For many Chinese families, we have grown up on our mother’s braised chicken dish. No different to Tanky Zong, the owner and chef at Zong Kitchen eatery in Takapuna. But Zong took the family recipe he was brought up on, experimented with it and made it a truly unique and special dish. Tanky says his inspiration came one evening while cooking for friends and wondered if braising chicken would make it more tender - like how Chinese used beer to braise geese and duck for the same reason. He decided to pour some beer some into the chicken he was cooking and was amazed that it made the chicken more tender and broth more flavourful. Then to balance the flavour, he felt seafood was needed, so put in some baby octopus which gave the dish a briny sweetness. We are just so lucky that Tanky decided to put his ‘experimental dish’ from his mother's recipe on the menu at his little eatery because it is now one of the top sellers and what some people would drive to Takapuna for. Zong's braised chicken in stone pot is packed with flavoursome ingredients like ginger, garlic, soy, star-anise and of course Asahi beer. This dish is most definitely deserving of being on the Iconic Auckland Eats list.