A Liverpool woman whose family have been serving fish, chips and Chinese meals for three generations has now opened her own chippy following in her father's and grandfather's footsteps.
Kim Ngau, 42, spent much of her childhood in the well-loved Lodge Lane chippy Jade City, also known as Marie's in Liverpool 8 , watching her parents prepare food for the local community.
The chippy was such a part of life on Lodge Lane in Toxteth that Kim's sister Debbie set up a Lodge Lane Facebook group in her parent's memory, where local residents can share their memories of growing up on one of Toxteth's most well known streets.
Kim's parents passed away a few years ago and now Kim, who has worked in chippies all her life, decided to take the leap and open her own chip shop in Toxteth just a street away from her parent's first shop.
Leung Sang's on North Hill Street in Toxteth is named after Kim's dad and grandad, who both ran chip shops and restaurants in Liverpool, and customers who remember the family's famous Lodge Lane chippy are delighted at the chance of tasting some of the Ngau family recipes.
Kim told the ECHO : "We opened up about four weeks ago. My mum and Dad started just round the corner from here on High Park Street. It was called the Princes, but the building has gone now.
"We moved to Lodge Lane in 1981 and I was wrapping chips in my parents' shop from the age of 11. I was always interested in cooking, and when I asked my dad to teach me how to cook, he said watch me - so that's what I did."
"It was great growing up on Lodge Lane, I miss it. It's all changed now. Growing up there, the people were really nice and everyone looked out for each other. The customers would always be in chatting with my mum - they'd come in for a portion of chips and be in there half an hour chatting away.
"I work with Dave who's cooked fish and chips since the age of 16 and we used to work in a chippy together on Breck Road, until it got taken over - I've worked with Dave for 20 years.
"Toxteth's a great place to open a business- people are really friendly here. Dave, who isn't from the area, said he just can't believe how nice people are round here, always saying hello."
Chip shops have been in Kim's family for generations, and Liverpool is renowned for its abundance of Chinese chippies, something Kim's family has long had a role in.
"My family lived in Hope Street originally - my dad grew up with a huge family - he lived there with his cousins as his mum had him late, the same time as his eldest sister was having kids - and he was also the youngest of 11 so it was a very busy house for him growing up.
"The Ngau surname has a long history in Liverpool - we can trace our family tree far back.
"My dad learnt how to cook from his own dad, who had chip shops and restaurants in Merseyside and even worked for a while on the QE2.
"He taught my dad and my dad taught me so chippies are very much in the family.
"I've worked for over 20 years in chippies. My dad passed away five years ago and my mum has also sadly died. All my friends said to me, you don't get enough credit and I decided to go for it - I've had loads of help from friends.
"I get my supplies from the Deli on Green Lane, which is where my dad used to buy his supplies years ago - it was just a small shop then but now it's a huge warehouse.
Kim cooks a traditional style of Chinese food, which she says is often lacking from Chinese chippies today and is inspired by her family's heritage.
"I cook Cantonese Chinese old-style meals - and I've always followed my dad's advice - he would say to me when you cook, cook as if you're cooking for yourself - if you wouldn't eat it, don't give it to anybody else to eat.
"We do fish and chips and offers of smaller dishes for people who maybe don't have enough money for a full meal. We do small sausage and fish dinners and smaller version of the Chinese meals.
"We've had really positive feedback since we opened up and we've got a few regulars already. We've even got some of my parents' old customers from when I was a kid - I was just delivering last night to a lady who used to always come in my mum and dad's shop.
'I'm very proud and happy to be back in the area I was brought up in and that people still remember my parents and what amazing food they produced from fish and chips to Cantonese meals
"I'd say my favourite dish is the satay, and we include that as an option in our meal deal for just £8
"Our customers are also going mad for the fish toast, which is an L8 staple that people have said they're made up to see back.
"It was really scary making the decision to open my own place, thinking is it going to work?
"It's so nice to be here doing what I love and I like seeing people enjoy the food I cook.
"It's nice to be nice to customers - you don't know what's going on in people's lives and it's nice to put a smile on people's faces."
Leung Sang's chip shop is at 122 North Hill Street and is open for take away and deliveries from 4pm - 10pm every evening.
More information can be found on their Facebook page .
