Gengy’s Christchurch

About Gengy’s Christchurch

Operating since 2002, Gengy's provides an interactive dining experience centered on an all-you-can-eat Mongolian barbecue buffet. Diners have full control over their meal, choosing from a broad assortment of meats, fresh seafood, crisp vegetables, and distinctive sauces before having their custom dish prepared fresh.

The restaurant features a lively open-grill atmosphere where chefs cook guest-selected ingredients to order on a large, dedicated circular hotplate. Paired with self-serve starters, sides of rice and noodles, and a sweet pancake and ice cream dessert station, Gengy's delivers a relaxed, customizable feast suitable for groups and families.

Gengy’s Christchurch: The Interactive Mongolian BBQ Buffet Experience

Since establishing its brand in 2002, Gengy's has offered a distinctive dining concept across New Zealand focused on freshness, interaction, and hearty portions. Rather than settling for pre-cooked chafing dishes typical of ordinary buffets, diners at Gengy's take full command of their plates. The centerpiece of the restaurant is its Mongolian barbecue system, where each meal is composed raw by the customer and quickly stir-fried on a massive, piping-hot circular cooking surface by dedicated chefs.

The Art of Building Your Bowl

The feast begins at the raw ingredients counter. Diners select a bowl and choose from an extensive assortment of proteins, including seasoned marinades like sweet beef, hot chicken, tender pork, and lamb. Seafood lovers can pile on whole shrimp, mussels, baby octopus, crab meat, and mixed seafood.

From there, a colorful counter of crisp vegetables awaits, featuring everything from broccoli, silverbeet, and bamboo slices to leeks, mushrooms, baby corn, pineapple, and bean sprouts. The culinary personalization continues at the seasoning station, where guests splash their bowls with infused oils—such as garlic, lemon, or chili—and combine ladlefuls of sauces. Options range from classic Teriyaki and Black Bean to Thai Curry, Sweet & Sour, barbecue sauce, or signature soy-honey-garlic.

Seared on the Giant Hotplate

Once a bowl is assembled, it is handed directly to the chef at the open Mongolian hotplate. Using specialized long wooden implements, the chef flash-cooks the meats, vegetables, and sauce together in moments over intense heat, locking in flavors and preserving vegetable crunch. The finished, steaming stir-fry is transferred onto a plate, ready to be paired with steamed rice, fried rice, or noodles from the central servery.

Because Gengy's operates as an all-you-can-eat feast, guests are encouraged to return to the counter as many times as they like, testing different flavor pairings and ingredient combinations with every trip.

Starters and Sweet Endings

Beyond the grill, diners can begin their meal with fresh bread rolls and butter, rotating daily soups, or a trip to the fresh salad bar. To round off the evening, the dessert bar features warm, freshly cooked sweet pancakes and cool ice cream, which can be dressed in toppings including wildberry, tropical passionfruit, rich caramel, chocolate syrup, or fresh whipped cream.

Signature items

• Custom Mongolian Hotplate Bowl
• Marinated Sweet Beef
• Baby Octopus & Seafood Selection
• Soy-Honey-Garlic Sauce Creation
• Warm Dessert Pancakes

Menu

Dessert

• Hot & Sweet Pancakes — Warm freshly made pancakes from the dessert counter.
• Ice Cream with Toppings — Soft ice cream with maple syrup, passionfruit, wildberry, caramel, chocolate, or cream.

Seafood

• Shrimp — Fresh shrimp ready to stir-fry on the hotplate.
• Crab Meat — Prepared crab meat pieces.
• Mussels — Mussels ready to incorporate into your seafood bowl.
• Crab Nuggets — Bite-sized crab nugget pieces.
• Baby Octopus — Tender baby octopus prepared for grilling.
• Seafood Mix — An assortment of mixed seafood.

Starters

• Soups of the Day — Two daily changing warm soup selections.
• Fresh Salad Bar — A rotating range of fresh salad ingredients and greens.
• Bread Rolls — Warm bread rolls served with butter.

Vegetables

• Broccoli — Fresh broccoli florets.
• Silverbeet — Leafy green silverbeet.
• Carrot — Sliced carrots.
• Bamboo Slices — Crisp sliced bamboo shoots.
• Onion — Sliced yellow onions.
• Potato — Thinly sliced potato.
• Baby Corn — Mini whole baby corn ears.
• Mushroom — Sliced fresh mushrooms.
• Bean Sprouts — Crisp raw bean sprouts.
• Pineapple — Sweet pineapple pieces.
• Leek — Fresh chopped leeks.
• Tomato — Juicy tomato chunks.
• Celery — Crisp diced celery.

Oils & Sauces

• Flavoured Oils — Choice of garlic, chili, olive, or lemon oil to coat your stir-fry bowl.
• Savory Sauces — Selection including Teriyaki, Black Bean, Soy, Oyster, and Barbecue sauce.
• Spicy Sauces — Choice of Mild Chili, Hot Chili, and aromatic Thai Curry.
• Specialty Sauces — Sweet & Sour, Soy-Honey-Garlic, and White Wine infusions.

Meats & Marinades

• Sweet Beef — Tender marinated beef with a sweet profile for hotplate grilling.
• Hot Chicken — Spiced chicken prepared for the barbecue grill.
• Pork — Sliced pork ready to mix with vegetables and sauces.
• Lamb — Thinly sliced lamb suitable for quick high-heat searing.

Carbs & Servery Sides

• Steamed Rice — Fluffy plain white rice from the servery.
• Fried Rice — Seasoned wok-style fried rice.
• Noodles — Cooked noodles to complete your hotplate creation.

Frequently asked questions

How does the Mongolian BBQ buffet work?

You choose your own selection of raw meats, seafood, vegetables, oils, and sauces into a bowl. Hand your bowl to the chef, who cooks it immediately on a large circular hotplate, then add your choice of rice or noodles from the servery.

Can I go back for multiple plates?

Yes, Gengy's is an all-you-can-eat feast, allowing you to repeat the assembly and cooking process as many times as you like.

What meats and seafood are available?

Proteins include sweet marinated beef, hot chicken, pork, lamb, shrimp, mussels, crab meat, crab nuggets, baby octopus, and mixed seafood.

Are there vegetarian options available?

Yes, there is an extensive vegetable bar featuring broccoli, mushrooms, silverbeet, bamboo slices, bean sprouts, onions, and more, which can be cooked with vegetable oils and sauces on the grill.

What is included for dessert?

The buffet includes hot and sweet pancakes served alongside ice cream and various toppings such as maple syrup, tropical passionfruit, caramel, wildberry, chocolate, and fresh cream.

Do I need to book in advance?

Bookings can be arranged directly by calling the restaurant or using their online booking page.

Tips

• {"body":"Don't hesitate to combine multiple sauces such as soy-honey-garlic with a dash of chili oil and teriyaki to create your own signature flavor balance.","title":"Mix and match sauces"}
• {"body":"Because you can return to the hotplate multiple times, assemble smaller bowls first so you can experiment with different meats, seafood, and sauce combinations.","title":"Start with light portions"}
• {"body":"Save room towards the end of your visit for the dessert counter's warm pancakes and soft ice cream station.","title":"Leave room for pancakes"}

Good to know

• {"family":"Buffet setup with customizable ingredients, pancakes, and ice cream makes it suitable for groups and families."}