Moon Cakes By The Thousands

Shop number one at 182 Cabramatta

the business with the help of his sister Christine. Christine says that their father started his first cake shop 40 years ago with their mother.

Road appears to be nothing more than a typical retail outlet in a set of strip shops, such as might appear in any suburb or town. Yet this store is the location of the An Phat Cake Shop, the first Vietnamese cake shop in NSW and represents the changes to Australia as a result of war and foreign policy.

“When my parents came to Australia, they lived and worked for a few years and as soon as they could get the money together they started this shop. It was the first (Vietnamese cake shop) in NSW and the business has been going ever since.”

Moon Cakes by the thousand

One of the specialties of the An Phat Opened in 1982 by the Giang family, the Cake Shop is Vietnamese moon cakes. shop has been operating continuously These sweet treats are baked each year since that time. It heralded the change for the Moon Festival held in September. in Cabramatta from just another suburb to one which is the focus of Vietnamese This year Fairfield Council ordered culture in Sydney. thousands of cakes Vietnamese people from the shop to are the second largest This year 60,000 moon cakes supply guests at non-English speaking will be eaten in Cabramatta, a celebrations group in Australia and suburb of Sydney, during the throughout the Cabramatta is home Festival of the Moon month of September. to the largest Vietnamese Some 60,000 visitors community in the country. come to Cabramatta during the festival and eat moon cakes, thousands of The Giang family operated a cake shop which are supplied by the An Phat in Vietnam for 15 years before coming Vietnames bakery. to Australia during the 1970s like thousands of other Vietnamese refugees following the Vietnam war. The South Vietnamese were Australia’s allies during the Vietnam war and following the defeat of the allied forces, thousands of south Vietnamese refugees made their way to Australia – many by boat – to make Australia their home. As soon as they could save the money the family opened the bakery. The current owner, Thai Giang, took over the shop from his parents and runs

The store was visited by the mayor of Fairfield Nick Lalich and the State Member of Parliament Reba Meagher in honour of the shop’s 25th anniversary. The face of Australia has changed as a result migration and our cultural institutions include Greek cafes, Italian gelataria’s and now a Vietnamese bakery with more than 25 years of history. MAUREEN SHELLEY © 2008