The Hard Wok Cafe continues to be a popular local spot for Chinese Canadian food.
“Our combination plates are our favourite item with customers because you get a lot of food. A lot of people split our combos because they're quite large,” Hard Wok Cafe owner Chris Mah told SooToday.
The Hard Wok combo - one of nine on the menu - is the most popular choice among customers.
It includes chicken fried rice, vegetables, one egg roll, four chicken balls, almond soo guy and honey garlic chicken puffs.
Everything is handmade at the Hard Wok Cafe.
“All of our meat is cut here. We don't buy frozen meat. We have fresh bread. Everything is made fresh for every order,” said Sara Aiello, Hard Wok Cafe manager.
“That's important to us and our customers. If you’re picking up your order at 6 p.m. we don’t start making it until 5:45,” Mah said.
Most of the food at the Hard Wok Cafe - a takeout and delivery establishment - is purchased from Canadian suppliers.
“I won't buy saline infused chicken. It has to be straight chicken. Everything is fresh. We hand make it. We hand squeeze every egg roll, we hand squeeze every chicken ball. Every vegetable here is peeled and cut in store and all done by hand. We're here prepping for most of the morning,” Mah said.
The Mah family has owned and operated several restaurants in the Sault for over 60 years.
Chris' grandfather Cecil Mah Sr. and uncle Fred Mah established the Purple Lantern on Great Northern Road in 1965.
The Purple Lantern was a landmark family business that included a restaurant, tavern and banquet hall.
It closed in 1999.
In that same year, Chris' father Cecil Mah Jr. and aunt Nancy opened the Hard Wok Cafe - officially known as Purple Lantern’s Hard Wok Cafe - transforming the takeout’s Cathcart Street building from its original use as a currency exchange office.
Chris Mah began working at Hard Wok in 2011 and became its owner in 2013.
Hard Wok is uniquely located in the middle of a residential neighbourhood.
“My father and aunt were just trying to find a different type of location. We came from such a large restaurant at Purple Lantern and they wanted to just have something small. They were getting closer to retirement. They opened Hard Wok as a takeout because they wanted a change from the sit down restaurant setting,” Chris said.
“We've had pretty good solid business at this location. We have our regular customers. We have people pick up an order two or three times a week. We have other people that are regulars every Saturday.”
Chris said the Mah family has enjoyed serving the people of the Sault for several decades and being part of the local restaurant community.
“We know the families that own Giovanni’s, Sandro’s, Golden Dragon and Montana’s. They're all fantastic families. We all talk, we all get along.”
Manager Sara Aiello has worked for the Mah family since she was 15.
“It’s a great family to work for. They've always treated everyone that works here like family instead of an employee. We have a really tight-knit group,” Aiello said.
Chris left the automotive industry to work in the food business.
“For me, owning Hard Wok is nostalgic. It's carrying on a legacy that started with my grandfather and then through my father and all my aunts and uncles. I want to keep it alive for another generation."
