Cherikoff Bakery & Restaurant, 184 Nathan Road [????- ]

Hello all,

I found my way to this website because there is such a rich seam of information about Russian eateries in HK here; I am hoping against hope that someone might be able to help me find the original location of the North Point branch of Cherikoff's. My father and mother first met there in the early 60's where my dad was working, he worked in the restaurant kitchen; my mum originally was employed at the Nathan Road branch, but I never got the actual location of the North Point branch; since my dad went up to the great Cherikoff's in the sky a couple of years ago, I have been back to HK several times and asked around, but I couldn't find any information there; would anyone here know? So far, this website is the closest I have come to finding an answer, any information would be helpful!

many thanks

P.S. I am aware that there is a Cherikoffs near Prince Edward MTR as of my last trip (June '15) but it is apparently just a bakery, not a restaurant; anyone know anything more about this branch?

Hello!

I have an advertisment on The China Mail dated 1959 Dec 24, it is about the Cherikoff Bakery & Restaurant

Andy

Hello David,

I can confirm exact location of Cherikoff on Nathan Road a little better. I used to live in 30 Austin Road (opposite the barracks). My grand mother used to live in 11 Hillwood Road. Cherikoff was on the other side of Hillwood Road from that shown on your mark on the map. If I remember correctly it was right next to the driveway that took you up to St Andrew's Church next door and there used to be a photography studio upstairs, we had family portraits taken there. I'll see if I can find one of them and see if there is a name for that studio.

Bob

My apologies David,

The restaurant I was thinking off was Chantecler, not Cherikoff.

Bob

Cherikoff's still exist, now in Mong Kok. The adress is: Shop G29, G/F Allied Plaza, 760 Nathan Road, Prince Edward, Kowloon.

See on  streetview

Hello David,

here is an advertisement appeared on the China Mail on 24th Dec, 1960.

Andy

Chefikoff Bakery & Restaurant was one of those half dozen "Russian" restaurants blossomed in 1970s. Cherikoff Restaurant was supposed to be owned by Cherikoff family, last owner was known as Vic who migrated to Australia 30 years ago. The current rundown business as a bakery is located in Mongkok, near Prince Edward MTR Station exit B2. BY chance I was in Sydney and listened to an ABC program on Vic Cherikoff who re-invented himself as a goumet in natural and indigenous food in Australia. I listed below links to his references but unfortunately the audio recording of that particular interview is no longer available for download from ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). 

https://www.facebook.com/vic.cherikoff?__tn__=%2CdC-R-R&eid=ARC6_RCT1HNq...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0C5QXdUJu4

 Hi Sam

Just to let you know that Vic Cherikoff and his wife Sonya were very good friends of my parents, also White Russian Emigres, who knew them in Shanghai as well.  The Cherikoffs, together with their son Vitaly and daughter-in-law Ludmilla, left Hong Kong in the early 1950s for Sydney so that would be 66-odd years ago, not 30 

The Vic Cherikoff you heard on the ABC was the grandson of the HK Vic Cherikoff and yes, as you said, he's into bush tucker and other foods which grow in the Australian bush. 

You might be interested to see a photo of the Cherikoffs' son's wedding to Ludmilla from 1950.  The bridesmaids were Nellie Tkachenko (her father owned Tkachenko's Russian Restaurant on Hankow Road) and Irina (Ira) Smirnoff (eldest daughter of George (Yuri) Smirnoff, the person who painted those beautiful watercolours of Macao), as well as two other girls whom I didn't know.  My mother was matron of honour, and my sister Lindy and I were flowergirls. 

I've marked some names on the group photo for easy reference! 

Cheers

Nona

1.001.jpg, by Nona Pio-Ulski

I thought it might be fun to share a clip taken from my father's old 8mm film of the wedding.  Not very long, sadly, I guess he had to stop filming and get into the church before the wedding started 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5j9PrLF8Gcw

Cheers 

Am so glad you enjoyed the clip, David  And yes, it was a colour film 

Interesting to read about the HK Cherikoff bakery restaurant that my grandfather started. I often wonder what I'd be doing if my family had stayed in Hong Kong rather than coming to Sydney. Clearly I would not be workiing in my area of expertise in wild food supply development and nutrition. Life was tough as a 'foreign' (yet Australian-born) kid in school with predominantly middle class, white, anglosaxon schoolmates who were challenged by anything other than bland, meat and 3-veg meals, pies full of over-boiled meat drowned in tomato sauce for flavour and sweet buns full of mock cream and jam filling as a pre-diabetic sugar hit. If you didn't fight, you lost.

It was probably this background that drove me to a science degree (actually the equivalent of 3 of them) and a lifelong passion with both, the Australian Outback and the First Nation people of the world's longest living culture. I saw the knowledge that facilitated 65,000 years of living in this land is just as important today as it was during times of extended drought, flooding, wild fires and even Ice Ages and rising sea levels.

We now know that wild foods protected our First Nation people from most cancers, diabetes, CHD and most of the other diseases of nutrition. I market a product I call LIFE (Lyophilized Indigenous Food Essentials)™ and it appears to address most of the health issues that are so critical now that our modern foods are no longer up to the job of keeping us healthy. LIFE is based on 14 key Australian wild foods and over 20 other conventional superfoods from around the world.

I do regret only having the information to make such a product some 26 years after my mother (Ludmilla but known as Lucy in Australia) died very young from pancreatic cancer. Researchers now even have an Australian plant extract that is effective against pancreatic cancer specifically but LIFE seems to work just as well.

My Mum told many stories of growing up in China (Harbin, Shanghai and Hong Kong) and her own childhood spent with the children of aunts and uncles, seemed to be a mix of playiing in the streets as much as avoiding adults and parents. Much of her early years were also mired in mystery as her parents separated and her step-father was not a kind man.

Such is life, I guess but the training we get as children never leaves us and often marks our outlook on life and programs reponses, both good and bad. I do know that Mum taught me that having children was not a good idea if you wanted a life of freedom and choices. Neither my sister nor I wanted to lose these options and we value her lesson.

I remember there was a Willy's Studio in a narrow building near the path going up to St. Andrew's Church.  I also remember the Siberian Fur Store in the vicinity near the corner of Nathan and Kimberly Road.

The photographer, whom we called Willy (by association) showed up at a lot of social functions such as weddings, birthday parties and Christmas parties held at Club de Recreio.

I am not sure but I think the same photographer later opened his own studio under the name Cambridge Wong Studio.  As I recall it might have been located in the Gloucester Building in Hong Kong.

I had my first shashlik in a Russian Restaurant in the late 1950s which I never forgot. Small but great restaurant. The restaurant was at the corner of Carnarvon Road, corner of either Granville Road or Cameron Road. Can anyone remember this place?

Was the church Rosary Church at Catham Road?

Probably referring to Rikki's Restaurant as noted here at the corner of Carnarvon and Cameron Roads. Yes, Rosary Church is on Chatham Road and can be viewed here

Cherikoff Bakery and Restaurant located at 188 Nathan Road opened for business on 19 December 1957. The China Mail of the same day refers. 

Cherikoff Restaurant Bakery - "Super Russian Food. Delicio… | Flickr