By Ke-Xin Li
L-R: Shivam Kumar, Ashu Singh, Tanish Tomar and Amanjyot Saini having hot fudge cakes at Denny's Photo: Ke-Xin Li
It's 11pm on a Saturday night in Auckland. The motorway's clear of its usual traffic, and the screams from Rainbow's End have gone for the day.
But amidst all the silence in Manukau is a restaurant still full of chatter, laughter, and the sound of babies crying.
It's Denny's, an American style diner franchise who market themselves as a "family restaurant". And at 11pm on that Saturday, the 160-seater restaurant was packed to the brim, so that some diners had to wait for a seat.
Liz Papu, 17, and 14-year-old Leyla Tamua are cousins. Among everyone RNZ spoke to, they gave the restaurant its highest rating - a 10/10.
Leyla Tamua (centre) and Liz Papu (right), spending time with family. Photo: Ke-Xin Li
Papu and Tamua say the restaurant is where they gather for family celebrations, and it was their fourth time at the diner since the beginning of this year.
They say there is a lot to love about the place: the friendly staff, the game machines, the chairs with "little cushions, and doesn't make your butt hurt", and most importantly, the food.
Grilled cheese, buffalo wings, and Oreo shakes that "you can never get sick of" are their top recommendations.
Tamua says dinner time is not usually that late, but Saturday is Sabbath so they only left the house after sunset.
"It's just part of our religion [Seventh Day Adventists] where we don't go out during the day on Saturdays."
Natasha Papu (sixth from right) says it's important to spend time with her family and connect with their heritage. Photo: Ke-Xin Li
Tamua and Papu say they are "OGs" of Denny's, but perhaps not as OG as Papu's aunt Natasha Papu, a Californian Samoan who has been dining at the Manukau Denny's for the last forty years.
Natasha says Denny's attracts her because the wide variety of foods mean all tastebuds can be satisfied - something especially important for big families like hers.
"We do so much together as a family, as a village, as a community. This is always open, there's always enough space, and they serve us well, and we know we can get what we want."
She says one detail that made her appreciate the Manukau Denny's is that while she prefers her buffalo wings crispy, the Manukau Denny's is one of a few who can cater to her needs.
For Natasha, it's important for her to spend time with her large family and connect with her heritage: "No matter where you are, what you are doing, you'll always be Samoan, and you'll always have familiarities because it's your culture. It's the strongest thing ever. [Culture is] something no money can buy."
Another family celebrating at Denny's is the Ahyou and Key family.
From left: Sefa Ahyou, Phoneix Key, Vita Key, Sam Key, Ema Ahyou, Paige Ahyou and Valeyah Tuivaiese. Photo: Ke-Xin Li
The cousins and siblings are spending time together before one of their boys Vita Key heads to the UK.
Paige Ahyou says growing up, Denny's is usually a treat trip that the parents take the children to. On that Saturday, they chose the restaurant because they could all sit down and eat together instead of going to the drive through.
"It's a good place to gather as a family, good meals, and Denny's open really late," Sefa Ahyou says.
Ina Silva was at Denny's because it's the only restaurant open that late.
Ina Silva (third from right), says her group chose Denny's as their destination because they could get together late at night. Photo: Ke-Xin Li
She and her family just finished watching the Blues game at Eden Park. It was a disappointing game, but they needed to eat something filling.
The household, whose members love cooking, didn't give Denny's food a big score, but Silva says "it's still a great place to come to".
Some other diners were purely attracted by the food.
Amanjyot Saini was there with his three friends, and they ordered five hot fudge cakes.
It's one each, plus one to take away for Saini's brother who is finishing a shift at Carl's Jr.
They come to Denny's twice a month, just for the hot fudge cake, Saini says.
And it's not just that, Saini's friend Tanish Tomar said.
"What brings us to Denny's, is late night cravings. If we're [wanting] to sit somewhere and have something nice, that's when we come to Denny's. And it's not like we only come twice a month, we come whenever we have our schedules lined up."
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