Macau | Seng Cheong Crab Porridge

In a sleepy town called Taipa in Macau, there was a better lit street which showed signs of more civilization at night - Rua do Cunha or 官也街.


We came here to try the famous crab porridge at Seng Cheong.


We knew we had come to the right place when we saw a fully packed restaurant. The nonchalant waiter asked us to head upstairs where there were seats. There were only big tables which could sit six at one. We shared a table with a couple from Tianjin who was here on a work trip. 

Without a doubt, we ordered the small Crab porridge 驰名蟹粥 (MOP 150). The big version cost MOP 180. For 2 pax, I would recommend getting the small version. It's way more than enough. We waited for quite a long time.. A very long time, probably 20 minutes.


Wow I must say it's crabilicious! Generous amount of crabs soaked in the very smooth and fragrant porridge. The crab was sweet, fresh and fleshy. According to the information pamphlet in the store, the porridge was cooked by boiling it with three different types of crab : 膏蟹, 肉蟹 and 水蟹, giving it it's rich crab flavor. We were big crab lovers and this gets our thumbs up. Even though I was hit by some crab while mama tried to use the pincer, it was worth it.


Do head down to the neighboring Mok Yi Kei (see previous post) for desserts after your meal!

Address:
28-30 Rua do Cunha, Vila de Taipa, Macau
澳门氹仔舊城區官也街28-30號
Opening Hours: 12 noon – 12 midnight daily

Macau | What to snack

This post cost me a heartache to write. Because it made me want to fly to Macau immediately and eat them!

Anyway for those of you out there who have plans to visit Macau soon, good for you. Please help me to eat on my behalf these delicacies.

#1- Lord Stow's egg tarts

First on the list would be The Lord Stow's legendary Portuguese egg tarts. Although there is an outlet at Venetian which was more convenient, we went to the original bakery in Coloane town since we were also in Coloane for sight-seeing.

The original outlet looked like it had been around since my grandfather's time..

Looks can be deceiving because once we entered the bakery, we were greeted by these loveliest egg tarts freshly baked.

The greedy value-hunter me bought 6 even though there were only 2 persons eating.. Each tart cost MOP 8. A box of 6 cost MOP 45. Of cuz it would be smarter to buy more right? :p


It wasn't a sit down cafe but there were benches outside the cafe for us to sit down and eat.

I swear Lord Stow's egg tarts are da bomb! The flaky crust was crispy and coupled with the soft and smooth egg creamy custard, it was a piece of heaven. Caramelized sugar gives the tart the slightly burnt look. 

I ate the rest for supper back at the hotel. And even after they turned cold, it was still as tasty! Someone once mentioned before that the highest level of cooking skill is displayed when the food still tastes good even when it turns cold. I guess Lord Stow's tarts would be a very good example.

 

One last look before it goes to my tummy..


Go, going, gone!


Address: 1 Rua do Tassara, Coloane Town Square, Macau

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#2 - Gelatina Mok Yi Kei

Want some sweet stuff after dinner?

We found this little shop in Rua do Cunha or 官也街.


We got the Serradura. No it's not some sea monster. 

 

It is a type of Macau dessert also known as sawdust pudding. It's actually a vanilla ice-cream atop with very very fine biscuit crumbs. The biscuit tasted like Marie biscuit used for the base of cheesecake. Now, imagine it's grinded into very very tiny particles like sawdust, hence the name sawdust pudding. 

The combination was heavenly! I am not sure about other places but the sawdust from Mok Yi Kei was ultra fine and made it an enjoyment just to eat it.

The mango jelly (MOP 18) was also refreshing and smooth.


Address: 9A, Rua do Cunha, Taipa

氹仔舊城區官也街9號A舖

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#3 - Leitaria I Son 義順鮮奶

If you are familiar with Yee Shun (not the Yishun in Singapore), the famous milk pudding cafe in Hong Kong, below is where it all began.


Yee Shun Milk Company originated from Macau. There are quite a few outlets in Macau. Below is one of it located in the old Macau town along the main busy street 新馬路. It's a small shophouse and we had to share seats with strangers.


I had the Ginger Milk Pudding 熱巧手薑汁撞奶 (MOP 28), their specialty. Look at how smooth it is! I loved how light it was, and yet there was the recognizable subtle spiciness from the ginger. The ginger was not overwhelming and together with the milk custard, it was an unique dessert.



My mum had the Coconut milk with sago 椰汁奶西米露 (MOP 20), a refreshing thirst quencher on a hot summer day.


I must commend the cashier. We had to pay our MOP 50 meal with a MOP 500 note and the cashier didn't complain. He even helped us with our directions on where to find our hotel shuttle bus. In fact, throughout the whole trip in Macau, many friendly locals helped us with directions :)

Address: Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro 新馬路60號
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#4 - Hang Heong Un 杏香园

We had some traditional Chinese desserts at a shophouse too. I like my desserts to be light and non-overwhelming. That's the purpose desserts should serve. Hang Heong Un serves some really nice ones but I can't help thinking they are overpriced.


