Beijing Restaurant celebrates 24 years in business
Beijing Restaurant are
celebrating their 24th
year in business. Owned
by Raymond and Eileen
Ng, the award winning
Cantonese restaurant on
the corner of St Hill Street
and Maria Place opened
for business in 1985 and
continues be as popular as
ever. The Beijing offers
a diverse range of food,
wine and beverages and
over the years this has
grown. Raymond says
“Recently a new chef has
arrived from China that
has enabled us to increase
the variety of food we
can offer. Hershan Zhan
has worked as a chef in
China and Germany and
with his talent and ability
can prepare food from a
tiny dumpling through to
a full smorgasbord with
confidence and flair.”
Now the Beijing can
serve Yum Cha from
Monday - Saturday, 11am
to 2pm and in the evenings by request. Over
the years the menu has
changed and now offers
banquets including roast
Beijing duck and whole
steamed fish. Vegetarians are also catered for
with bok choi Chinese
vegetables, vegetarian
dumplings and tofu. For
the budget conscious diner
the Beijing have a great
deal which is the early
bird special, a three course
meal for only $15.50. This
includes soup or entree,
a choice of main from a
selection of twelve dishes
and a desert to finish off
your meal. “This is great
value” Raymond says,
“but to get this special deal
you must be in by 7pm.”
There is also a European
and children’s menu on
offer, so the choices are
huge. “And we still believe that preparation of
food is the essence. We
prepare everything from
scratch, all the meals and
sauces are prepared by our
own chef which is quite
unique.” Raymond and
Eileen are launching a
new wine list of fine and
rare wines to complement
their meals. The wines
are fine blends from some
of the boutique wineries
including Gisborne, Marlborough and Hawkes Bay
in NZ and a selection of
Argentinian wines from
overseas. Or you may prefer to try some imported
Chinese beer.
If you have a function
coming up, the Beijing is
just the place to host it.
They have a private function room that will cater for
up to eighty people. They
are also offering $25 platters for after 5pm groups
and for birthday parties as
a light supper or you can
have a full smorgasbord.
The Beijing has just upgraded their entertainment
centre and can now offer a
karaoke system with over
25,000 songs. Keeping
up with technology they
can now play your music
through their new system
which can handle CD,
MP3 or laptop.
The Beijing restaurant is
in a heritage building that
was built in 1914, and formerly owned by the Wanganui Jockey Club. It still
retains the aura of a grand
historic building, however
inside it has been fully refurbished with two dining
rooms. Downstairs is the
Jade Room which seats
46 people, has wheelchair
access and is decorated
with bamboo cane and
white pine with attractive jade carpets. The old
function room upstairs has
been changed to a Banquet
16 - RIVER CITY PRESS, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2010
Room with its own fully
licensed bar, which seats
up to 80 people. Eileen
says “the restaurant is
extraordinary, in that we
offer so much.”
Famous guests that have
dined at the Beijing in
the past include; Keifer
Sutherland and Samantha
Morten from River Queen,
New Zealand band Adijar and Gray Bartlett and
many more. Raymond
says “a highlight was
when Billie T James was
in our restaurant singing
‘My Elusive Dreams’ with
our resident artist.”
More recently Raymond
and Eileen have just completed a contract, catering
for Xu Zhou students from
China, providing breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week for the past
month at High School and
Girls College. The Beijing
Restaurant is available to
cater for Christmas functions, birthdays, weddings,
anniversaries and family
reunions. Locally owned
and operated, the restaurant offers an elegant and
family friendly dining
experience with enticing
foods that will tempt your
taste buds.
They also have a takeaway service, pick up or
delivery option for those
wanting the Beijing experience at home. Eileen
says “ you can now view
our menu’s online at www.
beijingrestaurant.co.nz.
There is a minimum order
of two meals for a delivery
which also incurs a delivery fee of $6 within 5km
of town. The restaurant is
open from 11am to 2pm
and from 5pm onwards
Monday to Saturday.
Phone Raymond to make
a booking or for catering
enquiries on 345 4889.
One of the joys of
dining out is trying food
you do not normally eat,
matched with a suitable
wine.
Asian food has been a
challenge for many, as
it is usually flavoured
with quite strong sauces
and spices.
As part of their 24th
jubilee celebrations, the
Beijing Restaurant has
invited Wanganui
sommelier Karl Forrest
to share his knowledge of
matching wine and food.
“My speciality is
wine food matching.
There are two basic
rules - compliment and
contrast. For example,
a dish such as bami
goreng is well suited to
the crisp subtle flavours
of a gewurztraminer
in that the contrasting
attributes highlight
each as individuals.
Where a rich full bodied
cabernet sauvignon will
compliment and marry
Beijing Restaurant
entrance on the corner of
St Hill St and Maria Place
Sweet and
Sour Fish
Beef rice
noodles
Steamed
pork
dumplings
Expert matches
foods to wine
the flavours of a black
bean dish making a
joyful experience for the
palate.”
While working
alongside top chefs in
kitchens and restaurants
throughout the lower
half of the North Island,
including the Grand
Chateau Tongariro, over
a 21 year period, Mr
Forrest gained an intimate
knowledge of what goes
into creating fine food.
It all started while
working at the Avenue
Motor Inn-Peppers Cafe
and Bar in Wanganui,
where he had an
opportunity to attend
wine courses run by
Montana Wines, where he
gained five of the seven
certificates available.
This fuelled a passion
to learn more, and he
went to a diploma in wine
course run by renowned
New Zealand Master of
Wine Bob Campbell,
where he gained
further insight into the
principles of matching
food with wine.
Later, he competed in
the Auckland Culinary
Competitions, where he
was awarded a silver
medal for best sommelier
in New Zealand, which
encouraged him to study
further.
Mr Forrest passed
the first stage of a four
part programme as
an Apprentice Master
Sommelier, which
entitled him to become
a member of the
International Sommelier’s
Guild. A sommelier
is a “beverage service
person”, which covers
all aspects of beverages,
how to serve them, and
understanding them and
their accompaniments.
His passion has become
his forte. “I think, that if
I have a particular skill,
it is knowing what wine
to put with what food.
Having watched chefs for
many years, I know what
they put into their sauces,
for example.
“The flavour in a meal
does not just come from
the meat, and often the
sauces are the most
important part of a meal
in terms of flavour.
Knowing what is in a
sauce can influence how
you choose your wine,
which may mean a white
wine is more suitable
for a beef dish than a
red wine; or a light red
wine more suitable for a
chicken dish.
“It is an exciting part
of dining, and one that I
would like to share with
you.”
Owners Raymond and Eileen Ng with chef
Hershan Zhang
RESTAURANT
RIVER CITY PRESS, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2010 - 17