When Victor Liong reopened his restaurant on AC/DC Lane in Melbourne's city centre in June, after months of a coronavirus shutdown order, he carefully considered his options.

Since its opening in 2013, Lee Ho Fook had been a restaurant that could cater to just about any occasion. You could stop in at the small bar tucked into the ground floor for chicken cracklings and a cocktail. Or you could head upstairs to the dining room, where your options ran from modern Chinese small plates to a grand feast of a whole roast duck served with a star anise and cinnamon sauce.