Crispy chicken now on the menu

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 13, Issue 638, 28 May 1996, Page 5

Crispy chicken now on the menu

ADVERTORIAL

Crispy fried chicken is now on your menu any evening you want now that the new owners of Dew Drop Inn have installed a special pressurised chicken fryer. The machine ensures the chicken is cooked to perfection — crispy on the outside and moist on the inside, just like the famous American military gentleman's. And it does it quickly too. Chef Xiao Feng Can and his wife Yue Ma took over the Dew Drop Inn last month and have been learning what the customers like best, so that they can properly decide what to keep the same and what to change. Adding the "Home Style Fried Chicken' brand to their menu is one change, using the special American pressure cooker and fresh Tegel chicken. It can cook 18 pieces of chicken in 7-10 minutes. Xiao, an experienced chef, has been tutored by the best in how to use the machine. To whet people's chicken appetites, they are offering specials for the next four weeks, starting with 15% off chicken this week. So one piece will cost $1.60 (usually $1.90), two pieces $3.00 (usually $3.50) and four pieces is $6.00 (usually $7.00). But mostly they've kept things just the way people have come to like them when Pat Mcllroy and her team ran the takeaway bar. "We want to keep offering people the high quality takeaways," said Xiao. "So we still buy cardinal fish which is very nice, good and

thick, and we use vegetable oil which, although more expensive, many people like now because it is more healthy." He said the traveller who brings their oil and fat supplies tests their vats on every visit and changes it weekly. The burger and toasted sandwich menu is the same as before, keeping the specials that people have got to like. The couple said in the three years they have been in Ohakune, running Country Takeaways, the local

people have been very good to them and that they want to thank everybody. Xiao said they had learned from their staff how to cook to the tastes of the locals and that, while business dropped initially, it has steadily increased since. "The main thing is we want to keep the customer happy. Sometimes when it's busy things might not go the way the customer wants, but if they tell us, we are happy to replace the food — just ask," he said. "All our staff know

our policy." The couple still own Country Takeaways and will continue to operate it, saying there they cater for different tastes. Xiao and Yue are from Beijing in China, the colder part of the country - much colder the Ohakune. Xiao still has his certificates from the Tianchu Culinary Art School of Beijing which states he is proficient in cooking dishes of Shangdong, Guangdong, Sichuan and Jiangsu, among others.