Peach Laphatrada Mongkolthong, of Wok This Way, says she will translate her Thai menu and will be happy for all to try the dishes on offer. Photo / Alex Burton
Peach Laphatrada Mongkolthong, of Wok This Way, says she will translate her Thai menu and will be happy for all to try the dishes on offer. Photo / Alex Burton
Owners of a Thai takeaway that has been revealed as having a hidden menu for Thai customers say they did so because they are afraid of not being able to explain the dishes rather than wanting to exclude non-Thais.
Wok This Way - an eatery in Epsom - has two menus; one in English with standard dishes like fried rice, green curry and pad thai, and another in Thai script with offerings such as duck blood noodles, chicken feet hot pot, raw crab salad and crispy fried intestines.
A Herald reporter used a translation app to navigate the Thai menu to order the dishes on the hidden menu.
The Restaurant Association said ethnic restaurants often had two menus "to satisfy two sets of tastes" but is calling for more inclusive menus so people could fully experience and enjoy everything on offer at Auckland's diverse restaurants.
Wok This Way co-owner Laphatrada Mongkolthong, who also goes by her nickname Peach, said she will now be translating the menu following the association's call and NZME reports.
Dishes from Wok This Way's hidden menu: yum poo ma (raw crab salad), kuay teaw ped (duck blood noodles) and tum super ka gai (spicy chicken feet soup). Photo / Alex Burton
"It is not our intention to... exclude anyone, but my English is not very good and I am afraid that even if the menu is translated, I won't be able to explain what the dishes in detail if customers inquire further," Peach said.
"Having the menu in Thai was our way of playing it safe, because Thai people will know exactly what they'd be ordering."
Peach said some customers had been inquiring about the hidden menu since a Weekend Herald report on the existence of secret menus at Auckland restaurants last month and also a Viva story last Wednesday that revealed some of the dishes on her menu.
"We now plan to have our Thai menu translated into English and try our best to be accurate in our description, but I hope customers will forgive us if I don't get my explanation 100 per cent correct if they ask," she said.
The Herald has also found other restaurants that served special off-the-menu dishes only for regular customers and catering to dining styles that are unique to certain ethnic groupings.
Boracay Gardens Restaurant near the Viaduct, for example, offers Boodle Fight meals only to private bookings. A big pile of food, ranging from rice, fish, barbecued meat and skewers, is served on top of a table lined with banana leaves and diners eat with their bare hands.
NZ Herald food critic Kim Knight says it was a challenge to find the best dishes at some ethnic restaurants because these were hidden beyond their traditional menu.
Boodle Fight meal at Boracay Garden restaurant where people eat with their bare hands. Photo / Babiche Martens
Marisa Bidois, Restaurant Association chief executive, said she encouraged all restaurants to create inclusive menus.
"Restaurateurs have a role to play in translating not only the words on the page but also transferring the hospitality customs that go alongside the food," Bidois said.
She said having translated menus would ensure everyone had the opportunity to fully experience and enjoy everything on offer.
Owner of Boracay Garden restaurant Marjorie Bennett with the Boodle Fight meal.
Iconic Auckland Eats, a new initiative by Auckland Tourism Events and Economic Development (Ateed) to boost the city's hospitality sector, is also aimed at uncovering some of the dishes in hidden menus.
Fifty dishes have already been nominated by well-known Aucklanders - including top chefs Al Brown, Ray McVinnie, Peter Gordon and Ganesh Raj.
The public is being asked to name another 50 favourites - possibly some coming from hidden menus - before the end of the month.
