It was when they first saw Lake Hayes they realised they wanted to stay in the Wakatipu, M. J. S. said.
Before that they had been living in Dunedin after arriving there in 1987 from the politically troubled state of Punjab in northern India.
In addition to the great environment, New Zealand offered a safe haven for their sons, Aftaab, now 27, and Govind, now 23.
But it was not until 1993 the whole family settled in New Zealand and they came to Queenstown to set up Little India from humble beginnings.
Back then, Indian food was still not widely known or available, Shammi said.
"In 1987, when I lived in Dunedin, I saw a huge gap in the Indian cuisine and when the children were asleep I made samosas and took them to a restaurant [to sell].
"It was the first $70 I earned in New Zealand," she said proudly.
Soon word got around Dunedin diners about her Indian specialities and Shammi was asked to cater for all kinds of functions, including a night to remember at the University of Otago staff club.
"I remember I charged $228 per person. Can you imagine? It all sold out," she recalled.
But she also remembered those early days of managing her catering by public transport.
"Oh my gosh, the trials and tribulations of not having a car and going by bus to South Dunedin market and carrying it back to the bus stop and asking people to watch it when I got off the bus at the other end and carried it home in several trips.
"That is how the road started. But, you know, it opened opportunities. There was a dinner for the law society and I made samosas for a delicatessen and there was a newspaper article."
In those days, the Indian community in Dunedin was very small, M. J. S. recalled.
"We could see a gap in the market, and Kiwis loved Indian food," Shammi said.
A passionate cook, Shammi didn't find starting a restaurant difficult and M. J. S. was always happy to assist.
For 20 years M. J. S. was a grain farmer near Punjab's holy city of Amritsar.
Speaking four languages, he had originally harboured dreams of working in the film industry, having graduated in film in California in the 1970s.
"I wanted to be a director and I had an opportunity to work in Bollywood, but I do not like Bombay," M. J. S. said.
"I'm not a city guy and all. That is one reason why we live in Queenstown."
They also started a restaurant in Christchurch, but it was sold to concentrate on Little India in Queenstown and now Mantra in Arrowtown.
Part of the move to Arrowtown was to follow Little India's loyal clientele, which has always been made up of about half locals and half tourists.
Many of their long-term customers had moved to Arrowtown as Queenstown changed into a more transient community, Shammi said.
Opening Mantra also provided an opportunity to develop a more sophisticated level of Indian cuisine, using favourite New Zealand foods such as fish and scallops, "with an Indian twist" of coconut and a cardamom as a point of difference, she said.
Opening Mantra was also an ideal excuse to develop their own lager label, Mantra Gold, specially brewed by Harrington's master brewer to Shammi's own recipe using Indian spices and flavours.
"I wanted it to be different to any other lager on the planet," she said.
And it's proved a winner with customers, overtaking all other lagers on the menu at both restaurants.
Even after 15 years, attention to detail and making sure the customers are happy is the most important part of maintaining a strong business, she says.
The secret to the taste was that the food had to be cooked with the same love found in an Indian home, she said.
And they still have the same passion for the food and the business they had when they opened Little India, Shammi says.
"I make sure I go in and taste the food at Little India each day and every evening I go to Mantra.
"Both M. J. S. and I believe it is important for us to be here with our staff.We are very much owner-operators, but we also believe it is important for the staff to build their own relationships with the people. In Arrowtown, people can see the tandoor guy and he will go out and talk to the customers. That is very important."
In the first five years after they opened Little India, they held an annual "Locals are King" night "because without them, there would be no restaurant", she said.
And last year, they started a new tradition in Arrowtown with the introduction of traditional Indian folk dance and they have plans to include it in this year's autumn festival.
It is all part of immersing themselves in their adopted country and culture, albeit with an Indian twist.
"When we came here, people said to us `you will wait 20 years to become a local,' but we said `we aren't waiting 20 years.' We are to be immersed into the community," Shammi said.
