Secret recipe of taste with a human touch
Three generations of the Chan family work in the legendary Chinese Cuisine restaurant, which, writes Eda Tang, is back after a three-year closure.
In a lot of places, there is one flavour that you can’t taste and that is the human touch,’’ says Tony Chan. ‘‘Because we are a family business, when guests come, they see us as family members who will sit down and chat with them over their meal.’’
The long-time owner of the popular Auckland food court restaurant, Chinese Cuisine, talks about two flavours: first, he describes in Cantonese the literal flavour of their food, and secondly his family’s human touch or humane qualities.
These are what Tony believes to be the building blocks of Chinese Cuisine’s success. Behind the counters are three generations of the well-loved Chan family, headed by husband and wife Tony and
Ming Chan.
Last week, Chinese Cuisine opened for dine-in for the first time since the 2019 closure of Mercury Plaza food court, where the restaurant operated for 25 years before it became one of the many businesses affected by the City Rail Link project.
The Chans first re-opened a month ago at a new location on Pah Rd in Epsom, initially serving food for takeaway only. They posted on their Facebook page they were doing their best to keep up with orders despite being understaffed, and loyal customers were quick to respond. ‘‘I would happily come work an 8-hour shift for a bowl of bbq pork noodle soup,’’ commented a Facebook user. Another said: ‘‘I will call and make an order for 3 hours time... enough time for me to drive from Rotorua.’’
It’s been a bumpy ride, with operations paused when the entire family caught
Covid a few weeks following the reopening.
Tony and Ming began their culinary careers in Hong Kong, where they sold fish at the wet markets and opened a vegetarian restaurant.
Tony first came to Aotearoa with friends for a holiday, and the family then moved here in September 1990 because Tony and Ming wanted their six daughters to have better education opportunities.
In those early days, the Chans worked and ate at Chinatown, a restaurant on Lorne St that served familiar yum cha and roast meats. They were then approached by the owners of Mercury Plaza, a food court on Mercury Lane just off Karangahape Rd, and opened Chinese Cuisine there in 1994.
For the first 10 years the family opened 365 days a year and the restaurant was the only business at Mercury Plaza to operate for the food court’s entire 25 years.
‘‘Some of the people can come up to five days a week ... and they’ll slowly build up a relationship’’, says Katie, with diners who came as children then growing up and bringing their own children. ‘‘So we can see three [or] four generations.’’
The Chan family was shocked when it was confirmed the Mercury Plaza food court would be shut down to make way for City Rail Link construction.
‘‘I didn’t want to believe [it]’’, says Cydney. ‘‘It was quite sad because to me, it was my childhood... For [my grandparents] it’s all they have... that’s what they started with and that’s what they created.’’
Cydney, 22, is the oldest of Tony and Ming’s grandchildren. ‘‘It was almost like a piece of you got taken away, your heart breaks a little bit.’’
The Chans always hoped to reopen Chinese Cuisine, but Covid lockdowns slowed down those plans. Katie and Cydney worked at a cafe for a while, while Ming and Tony took a much-deserved break. Then, earlier this year, they spotted a corner shop in Epsom that looked perfect. They organised a viewing with the sales agent – who turned out to be a former regular customer of Chinese Cuisine – and were ready to go by April.
The restaurant was inundated with customers when it reopened. ‘‘The local community was very stunned because the very first day ... Within two hours you have a flood of people just coming in queueing,’’ Cydney says.
‘‘It’s been nearly three years since we’ve seen our customers, so having them come back again is like seeing our brothers and sisters of 25 years again,’’ Ming says.
Tony adds that ‘‘seeing all these old customers coming to support us makes me so happy’’.
As Tony and Ming turn 67 this year, Katie is preparing to take the reins. She’s the most involved of the six siblings, and says her 12-year-old self would never have imagined ending up here.
Granddaughter Cydney isn’t sure how long she wants to stay in the game, but is confident the reopened restaurant has a great future.
‘‘As long as we stay humble and stay true to what we know and don’t stray from our roots then I believe it’s going to be around for a long time.’’
Tony says that while his daughters want him to not work so much, he’ll find it hard to stay away. ‘‘While I have the physical ability to, I’ll come help. It’s not about working a length of time until I can retire, it’s just about doing a bit to keep my body moving and for everyone to stay happy.’’