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!!

Desserts First 糖水先

The weather is so hot these days that sometimes I just want to chill in aircon places only. Another great way to hide from the heat is to eat a bowl of cold dessert. In the field of desserts, one of my favourite types would be the Hong Kong style desserts.. Now I am able to find a piece of Hong Kong in Singapore. That will be along Liang Seah Street which has the three big players in the Hong Kong dessert scene: Desserts First 糖水先, Ah Chew Desserts and Ji De Chi. I observed that Desserts First is usually the most crowded, especially after dinner time.

During peak hours (i.e. after dinner, lunch), sharing tables with strangers is a must if you are with friends in small groups. That's because the tables are mostly for big groups. I went during off-peak hours during a weekend afternoon and there was no crowd. Mandarin pop songs were played which made me felt like I was in Taiwan instantly.

The menu is on the table. After you decide what you want, proceed to order at the cashier.

If you are a durian lover like me, you must try the Durian Shaved Ice ($6, below). Either Durian Shaved Ice or the Durian Snow Ice. They used real D24 durians. Look at the top .. It's real durian fruit which was rich, sweet and pungent. Every bite delivered a robust and icy durian taste. Chomping on the shaved ice and the smooth and creamy durian - a great way to relief from the heat. However, be careful if you are eating with a Durian hater. He/She might squeal in disgust if he/she catches a whiff of that durian smell which I insist it is fragrant! 5/5

The Green Tea Snow Ice with Red Beans ($5, below) was also a winner. It carried a bit of bitterness with the "just nice" amount of sweetness. The accompanying red beans were sweet and complemented the green tea well. The "snow ice" were firm yet soft and melts in the mouth, making it a refreshing treat on a hot day. 4.5/5

The mango desserts are also their specialty. The Mango Snow Ice ($5.50, below) is my favourite! The mangoes were not overly sour but sweet. Layers of the "snow ice" were smooth and each of them were rich with the sweet and slightly sour mango taste. Mixed with the cubes of mango, it was heavenly! The accompanying nata de coco pieces were also very nice and addictive to chew on. 4.5/5

Waffle with Nutella and Bananas with Vanilla Ice-cream ($6.50, below) was perfectly done too. The waffle was crispy and the combination of nutella sauce and bananas was excellent. The vanilla ice-cream was sweet and creamy. Atop the hot waffle, it was a delicious treat. 4.5/5

Service speed was average and not fast, maybe due to the long preparation time needed to make the "snow ice". However, be patient and you will be rewarded :) A tip is to avoid dinner/lunch times as you would need to wait for some time for a seat. The portions are also very big and it's a good idea to share if you are a small-eater. Overall, we loved this place very much. This place is a must-try!

Address:
8 Liang Seah St #01-04, Bugis, 189029

Tel: 6333 0428

Opening Hours:
Mon to Thu: 1630 - 1230
Fri & Sat: 1300 - 0100
Sun: 1300 - 2330