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Moana Café owner Roy Wang hopes that his many years of experience as a chef will give his café the edge in an area like Orewa, which is becoming known for its many coffee and food providers.
Roy came to New Zealand from China 16 years ago as a teenager. After attending college in Rotorua, he spent three years studying accounting and marketing at Massey University. A love of cooking saw him pay his way through his studies by working for restaurants and cafés, starting as a cleaner and kitchen hand and working his way up to chef.
Accountancy was put to one side, as Roy followed his dream of becoming a full time chef, including studying cooking at the Kingsland Institute in Auckland.
He went on to work as a chef at Sky City, among other places, before opening his own café, called Oasis, in Newmarket.
Since selling Oasis, Roy has been on the lookout for a new location with, he says, more affordable rents and a good café culture.
He says Orewa is ideal, with laid back locals and an influx of visitors over summer.
Once he settled on Orewa, he fully committed to the project, purchasing the premises at 16/8 Moana Ave and undertaking a full modern fit out. He is already involved in sponsoring local events, such as the recent Age Concern games.
Roy is essentially a one-man band at present, making all the food for the café on site. A trained barista is in charge of turning out the coffees, using Karajoz’ new Velo brand – expected to please the connoisseur with its combination of seven distinct types of bean from seven different regions.
Roy describes his blackboard menu and cabinet food as “simple, delicious and typical café fare”. He hopes that the pride he takes in creating tasty food will keep customers coming back – in particular he says his steak sandwich with mushroom sauce is proving popular.
Moana Café is open for all day breakfasts and lunch – dine in, or takeaway.
