While the National Trust names snobs and dilitants amongst its 'living treasures' (Cheryl Kernot? Paul Keating?? Michael Leunig??!), true Australians whose ceaseless work making Australia a better place are ignored.
Like Ken Cheng, who passed away this week. His name may not be familiar but his work certainly is. Ken is the man who, along with William Young, brought Dim Sims to Australian diners and drinkers:
KEN Cheng, who turned a secret recipe for home-made dim sims into a Melbourne institution, has died aged 83.God bless you Ken.
It was business as usual yesterday at the South Melbourne Market where the humble Chinese-born cook sold his sought-after treats, as deep-fried snacks and often as a hangover cure.
Mr Cheng's son Edward said his father never fully appreciated how iconic his dim sims had become...
...Kuen Cheng - who became known as Ken - was born in China in 1922.
At the age of 18, fleeing poverty and the Japanese invasion, he took a job with the United States Marine Corps.
His family says he ended up stationed with US troops in Darwin before working his way down to Melbourne.
But South Melbourne Market old-timers tell the story slightly differently, believing Mr Cheng arrived in Melbourne as a personal chef to General Douglas MacArthur during World War II.
-- Nora
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