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Monty Cho loves Mongolian barbecue and he has brought his latest version of the Asian stir-fry to The Grange in Warkworth.
Monty owns the Gengy’s Mongolian BBQ franchise with nine restaurants throughout New Zealand. He wanted to create a new streamlined version of the traditional Mongolian barbecue and Cizzlin in Warkworth is the first in the country.
“I wanted my customers to be able to get the Mongolian BBQ experience as take-out, or fast food, and that’s how Cizzlin started,” Monty says.
Monty worked as an elevator engineer in his native South Korea before moving to New Zealand in 2000. He had always wanted to return after visiting in 1997 to improve his language skills.
“I stayed in Tauranga and I loved it! The people are awesome and the lifestyle is so good that I always wanted to return.”
Monty is a keen sportsman and football is his first love. He also likes to play tennis and his latest activities are golf and motorcycling – Monty’s retro style bike is parked at the front of the restaurant.
‘Motorcycling is fun and Warkworth is a great place to ride to. It was a perfect location to start Cizzlin because I really enjoy coming here,” Monty says.
Monty is a hands-on business owner – he designed and helped fit-out the new restaurant at The Grange. Plenty of glass means diners can watch the hot-plate chefs cook their meal.
Monty says that although the cooking style looks similar to teppanyaki, Mongolian barbecue has a distinctive history.
“A Mongolian barbecue hot plate must be round, not oblong like teppanyaki. This is because Genghis Khan and his Mongolian warriors would celebrate successful battles by using their round shields to cook a feast over an open fire.”
