When Chinatown restaurant Golden Century announced its closure after 32 years of operation, Sydney went into mourning. It was the loss of a culinary institution, where multiple generations of diners, chefs, celebrities and politicians gathered over peking duck and bowls of pipis in XO sauce to celebrate, commiserate and kick on.

But on Thursday, an almost-Christmas miracle: restaurateur family Eric, Linda and Billy Wong announced Golden Century will rise again, reopening at Crown Barangaroo in January with its signature Cantonese dishes, a wall of live seafood tanks and harbour views.

Crown will also welcome Bondi’s Icebergs Dining Room & Bar for a summer residency at The Waiting Room, which they’re calling Icebergs Harbour Bar.

Golden Century will take over the former site of now-closed Chinese restaurant Silks, on the third floor of Crown. It will seat about 150 people (notably smaller than its 600-seat Sussex Street location) and open for lunch and dinner.

“It was time for Golden Century to come back,” says Billy Wong, who will lead restaurant operations with ongoing input from his parents.

Elements of the new Golden Century will stay true to the original: parents Eric and Linda Wong will often be there (“It’s in their blood,” says son Billy); the wine list will be varied and lengthy (though $1.15 million of their wine collection was sold after the closure); and a significant portion of the menu will focus on comforting Cantonese classics, cooked by a team of chefs who have worked at the Wongs’ other restaurants, XOPP (Darling Harbour) and The Century (Pyrmont).

The opening menu will include signature dishes such as XO pipis, live lobster cooked two ways, abalone steamboats, Peking duck, and a lunchtime yum cha offering.

“That’s the sort of legacy I want to continue. I want Golden Century to be there for the next generation.”

Restaurant owner Billy Wong

The announcement follows reports of a food and beverage overhaul across Crown Resorts in Melbourne and Sydney as US private equity giant Blackstone (which acquired the casino operator in 2022) works to overcome a steep decline in Crown Resorts’ annual earnings this financial year, and a $450 million penalty by AUSTRAC for breaches of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws issued last July.

A spokesperson for Crown said the AUSTRAC penalties related to breaches under previous Crown owners and management.

Blackstone managing director Craig Newman said: “Blackstone is delighted to work with the Crown team and talented chefs and creators to bring exciting new dining options to guests and visitors.”

Wong says support for the family’s restaurant encouraged them to seek another venue after debts of more than $1 million plunged Golden Century Seafood Restaurant into administration during a lease impasse at the Sussex Street site in 2021. Creditors later voted to clear the debt.

“We were overwhelmed by the support we received,” says Wong. “Many of our customers reached out to share stories of dining with their grandparents, their parents, and eventually their own children at the restaurant. It was like a rite of passage.

“That’s the sort of legacy I want to continue. I want Golden Century to be there for the next generation.”

The family has spent the past three years reviewing potential sites, but nothing checked all the boxes until Crown. The new site was too good to refuse, Wong says: a convenient, bustling location, impressive harbour views, and a community of well-respected in-house restaurants including a’Mare and Oncore by Clare Smyth.

“[At Crown], we’ll have an opportunity to elevate what we do,” Wong says.

Wong says it’s important for Golden Century to continue offering various price points, accommodating grand celebratory feasts alongside drop-in visits for dim sum and fried rice.

But this time, there will be eight private dining rooms, a selection of new dishes to elevate the culinary offering, and an earlier closing time of about 10pm or 11pm – at least initially.

Golden Century was once known as the go-to spot for late-night dining in Sydney, especially among chefs. Wong says it could happen again, depending on demand and Crown regulations.

Bookings for Golden Century will open in December.

XOPP and Golden Century BBQ will continue to trade, but The Century at Star will close by the end of December. Its last day of service is yet to be determined.

Icebergs Harbour Bar will open every day, taking inspiration from European hotel bars while offering a menu of casual Icebergs classics such as the Iceburger and fried gamberetti (school prawns).

“I have always had a love affair with great hotel bars; they’re transient and fun,” says Icebergs restaurateur Maurice Terzini.

“This evolution of the Icebergs Bar will bring classic drinks and our signature bar food offering to Crown Sydney.”

While Crown Resorts was sold to Blackstone for $8.9 billion in 2022, it now has an estimated worth of less than $300 million. In July, Crown sold its 20 per cent stake in acclaimed Japanese restaurant and hotel chain Nobu, worth $266 million A spokesperson for Crown said Nobu Barangaroo will continue to operate as normal.