Nestled amongst Herne Bay’s up market restaurants and cafes, Golden Bridge is a traditional hole-in-the-wall Chinese takeaway with a dedicated following 25 years in the making.
The secret to the Herne Bay institution’s success, says manager Simon Mok, is great service and reasonably priced food that’s tasty.
“Most of our customers know me and I know them, so they don’t even need to give me their order, I know what they want,” he says.
Golden Bridge is a finalist in the People’s Choice Award for Menulog’s biannual Restaurant Awards.
The inaugural People’s Choice Award, which will be announced in October alongside the national and local winners, allows all restaurants on the Menulog platform to be part of the awards regardless of size, location and the number of orders they do each week.
Mr Mok took over the running of the family restaurant from his father, Juming, eight years ago. However, the 43-year-old has worked behind the counter since he was in his mid-teens.
He says while Herne Bay has undergone major changes in the last 25 years, including becoming Auckland’s most expensive suburb for property values, Golden Bridge has not changed much at all.
“Part of our charm and one of the reasons we are such an institution on Jervois Rd is because of our humble frontage. It’s the food that counts, not how we look from the outside, and we have a loyal bunch of regulars who order from us every week.”
From a business point of view, one of the major changes Mr Mok has noticed in the last two years is the increasing demand for home delivery and the move by his customers to online ordering.
“It means our customers now have the option to get their favourite dishes delivered directly to them – and ultimately it’s helped us grow the business and it continues to thrive.
“Being on the Menulog platform also enables us to gather customer feedback which allows us to make changes to balance the food we offer and to keep our prices competitive.”
Golden Bridge’s signature dish, and the most consistently popular over the years, is Chicken Chow Mein.
“Our Chicken Chow Mein is the dish people order the most even though I try to recommend different dishes, but most people are creatures of habit and they always go for their regular.”
The People’s Choice Winner receives $5,000 and the runner up $2,500. Those who vote for their favourite restaurant at restaurantawards.menulog.co.nz go in the running to win a free Menulog meal every day for three months – over $2,500 worth of food.
