Bringing new flavours to a struggling town
‘‘For sale’’ signs are as common a sight on shop windows as ones saying ‘‘open’’, but they haven’t deterred a Palmerston North couple from establishing a bustling venture in a struggling town.
Pauline Cher said people were surprised when she and Matthew Chung told them they chose Shannon as the location for their Malaysian restaurant Nanyang Flavours.
‘‘Everyone said to me ‘why there?’ Everybody. I had no-one say to me ‘oh that’s a good place’, no, not even one.’’
Cher loved cooking and had always dreamed of opening up her own restaurant, but it would have been difficult to achieve that dream in Palmerston North.
The couple were determined to own the building that housed their business, rather than rent, but prices were too high in the city and shops in Shannon were reasonably priced.
‘‘I’ve always dreamed of owning my own cafe, but I always wanted a cafe that I could price [the food] affordably for anybody, anybody who walks in can fill their stomach, and they can afford to pay the price.’’
The shop they bought on Plimmer Terrace was in bad shape but Chung fixed it up himself.
The faith they placed in the town has been returned in patronage.
They have been overwhelmed by the support from both locals and customers who had travelled from Palmerston North, Levin and other nearby towns.
There had been a full house almost every night since opening on December 20.
Local iwi had also come in and carried out a blessing and karakia at the restaurant.
Chung said they both had successful careers in the past, Chung a chemical
engineer and Cher a real estate agent. Nanyang Flavours was their semi-retirement plan.
‘‘Pre-retirement or midlife crisis you could call it. I always tell people, people go out and buy a boat or buy a bach, and we ended up setting up a shop as our midlife crisis.’’
Their three children were growing up and off at university, so they were looking for something to do.
Cher was Chinese while Chung was born in Malaysia, and they said the Malaysian cooking style was heavily influenced by cuisine in China, Thailand, and Singapore.
Cher said owning the restaurant meant there was less pressure from things such as rent, so they could focus on providing a great service.
‘‘We’re not really crazy over money, money, money, so I want to make sure the food we serve up, the consistency is there.’’
So far their chicken satay, wontons, Malay fried chicken, and lamb curry had been particularly popular.
Lots of the recipes had been passed down to Cher from her family and all the dishes, including sauces and pastes, were made from scratch.
Chung said it was a bit crazy to start and ‘‘initially all hell broke loose’’, but they were learning fast. ‘‘ We’re just glad to have opened it, to have opened this shop, and we’re very glad to be here.’’
Nanyang Flavours offers takeaway and dining. It is open from 4pm to 8.30pm, Wednesday to Sunday, and weekend lunches.