New Zealand’s early Chinese emigrants largely came from around Guangdong province, particularly from the Pearl River Delta in the southwest region.
So the earliest introduction to Chinese food that Kiwis got was Cantonese cuisine.
The Chinese first came to New Zealand in 1842, many of them working the gold fields during the mid-to-late 19th century, and brought flavours from the homeland but adapted them to local tastes.
Many came from Guangdong, fueled by the gold rushes, but chose to stay on after the gold ran out. They started market gardens, ran grocery stores, and a significant number worked as chefs and opened their own restaurants.
The first restaurant selling Chinese food opened in Dunedin during the gold rush era, and by the early 20th century, every major New Zealand town had at least one Chinese restaurant, according to Wikipedia.
Generally, Cantonese cuisine is mild and very little spice or sugar is used in the cooking. A good chef, the Cantonese believe, is someone who can preserve and highlight the original flavours of the ingredients.
But Cantonese cuisine here is much influenced by a demand for stronger flavours. Ingredients like black pepper, vinegar and sugar are being added to add more depth of flavour.
Cantonese classics like char siu, roast duck and dim sum are saltier, sweeter and more hearty in taste than what you get back in Guangdong.
Pearl Garden Restaurant in Newmarket, which was established 50 years ago by the late Pauline Kwan Suk Yan and is still being run by her family, serves dishes using ingredients sourced from local market gardens.
The Chinese immigrants who ran their market gardens grew vegetables like Chinese cabbage, mustard greens, spring onions, radishes, Chinese chives, garlic and coriander, which were essential for many Cantonese dishes but not available at mainstream stores until recent years.
Restaurants modified the flavours of their food to attract European customers, and many also had non-Chinese meals such as fish and chips, and steak on their menu.
Due to easy availability, European fruits and vegetables as well as foodstuffs like Worcestershire sauce and tomato sauce were adopted into their dishes.
It was until chefs from Hong Kong and modern Guangzhou came after immigration policy changes were made in 1986 that Cantonese cuisine started returning to its more cleaner flavours.
Cantonese cuisine is known for using fresh ingredients, steam cooking, a focus on seafood and pork, and its use of delicate flavours.
Although many Cantonese dishes are steamed, the demand in New Zealand is for the stir-fried ones - such as fried rice, fried noodles and stir-fried beef.
Today, more than 320,000 people identify as Chinese in New Zealand and just a small percentage are Cantonese from Guangzhou or Hong Kong, but their cuisine remains entrenched and has spread across both islands.
Dim sum, roast meat, wonton noodles and sweet n sour pork can be found at most towns and suburbs in major cities, more than any other Chinese cuisine type.
Today, high-end Cantonese restaurants such as Sum Made in Albany offer an elevated Cantonese dining experience, alongside unassuming eateries like BBQ King in the CBD or Tasty BBQ in Mt Albert.
Time-honoured Pearl Garden, whose founders started with the aim of introducing “higher-quality” Cantonese cuisine after migrating here from Hong Kong, have evolved so its food now covers offerings of dishes from across China.
But for a taste of old-world Cantonese, there are restaurants like Grand Park at Alexander Park and Mandarin Palace in Highland Park that still continue to serve dim sum on trolleys.
My top 3 restaurants to eat Cantonese in Auckland:
心美 Sum Made 1 Davies Drive, Albany. Ph: 09 626 6866
荣轩楼 RongXuanLou 147 Carlton Gore Road, Newmarket. Ph: 09 5202981
皇帝汤 King’s Resturant 713 Manukau Road, Royal Oak. Ph: 09 625 8108
