A feisty restaurateur who infamously clashed with City of Sydney Council officers over 30cm of contested footpath in a now-viral video has revealed that Netflix is set to cover the drama in a new reality TV series.
Nahji Chu, the owner of famed Sydney restaurant Lady Chu, said the US streaming giant approached her for an eight-episode series that will follow her rise from a Vietnamese refugee into one of Australia’s hospitality heavyweights.
Ms Chu said a production crew will be flying over from Los Angeles to Sydney in mid-January to shoot around four days of footage at her Potts Point restaurant, before heading to Melbourne to interview her family.
Her showdown with council rangers erupted after they ordered her to remove potted palms to comply with a rule requiring a 1.5metre path between tables and the kerb.
An explosive argument ensued, caught on video by a staff member, in which Ms Chu said she would rather ‘go to jail’ than follow their orders.
‘This is ‘f***ed up, this whole city is f***ed up,’ she told one officer.
‘I’m paying f***ing taxes and I’m paying your wages, so f*** off. I’m trying to activate this f***ing dead city, so don’t shut it down.’
Following the encounter in May, Lord Mayor Clover Moore took to social media to condemn Ms Chu’s behaviour towards council staff.
Nahji Chu is the owner of famed restaurant Lady Chu, a Vietnamese eatery in Potts Point. She told Daily Mail she has been contacted by Netflix to shoot an eight-episode documentary
Ms Chu angrily confronted council officers who demanded the removal of plants outside her restaurant, in a now-viral video in May (pictured)
‘We have repeatedly asked Lady Chu to remove some of the unapproved planters or the umbrellas to ensure there is enough space for pedestrians,’ she said.
‘It’s not a private courtyard, it’s a public footpath – people should not be forced onto the road, especially people in a wheelchair or with a pram.’
Ms Chu confirmed her infamous spat with Sydney’s Lord Mayor Clover Moore – who has a throne reserved at the restaurant should she ever choose to visit – will be heavily featured in the eight-part series.
‘Oh absolutely, big time, it’ll probably start with that!’ she told Daily Mail.
‘They’ll interview everyone that’s involved and of course everyone gets to have their say – including the council. [Moore] will be featured – she’s actually going to have her own episode! I want that episode to be called “Council beef with Nahji”.’
Ms Chu said the council drama – and the publicity – has ensured the business has thrived throughout the year, with no winter downturn like previous years and other restaurateurs travelling from interstate to visit.
‘They said they came because they saw the story and didn’t realise we could actually have that sort of power,’ she said.
Ms Chu also went viral this year for her ‘iconic’ no-nonsense replies to one-star reviews, which she told the Daily Mail she usually responds to while relaxing around the pool at her Sydney gym.
Sydney’s Lord Mayor Clover Moore condemned Ms Chu for her treatment of council staff
Many businesses in the surrounding area were forced to shut up shop in 2013 after controversial lock out laws were introduced
‘Anyone who is giving me one star reviews is just making me into a successful comedian, they’re writing my material for me as far as I’m concerned,’ she said.
‘I just say to all the haters, “Congratulations! You’ve just become an unpaid rider on my show!”‘
Following a busy year for Ms Chu, she said her proudest moment to date was seeing the council finally acknowledge how red tape hurts small business.
Moore confirmed the council would be removing requirements around standing, food, toilets and heaters in outdoor dining areas.
She also confirmed the council will ‘increase flexibility to place planter boxes and large pots for greening in these areas’.
Ms Chu said she’s been ‘quite instrumental’ in the changes.
‘I’ve been fighting for that for a long time, ever since I started Miss Chu when we had outdoor dining and plants on the street and all I ever got was fines,’ she said.
One change that she’d like to see the Sydney council reconsider is the lighting installed on Roslyn Street, where Lady Chu is located.
‘It’s brighter than a football stadium during a grand final,’ Ms Chu said.
‘I think it’s quite reasonable to dim them down so we can enjoy our lives rather than feel like we’re actually in prison in Australia – we’re not convicts anymore!
‘People used to walk down here dodging dog poo and needles, now they’re dodging one star reviews and a vibe.’
Nahji (right) arrived in Australia in 1978 – her family had fled from Vietnam to Thailand, before she was thrown in prison as a young girl, and eventually found refuge Down Under
The restaurateur (centre) recently took her team to Vietnam on a holiday
It’s understood producers from Beyond Productions originally approached the restauranteur for an SBS documentary but decided to take it to a global audience as Ms Chu was ‘way beyond Australia now’.
‘The story is about my life – they’ve been following me for the last 20 years and how [my first restaurant Miss Chu] fell over and now the comeback,’ she said.
‘I think its really interesting that I do represent the Vietnamese refugee diaspora and of the three-and-a-half years I spent in refugee camps and now becoming this caricature, for the good of society, I suppose.’
Ms Chu said she expects the pilot episode to be released in late 2026 or early 2027, with hopes that viewing figures will prompt a green light from Netflix executives to air the rest of the season.
