Sydney’s west has a new destination for Asian-inspired eats, with Hometown now open at Melrose Central in Melrose Park.
Spanning 4,700m², the dining precinct brings more than 40 restaurants and eateries together under one roof, drawing inspiration from the bustling food streets of Hong Kong, Tokyo, Seoul and Singapore.
The team behind Burwood Chinatown has reimagined the shopping-centre food court as Hometown, an immersive dining destination built for late-night eats.
Neon-lit laneways weave between open kitchens and live grill stations, while bold murals, interactive displays and dynamic lighting turn the dining precinct into an immersive food-and-entertainment experience.
The precinct sits within the newly opened Melrose Central, a $700 million mixed-use town centre on Hope Street that combines retail, dining, entertainment and residential towers in the rapidly transforming Melrose Park precinct.
More than 40 places to eat
Hometown’s line-up ranges from quick bites to sit-down meals, with restaurants including Kosuke Ramen, Yumi Taco, Mori, Bella’s Chargrilled Chicken, Farina’s Ristorante and Bar, Hello Harry Burger Joint, Anita Gelato and Iggys Frozen Bar.
The precinct channels the sprawling, spontaneous energy of Asia’s famous food streets, giving locals a new place to eat, meet and linger in western Sydney.
“We’ve imagined our street food concept as a graduated evolution of everything people love about Burwood Chinatown, East Village and Regent Place, elevated by the immersive artistry creating a city-style dining offer,” said Deicorp head of retail Bilinda Turner.
At more than three times the size of Burwood Chinatown or Westfield Chatswood’s Hawker Lane, Hometown is pitching itself as one of Sydney’s biggest new destinations for Asian-inspired dining.
A new town centre rises around it
Hometown forms part of the wider Melrose Central development, which has opened as the retail heart of a much larger urban renewal project.
The four-level centre spans 30,000m² and includes around 100 retail and lifestyle tenancies, anchored by a full-line Coles supermarket. Dan Murphy’s, TerryWhite Chemmart, fresh food retailers, a gym, childcare, medical and allied health services and an iPlay family entertainment centre are also part of the precinct.
The development sits beneath and around six residential towers containing almost 500 apartments, with residents able to step directly from their homes into the new retail and dining hub.
Deicorp founder Fouad Deiri said the transformation had happened at remarkable speed. “In early 2024 there was nothing here but a paddock,” Deiri said at the centre’s ribbon-cutting ceremony on 29th August. “In just two-and-a-half years, what we’ve been able to do here is nothing short of a miracle.”
The expanded Melrose Park urban renewal project is expected to deliver thousands more homes as the area develops, alongside new parks, open spaces and transport infrastructure.
The future of Sydney’s west
Melrose Central is also being built around future public transport connections, with a dedicated stop planned for Parramatta Light Rail Stage 2 at the Hope Street entrance.
NSW planning minister Paul Scully pointed to the combination of new housing, transport and public space as an example of how density can work when the pieces are planned together.
“We’re marrying that up with good public spaces where people can get together, where friends can meet, where kids can kick a footy around, and the like. And that’s how we do density well in New South Wales.”
Moreover, with free undercover parking for the first three hours and dining, shopping and entertainment all clustered together, Melrose Central is positioning itself as a new gathering place for the growing western Sydney community.
And with Hometown bringing neon, street-food energy and more than 40 eateries to Melrose Park, the neighbourhood’s newest town centre has arrived with considerably more going on than a supermarket run.
Key details
- What: Hometown at Melrose Central
- Where: 33 Hope Street, Melrose Park
- Opening hours: Mon–Wed & Fri–Sat 9am–6pm; Thu 9am–9pm; Sun 9am–5pm.
