Little piece of Auckland part of bustling Shanghai restaurant scene

Little Huia. Photo / Supplied

Fish and chips and a cool bottle of Tui: they might sound like ingredients for a balmy summer's evening on Takapuna beach. But now, these New Zealand favourites are making their mark on China's culinary scene.

On a busy street in the booming metropolis that is Shanghai, alongside restaurants of almost every colour and flavour, Aucklander Justin Crooks has just open a New Zealand-themed restaurant.

Little Huia is dedicated to all things Kiwi - from the New Zealand lamb, to the 18 New Zealand wines, to the blackboard behind the counter.

The motivation is much the same as that behind the red plastic tomato bottles and Kiwi burgers on the menu at GBK outlets across Britain and the Middle East; behind the loin of lamb and "Wanganui" citron vodka/kiwifruit/ginger cocktail served at Peter Gordon's Changa restaurants in Istanbul; behind the Maori-inspired Nelson Blue restaurant beneath Brooklyn Bridge on Manhattan Island.

Crooks had been living in Shanghai with his Chinese wife and their daughter for nearly three years when he decided it was about time the locals got a taste of his home.

Little Huia is a salute to the bay on Auckland's Manukau Harbour, and to the native extinct bird. He hired a New Zealander as front-of-house and came up with a large and authentic menu.

The restaurant opened this month and is already pulling in expats and locals from all over the city. People are intrigued by the blackboard menu. "I've had so many people say 'that's really cool, really innovative'."