Yangebup mum starts petition to change name of Johnny’s Burger Joint’s Ching Chong Burger

A BURGER on the menu of Johnny’s Burger Joint in Canning Vale has come under fire for being offensive towards Chinese people.

Known as the “Ching Chong Burger”, a Facebook post by the business from 2015 said it was inspired by the owner’s Malaysian roots.

Featuring Johnny’s special beef patty, an egg, sriracha sauce, coriander, lettuce, tomato and mayo, the burger promises a fresh taste.

But when Yangebup mother-of-two Lisa Chappell saw it on the menu during a family lunch on April 28, she was “disgusted”.

“By this stage it was too late to get up and leave as we had opened five drinks and the children were hungry,” Mrs Chappell said.

Mrs Chappell told the woman at the counter when ordering her meal and said the name of the burger was “very offensive and derogatory to Asians”.

She said the staff member apologised and said they would pass the feedback to the owner.

Mrs Chappell then made several attempts to contact owner John Wong and eventually managed to speak with him – but the burger’s name remained on the menu.

So Mrs Chappell began a change.org petition, which has attracted 23 signatures.

“I started my petition two weeks ago against Johnny’s Burger Joint and their offensively named burger, as I was not happy with the response that I received from Mr Wong,” Mrs Chappell said.

“‘Ching chong’ is a racist and derogatory term that has been used for many generations to mock people of Asian descent,” she said.

“As an Australian-born Chinese, I find the use of this term in our current society unacceptable and place it in the same category as derogatory terms used for Indigenous Australians and African-Americans.”

Canning Times has contacted Mr Wong for comment.

The acting managing director of the Office of Multicultural Interests, Kim Ellwood, questioned the appropriateness of the name chosen for the burger.

“This term is historically a pejorative term used to mock the Chinese language and people, and I would question if this is an appropriate name for a burger,” Ms Ellwood said.

“It is encouraging, however, to see that customers are challenging this and clearly value and embrace our multicultural community.”