When Johnny Ang and Jerrika Guiang came to Australia six years ago, it was an enormous gamble. Literally. The pair, who met while working on cruise ships, had decided that they needed a life change and had narrowed the selections to Australia or America, where Jerrika had spent some time doing her apprenticeship. Whichever destination had the next flight out, that was where they would go.
Lucky for us, Australia popped up on the departures board first.
Both chefs by trade, it was a job offer with PLB Group (Osteria, Lolita’s Mexican Cantina, Ancora, The Acre Boomerang Farm) that brought the pair to the seaside town of Casuarina. It was a life-changing move, remembers Johnny, who has travelled extensively to far-flung places all around the world.
“Casuarina and Kingscliff are just different,” he tells us. “We fell in love with living here.” And life was good – really good – until Covid reared its ugly head. Like many people, it was the catalyst for Johnny and Jerrika to reassess what they wanted from their life, and one of their big goals was to open a restaurant. Johnny resigned the very next day.
In order to raise the funds required to open a venue, they started a Filipino BBQ stall that would pop up at markets and festivals around the Northern Rivers. It gained quite the following and paved the way for Johnny and Jerrika to open George’s Deli in March. Named after Johnny’s beloved late mother, who he credits with teaching him everything he knows about cooking, Johnny recalls memories of her dancing in the kitchen. “She was always happy,” Johnny says. It was this sense of fun that has underpinned the George’s Deli brand.
When it comes to the menu, Jerrika has always possessed a penchant for classic American toasties, while Johnny has quite the sweet tooth – especially when it comes to doughnuts. George’s Deli combines both of these things in the most delicious way possible. One thing the husband-and-wife duo learnt from the market days was to narrow your focus. “Choose a couple of things, and do them well,” Johnny says.
On the board you will find four toasties, including the ‘Ain’t Reuben’ – Johnny and Jerrika’s take on the classic, which uses dill sauce instead of sauerkraut, and pastrami instead of corned beef. In the cabinet, you’ll spy a drool-inducing selection of doughnuts in a curious array of flavours. A nod to the pair’s Filipino heritage, the flavours include ‘Ube’, which is filled with a bright purple cream and made with purple yam, and ‘Ensaymada’, which is traditionally a sweet dough that Johnny has reinvented as a slightly savoury-style doughnut stuffed with cream cheese. Guests can wash down their choice with a sip of coffee from Tweed Heads’ Ground Control or a vibrant matcha. Looking around the packed dining room and line extending out the door, it seems as though their gamble has paid off and we can’t help but smile.
George’s Deli is now open! Head to our Stumble Guide for opening times.
