Ultimo Road Silhouette - Alex McClintock

With its peeling paint and graffitied awning, Dong Nam A on the corner of Ultimo Road seems like a relic of old Chinatown. The reality is more complex. The grocer is a third-generation family business established by Vietnamese refugees in 1979, and owner Chris Lam is an ex-banker with a passion for sharing local stories. But it still makes me nostalgic for weekend mornings with my dad, shopping for galangal and dried shrimp before you could buy them at Woollies.