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This small town only had two pubs and a bakery until a Taiwanese backpacker started a food revolution

Byindianadmin

Aug 24, 2022
This small town only had two pubs and a bakery until a Taiwanese backpacker started a food revolution

Until recently, food options were pretty limited in Pinnaroo, a small South Australian farming community close to the Victorian border.  

But since Yinwen Tsai arrived in 2017, mealtimes have gradually adopted new flavours, with take-away sushi and other Asian meals now popular choices among the locals.

Ms Tsai — known as Demi — arrived in Australia as a backpacker from Taiwan in 2016, and worked in a range of jobs before honing her talents in cooking. 

Ms Tsai takes pride in beautifying the area around her food van with welcoming chalk drawings and knick-knacks. (ABC Riverland: Eliza Berlage)

“My first job was a nanny in Sydney, and after three months I had to go to do a farm job because I needed to collect my second-year visa,” she said.

“So I travelled around Victoria to find a job because I wanted to save enough money to go back to my country to open my own shop.

“I wanted to open an ice cream shop because ice cream makes people feel happy.”

Ms Tsai says being able to share her homeland’s food with Pinnaroo residents is a dream come true.(ABC Back Roads)

But Ms Tsai’s plans changed when she fell in love with a Pinnaroo local, Adam Wilson — leading to a new dream of opening a food van to sell dishes from her home country to other residents in the farming community.

“The most important thing is to be brave and trust yourself that you can do it,” she said.

Ms Tsai has been able to use money from her business to buy her dream car. (ABC Riverland: Eliza Berlage)

Bringing the dream to life

Ms Tsai said the inspiration for the food van came to her while she was working in a vegetable packing shed in the Mallee’s Parilla. 

“You know when your hand is working but your brain’s thinking other things — it’s what the factory workers always do,” she said.

“I was thinking one day if I’m pregnant I cannot work at the farm, I probably could do something near my home.”

Ms Tsai’s free sushi-making workshops have been popular with locals.(ABC Riverland: Eliza Berlage)

With some help from her friends, Ms Tsai purchased a van and turned it into Demi’s Kitchen, which she operates in front of her house.

“I’m selling dumplings, my hometown-style salt-and-pepper chicken, and some fish and chips — people like it,” she said. 

Ms Tsai has also hosted free sushi making classes, funded by money collected from recycling bottles and cans, as well as tips from customers.

“I just feel like I can do something for the community,” she said.

Ms Tsai’s husband, Adam, said starting a business during the COVID-19 pandemic had made for a busy few years, but he was glad to see his wife happy.

“I generally just do the background stuff — making sure she’s got stock, and that the fridges are full, so she can keep being out the front chatting to people,” Mr Wilson said.

Love from the locals

Since opening the food van, Ms Tsai has received a strong following of repeat customers among this tight-knit community. 

“The locals really support me,” she said.

However, Ms Tsai said passersby on the highway were often surprised to discover her food van.

Ms Tsai’s food van also travels to the Parilla markets and to Lameroo.(ABC Riverland: Eliza Berlage)

“During public holidays or school holidays the locals go away. So sometimes a traveller will ask me, ‘How’s the business going?’,” she said.

“It feels like, ‘Is my business not going well?’ But my business is going really well because you can see every customer every week.”

Pinnaroo local Stacey Wurfel said Demi’s Kitchen had added to the diversity of food options in the area.

Pinnaroo local Stacey Wurfel says having more food options has been exciting.(ABC Riverland: Eliza Berlage)

“I was born here but I did go away to Adelaide for 10 years,” she said.

“Then I came back to raise my child.

“I do miss eating out, so being able to get sushi and different food in the Mallee has helped to fill that void.”

Watch Back Roads on ABC TV on Mondays at 8pm or anytime on iview.

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