I had the Longan White Fungus soup (cold) which cost MOP 37. That's like S$7! Apart from the price, I don't have much complains about the dessert. It's really nice, delicate and the sweetness was well balanced.


My mum had the Coconut Red Bean Iced (MOP 30). It's like drinking a coconut ice kachang. The coconut taste complemented red beans well and makes a refreshing drink after a heavy dinner.

  Address: Map 13 Travessa do Matadouro, Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro
新馬路清平街13號

Macau | Albergue 1601

When I arrived at Albergue 1601, a supposedly fine dining place, I thought I had got to the wrong place.

The place looked really old, as if time has forgotten it. Two big trees stood sturdily in the middle of the courtyard. The cobbled tiles leading to the restaurant were screaming to be scrubbed.

Located in the old Macau town, it was a drastic difference from the luxurious Cotai strip where the towering casinos glitter.

There was an alfresco dining section which would be lovely if only the weather was less hot.


There wasn't anyone standing at the door. So we walked into the restaurant myself. We were greeted by a wine collection. Hmm I thought wine should be kept under cool temperatures.


"Good afternoon..," a well dressed lady whom I assume is the manager greeted us. After confirming I had a reservation, she escorted us to the second floor via a stairway.

We were taken to a dining room which has 5 groups of tables. There was another dining room. The room had a window which ambient natural light entered from. We were seated in chairs which looked like mould was growing on it.


A bit of history of this place: It's named 婆仔屋 and it is more than a hundred years old. It served as a refuge camp for the Chinese during World War II and then an old women's home. Now, it's a heritage site under conservation.

The waitress recommended us their specialities once we sat down. We ordered their specialty dishes : seafood rice, cod fish balls and the lemon clams in white wine. 

To confess, I had no prior encounters with Macanese food so I didn't know what to expect. I did some Wikipedia-ing and found out that Macanese food is supposedly a form of fusion food between Chinese and Portuguese food as Macau is a former Portugal colony until late 1999.

Our first dish was the lemon clams. My mum loved the lemon clams (MOP 138, below). They were cooked in white wine to remove the fishy taste. There was a generous amount of clams and served. The clams were huge, juicy and tasted of the ocean. 4/5


The salted cod fish balls (MOP 64, below), is a common cuisine of the Macanese/Portuguese. In fact, there are at least 365 different ways to cook cod fish, one for every day. We guessed that the cod fish meat was mixed with mashed potatoes and deep-fried. Initially we thought it's fried mashed potatoes until I found fish bones in the cod fish ball. Crispy on the outside but soft on the inside. Although it's fried, it wasn't overly oily. 3.5/5



Seafood soup with rice (MOP 228) is also a Macanese specialty. The rice was soaked in a very light tomato soup. There was a generous amount of fresh crabs, squids, prawns, clams and mussels. The soup soaked the goodness of the seafood, and the rice soaked the essence of the soup! At first we thought the pot looked small but we kept scooping up the rice at the bottom of the pot and we were like, "Is this a bottomless pot?" Personally, I felt the pot was good for 3 people. 4.5/5


Service was one of casual elegance which puts us at ease even though it appears to be a fine dining establishment. Soft classical music was played. Our dining room had two other groups of people: a group of Caucasians and a group of young people whom we suspect are locals as they spoke Cantonese. When we left, we saw a couple taking wedding pictures outside. 

Overall, we were satisfied with our first encounter with Macanese food, especially when it's in a laid back and rustic environment. It's not really considered cheap but we thought it was value for money. Highly recommended if you are visiting Macau! 

Address:
8 Calcada da Igreja de S. Lazaro Ferreira de Almeida
瘋堂斜巷8號 婆仔屋
望德堂 社會保障基金對面

Email: reserve@albergue1601.com

Tel: (853) 2836 1601

Hong Kong + Macau = Foodie's heaven

This is the first post of a special series relating to Hong Kong and Macau..

Wheeee!!

Just back from my holiday cum business trip in Hong Kong and Macau. I love Hong Kong. And I go there almost every year, either for work or for play.. Despite being the nth visit this time, I am never bored of HK.

For my personal trip, I went with my Mama who was a first-timer to HK + Macau. HK + Macau is a foodie's heaven. After my friend saw the food section in my itinery, she was like, "I hope you gain 5kg". Anyway I've come to a conclusion:

It's not possible to gain weight from all the eating in HK.

