Masterton opportunity seized

An Asian immigrant family has travelled more than 9000 kilometres to create a shining example of business success in Masterton.
Bontong Hong and his wife bought the Master Fried Chicken restaurant on Queen St and strong profits persuaded the family to open another in Featherston and, recently, one in Palmerston North.
The Hongs flew in to New Zealand from Cambodia about two years ago to start a new life and, after researching business opportunities in Auckland and Wellington, settled in Masterton.
Mr Hong said his family's success was proof New Zealand had more potential business opportunities compared to Cambodia if you were willing to work hard to find them.
"I have cousins who live around the country, in Auckland and in Wellington, and New Zealand is a great place. The business is going really good. I have two sisters in law in Australia and they're doing good too," Mr Hong said.
His family decided Masterton was the best option because of its central lower North Island location.
"One of my cousins manages a Master Fried Chicken in Featherston and one manages the new one in Palmerston North.
"It's great. Sometimes my cousin's family come up and see us or we go down and see them, and it doesn't take very long to get to them," Mr Hong said.
Masterton didn't have the heavy traffic larger cities such as Wellington or Auckland did and the time he saved on travelling meant he had more time to spend with his family.
"I told my friends that you don't need to wait in traffic for 20 minutes every time you want to go see someone, in Masterton there's only roundabouts," he said.
Master Fried Chicken would diversify its menu in the build-up to the Rugby World Cup with homemade lasagne and pasta bakes to cater for foreign tastebuds.
The new selection would broaden the restaurant's appeal to tourists passing through the Wairarapa in September and October to make the most of the extra visitors during the Rugby World Cup, he said.
"In New Zealand, a lot of people eat here because of the fresh chicken and the quality of our pies. I want to add a few special ingredients to make sure they are the best.
"It's quite good for the tourists. New Zealand pies are famous around the world and people really like them here," Mr Hong said.
His cousin, a trained pastry chef who managed one of the other restaurants, would prepare gourmet pies and Kiwi favourites including steak and cheese, he said.
The restaurant would be refurbished in time for the Rugby World Cup with new tables and chairs to upgrade the image with a more sophisticated look.