Our Story
Jacky Chan visiting the restaurant!
If you’ve visited Bateman’s Bay in the last 30 years, you’ve likely eaten at Raymond’s. Originally set at the beautiful water front location on Clyde Street, Raymond has been cooking and serving up local favourites such as his summer dish Mango Chicken and always loved Sizzling Fillet Steak from day one!
We slowly developed a loyal local customer base which we are grateful for! We even get the odd celebrity visiting us every now and then!
After leasing out the original premise at Batemans Bay, Raymond focused solely on Raymond’s at Malua Bay Bowling Club which also quickly became a local favourite over the last 12 years! The restaurant helped revive the bowling club, drawing customers from Canberra and beyond. Queues were a common sight both at Lunch and Dinner service.
As often is the case in life, the summer of 2019 took an unexpected turn for us and many others on the South Coast. The Black Summer bushfires of 2019 tore through the complex, completely destroying the club and the restaurant. Raymond had a close call but was lucky to have gotten out safely. Heart broken and gutted, all of us in the family tried convincing him to hang up his chef’s hat and call it a day and enjoy life in retirement.
But we should have known better 😃. As an an immigrant who came to Australia with nothing he was not going to let a little natural disaster slow him down. As reported by one of the regional media, his response to this little set back was classic Raymond!
‘I’m not retiring with a burnt-down restaurant,'”
The rest, as they say is history. With the help of his children this time around, Raymond launched Raymond’s at Malua Bay in October 2020. He is back at a brand new water front location, brand new modern restaurant set up and a brand new menu with all the local favourites.
Ultimately, it is his love of cooking, his love for his customers and Bateman’s Bay that keeps him going. When people say they love his cooking, that’s his happy place. He loves saying that ‘Everybody loves Raymond’ and we would love to host you and show you why! 😊
In 2019, the Black Summer bushfires swept through Malua Bay and destroyed Raymond's Chinese Restaurant. Ten months later, it rose from the ashes with a sleek new look, and with Raymond's daughter Emily now at the helm.