That's because we were walking (which I insist it's a form of exercise) most of the time.. Erm yes from all the shopping.. And when your legs are tired, it's a natural instinct is to find a place to sit down, rest and eat, right? And I think Hong Kongers walked a lot.. Their MTR stations have more stairs than escalator.. No wonder every Hong Konger looks slim.. Anyway long story cut short, here's a snapshot of what I did and ate. 

Our HK trip began with a magical adventure at Disneyland.

Saw an old grandpa watching fireworks in his wheelchair.. Life is like fireworks. It's short but it's up to you to make it as beautiful as you like.

 

Interesting glow-in-the-dark Booberry Mist drink, available at the new Mystic Point section.

We stayed at Disneyland Hotel for one night. The hotel was like a castle.. Everything was so princessy:

We woke up to have a buffet feast at Enchanted Garden..

..where some friends paid a visit :)

We ate really good dim sum at Tim Ho Wan.

Erm ya that's 6 Char Siew Pau for two pax 

And I had Hui Lau San almost everyday. Mangoes are my favorite food and I swear Hui Lau San's mango desserts are the best ever!!

Breakfast were the Polo buns at Kam Wah and Crispy Condensed Milk buns at Tsui Wah.

My mama was fascinated by the Big Buddha. It was Day Fifteen of the Eight Lunar Month 八月十五 and we had a simple vegetarian meal at the Po Lin Monastry next to Big Buddha.

Since we were at Lantau Island already, we also went to Tai O village. Tai O is a small fishing village and we went on a boat tour to see dolphins ! For just HK$20! Best value for money activity.. 

The beloved dolphins! You have to do the boat trip!

Growing up in Tai O..

We went up to the Peak on the same day as the moon was supposedly the roundest and prettiest on that day. We got a terrible shock to see that the queue up the Peak was insane.. There were a lot of China visitors as Mooncake festival was a public holiday. Anyway we were insane enough to go up..

What we were supposed to be squeezing our way up for:

The Sky Terrace on top of the Peak was so cramped and it was difficult to take a decent shot. We had dinner at the Bubba Gump on level 3 of the peak tower. View was great, no squeezing with insane crowds, food was affordable and good.

We had very nice Creme Brulee at Paul Lafayet at Hysan Place in Causeway Bay. The caramelized top with the soft vanilla cream made it the most perfect Creme Brulee that I've ever eaten.

We also had really good Hong Kong style fish congee at Sea View Congee (海景) shop in Mongkok Argyle Street. But the fried fritters wrapped with rice noodles was the real star. We have eaten a lot of food which is crispy on the outside but soft on the inside. But this one was the opposite - soft on the outside and crispy on the inside. The result - unforgettable and touched.

Must try:

Roast goose is also a Hong Kong specialty food. We had our fill of roast goose at Yung Kee. Sadly, I find that the standard has been dropping everytime I visit. The meat was getting tougher each time I visit. The only redemption was the crispy, sweet, roasted skin. Certainly not worth the price I paid (HK$150).

The last time I ate the egg tarts from Tai Cheong Bakery (泰昌餅家) was almost a decade ago. I remembered I happened to visit it on the last few days of its operations as it had decided to close down due to high rents. I remembered it was the best egg tarts ever. It was subsequently bought by Tao Heung group and several outlets opened. Happened to pass by one of its outlets in Wan Chai and I bought the egg tarts. Sadly, it's not the same as the old ones which were hot, and had a softest and smoothest egg filling ever, and crispy crust.

We also ate roast meat at Joy Hing Roasted Meats, a famous hole-in-the-wall eatery with Michelin mention. The jovial uncle recommended the Three Treasure rice, which consist of char siew, soy chicken, and roast duck.

I will ignore the uncle next time and order just char siew rice. I swear the char siew was to die for! Unlike Singapore's version which the char siew was dry and thinly slice, Joy Hing's version was tender, juicy, sweet and salty, and the charred parts were fragrant. Best char siew ever!

Our food adventures continued in Macau. We had a Portuguese cuisine feast at Albergue 1601. Ok now why doesn't Singapore have Portuguese restaurants apart from Nandos?

Seafood rice

Look out for upcoming detailed reviews for these places mentioned above:
HK
- Desserts at Hui Lau San
- Dim Sum at Tim Ho Wan
- Breakfast buffet at Disneyland's Enchanted Garden
- Bubba Gump at the Peak
- Roast meats at Joy Hing Roasted Meats
- Experience at the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel
- Breakfasts at Tsui Wah and Kam Wah

Macau
- Portuguese cuisine at Albergue 1601
- Chinese desserts at Yee Shun Milk Company
- Crab porridge at Seng Cheong
- Sedurra dessert from Gelatina Mok Yi Kei
- Portuguese egg tarts from Lord Stow's Bakery
- Har Zi Meen
- Traditional Chinese desserts from 杏香园
- Experience at Conrad Cotai Macao Sands, best hotel stay ever!!