolian lamb dish on the weekend, it ended a half-century run of Chinese food at the one site in Sydney's Double Bay.

Pang has worked at the restaurant since it changed names from The Red Door to Double Bay Chinese Restaurant in the late 1980s, before acquiring it early this century.

"The licence goes back to 1966," says his wife and business partner Bonnie Liang.

Liang says the Double Bay site is unlikely to reopen as a Chinese restaurant after the New South Head Road building sold. The couple don't have plans to reopen elsewhere. "We're retiring," she says.

While a string of closures, Marigold and Golden Century included, has rocked the Chinese restaurant sector, Double Bay has expanded its offering in recent years, China Diner opening there and Lotus joining the action in 2020.

It has been a tough week for stalwart Asian restaurants. Pan-Asian vegan restaurant Bodhi also announced it will close on August 7 after a 34-year run at a couple of different locations.