Diamond chips are real gems

You could say takeaway shop owner Norman Num is a chip off the old block. Mr Num’s mother originally owned the fish-and-chip shop that is now Diamond Takeaways in Epsom. He bought into the business with his sisters 35 years ago, and turned it into a Chinese takeaway, which also does traditional Kiwi fish and chips. It was recently named Auckland’s best chip shop in the That’s Life Best Chip Shop competition. "We are very proud and privileged to have an award like this, because we are not a specialty fish and chip shop," Mr Num says. The chip king’s mother has now retired but his wife and children have become involved in the Great South Rd business. He says the award is a tribute to the effort the family has put into achieving high standards. The shop has picked up other awards in the past, including Metro magazine’s best Chinese takeaways and a radio station’s best take-away as voted by listeners. Mr Num says the staff members who are not family are from the same area of China as himself, Tai Shan county in the Guangdong province. It was formerly known as Canton and the food at Diamond Takeaways is based on Cantonese cooking. But chips are definitely an integral part of the business, he says. "A lot of things go hand in hand with chips. We always try to go for the best quality." The family started out peeling and pre-cooking their potatoes but now the chips are bought in and fried in top quality vegetable oil. "We have very discerning customers." Heart Foundation registered nutritionist Judith Morley-John was involved with setting criteria for the competition. Diamond Takeaways had to meet strict standards for the fat content, colour, crispness and cut of its fries. The chips were bought by a mystery shopper and analysed in a laboratory. This year’s six winning shops’ chips had an average fat content of 7.1 percent, down from 7.6 percent last year. "We’re just really impressed with what the takeaway shops are doing," Ms Morley-John says. The national winner was So Fine Seafoods in Wellington. - © Fairfax NZ News Last updated 11:49 27/11/2008 http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/central-leader/737144/Diamond-chips-are-real-gems