'˜Wok Inn' is a first for the resort

Michael Wan’s Wok Inn opened its doors for the first time last week.

The new restaurant, on the Promenade, is part of the the same chain that runs the popular Michael Wan’s Mandarin restaurant on Clifton Street.

Gareth and Pauline Lai-Thomas (inset), who own the Michael Wan’s restaurant business, have spent months making sure the Wok Inn would be ‘right’.

Pauline said that although their opening was small they had lots of happy customers.

She said: “We didn’t want a big grand opening as we want to find our feet as it is quite a new concept.

“We had 70 customers on our first day which is great.

The noodle bar will serve a variety of dishes including Chinese, Indonesian, Malaysian and Thai noodles as well as curry.

Pauline, 42, took over the restaurant business 15 years ago, and was joined by Gareth two years ago following their marriage.

Gareth explained the inspiration for the interior design came from his travels with Pauline.

He said: “Two of our favourite destinations are Penang in Malaysia and Budapest in Hungary.

“We wanted to bring the hawker market look of Penang and the ruin bars of Budapest together.”

Gareth also explained most of the items inside are original art pieces including a 1950s dragon from Manchester’s Chinatown.

He added: “We also got local artist Robin Ross to create artwork on two of the sharing tables and they look fantastic.”