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When gallant Cook from Albion sailed,
To trace wide oceans o'er,
True British courage bore him on,
Til he landed on our shore.
Then here he raised Old England's flag,
The standard of the brave;
"With all her faults we love her still"
"Britannia rules the wave."
In joyful strains then let us sing
Advance Australia fair.

(Australian National Anthem, dumped second verse)

Well! What a night it was. The tavern where the epic saga took place, Grandpa’s, still even after two weeks has a palpable smoky odour lingering. Grandpa’s, still the best pub in the Chun, and with its owner Derek, indisputably the best chef in town, really helped the Choonie community put on an awesome night of beers, pig and a smorgasbord of Australiana cuisine. The night was set in motion thanks to the Olympian efforts of the Queens Jubilee Central Organising Committee (QJCOC) and the good people of Changchun came in their droves. In a pub that shouldn’t really accommodate more than a handful of people, the carnivores and communists, monarchists and republicans, expats and locals spilled out onto the street getting acquainted or reacquainted with Aussie fare and each other. So what was on offer?

First and foremost there was the meat. Wow Derek! Wow! Now a regular fixture on the taverns menu guests were treated to a smoked shoulder of pork that was cooked slowly and gently in no less than 10 hours! Not to mention the chicken breasts and beef brisket, all of which just melted in the mouth. There was true Aussie mint sauce, salads, baked beans and roast veggies for the vegos, but truly the smoked meat was a solo class act.

Many thanks go to the Alabamans Kelly and Rob for bringing along an authentic southern salsa whose spelling and pronunciation we shall come to at another point, but it was the perfect appetiser guys, well done!

A huge shout out to our Aussie friends Steve and Jacky for preparing what I consider to be the best desserts I have had for donkey’s years; Trifle for the Poms (English) and Pav (Pavlova) for the Aussies. Aussie or no, every nationality present ate em’ up and there were only empty plates for Jacky to take home. That was a really sweet treat. Good on ya guys!

Mahatma Jack organised with some difficulty and a little bit of luck, an esky, chilli bin, cooler, whatever you want call it, to keep ice cold those first 24 authentic Hahn Premium Aussie beers for the first thirsty 24 to rock up. They didn’t last long. But the esky was a ripper. Rudimentary and whipped up in about 20 minutes. The Aussie way.

It was certainly a night of laughter and banta, with a sing-along organised by Aussie Matt and Sir Richard where, in the wee hours, we belted out Aussie classics like Waltzing Matilda and some less memorable tune about a kangaroo being tied down. God Save the Queen trumpeted to wrap the night up along with Veggy (Vegemite) sanga’s (sandwiches) and real Cadbury Chocolate shipped in from down-under. I mean seriously, whoever said the Aussies were uncivilised?  It was a crackerjack (wonderful) night and we will surely do it again soon. We all now wait with bated breath the yanks’ turn to smoke up the Chun – fireworks on the 4th of July! God bless and hooroo (goodbye).

MJ - Changchun Friends Marketing Director and Spiritual Advisor.

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