Rom & Amit
Owners of The Diversity Restaurant
Amit immigrated from India in 2006 and is a trained Tandoori Chef by trade and worked in many restaurants around Christchurch. Rom’s family fleeing from the genocide in Cambodia (Khmer) in 1992, came to Christchurch, a place her mother calls 'Heaven on Earth!
Amit and Rom’s paths crossed while working at the Tegal Chicken factory post the Christchurch Earthquakes now have a family of three - two boys and one girl. Their story is one of tenacity, exceptionally hard work, love of family and living by the moto “the show must go on”.
From the age of 11 years Rom always helped out in the kitchen and believes she got the passion for food from her mother. Rom’s Mum was also an exceptional cook, which she inherited it from her mother (who was the village caterer for a very small village called Ka'Som Ork in Kampot Province) and well-known and famous for her Cambodian Red Curry!
Rom’s says it all started with her Mum getting her dream job working in the first Cambodian Kitchen and only Cambodian Noodle House in Christchurch, however, this was destroyed during the 2011 earthquakes
The family then owned their first bakery and noodle house opposite Funky Pumpkin in Sydenham but due to issues sold the business after only three years. However, they decided to start again and opened a restaurant in Kaiapoi named Khmer Angkor, serving authentic Cambodian cuisine for three years before the journey lead them to relocate to the City Centre at Hoyts Entx on Colombo Street.
Amit & Rom, like many people who own restaurants, have put in the hard yards and all credit to them. Since opening they have faced significant challenges having to relocate from one end of the EntX complex to the other along with the many challenges Covid brought to the hospitality sector along with trying to raise a family.
Amit says they are passionate foodies who love to talk about food, love to eat good food and work too hard but their aim is to share with the community the diverse range of Asian cuisine and to treat their customers as guests to our home full of warmth and love for food. Rom states, we are not Asian fusion but offer a wide range of authentic Asian cuisines.
Rom calls Amit a broken Indian, to which we had to inquire what that meant. Amit says during his time as a chef, he had to try a huge range of different foods often some of which are not eaten by Indians. He said they love exploring foods of the world and adds, once you get the taste, it is hard to go back, hence the term broken Indian.
When talking with Amit & Rom, you cannot help but feel their passion and we thank them for bringing their taste of Asia to Canterbury with their family-owned restaurant. This is a perfect choice for food lovers wanting an exotic Asian dining experience and we encourage you to check them out.
Located inside the Hoyts EntX building
635 Colombo Street
Central City - Christchurch
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