Nanking Palace Restaurant owners Neville and Mike Hall marked the 50th anniversary of the business with a dinner for family and friends.
The Nanking Cafe was one of the first Chinese restaurants in Dunedin when it was opened by their parents, Hugh and Alice Chin, in November 1963.
''We were a traditional Dunedin Chinese restaurant, like the old Shanghai, or Hong Kong, or Dragon Cafe,'' Neville (49) said yesterday.
''It took a few years to get people used to rice and noodles. Dad had to make all our spring rolls by hand because you couldn't get the pastry here.
''In the early days, we used to get a lot of the less desirable clientele. The customers were real colourful characters; drunks falling asleep in their meals, fights inside and outside the premises and people doing runners.''
The family business was a way of life for Neville, sister Serena, and brothers Andrew and Mike.
''I started serving in the takeaway when I was 7 years old. I would get a wooden box to stand on so I could see over the counter,'' Neville recalled.
''After school and in the weekends, we would be helping in the restaurant; buttering bread, making chips and cleaning. In some ways, I'm surprised Mike and I ended up back here.
''Our parents' generation believed you should get an education, go to university and get a degree and go to work for someone else. So, we did that. But, then, we came back.''
Being the youngest sibling did not spare Mike (45) his share of work.
''I started at the bottom doing dishes and cleaning, then gradually worked up the ladder to cutting vegetables and serving takeaways. This was while I was at primary school,'' he recalled.
''Once I was strong enough to carry 20kg bags of potatoes, I was promoted to peeling and making chips. I'm pretty over fish and chips, now.''
The adjacent restaurant was added to the cafe and the business renamed the Nanking Palace Restaurant in 1983, with the brothers taking over in 2005.
''It was my parents' baby and we had to prove ourselves to our father and win his trust that the next generation was ready to take over,'' Neville said.
''There are so many more restaurants and eateries now than there were 40 years ago, but it's still a people industry. And the favourites are still the same - sweet and sour and chow mein.''
