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And a framed picture of a dignified couple, the ones who took a tag from a thin, anxious boy in a Manitoba airport, and raised him, he says, “like a king.”

Photo by Errol McGihon / Postmedia

He did something with his life alright: he built something people loved — Wong’s Palace, which is closing on Friday after 40 years as a landmark restaurant on the western end of Carling Avenue, next to the Stardust Motel.

“God love ya. Now what am I going to do?” asked Polly Moran, 76, as she left the restaurant after lunch one day this week, giving Wong a hug. She and husband Jack, 81, have been coming to the Palace since it opened — so long, they first started coming with other spouses. Every Saturday, they order a No. 5 with a glass of wine and only sit at one of three tables.

They even remember when Wong’s nickname was Elvis, for his black, wavy pompadour.

Say this about Ottawa and its older Chinese restaurants: people are very tribal about them. The Golden Palace has its following, others swear by Ho Ho or Won Ton House. When I married my wife, for Pete’s sake, she came with a menu from Ruby’s in the south end. But we digress.

The history of Wayner Wong is very much the story of Chinese immigration to Canada. His adoptive father, Keep Wong, worked on the railroad, he said, then moved east to work in the restaurant trade, settling in at the Canton Inn on Albert Street. Where Dad worked, son followed: it was just the way.