Journey to Hong Kong - FEASTING IN MACAU: SENADO SQUARE

WONG CHI KEI (黃枝記)

Entrance. You can't see the crowd here but trust me, it's there.

You must visit Wong Chi Kei when you are in Macau. It is famous (highly recommended on travel sites and blogs) and rightfully so. It is not difficult to find, located right at Senado Square, one of the tourist destinations you are bound to visit when in Macau. However, because of its fame, you may find yourself waiting, queue ticket in hand, with millions of other tourists before you were ushered into its holy noodle-and-congee sanctum. My friends and I arrived at its hallowed doors in the afternoon, slightly after 1pm, and there is already a crowd (to be expected since we were late). The crowd continued multiplying while we were waiting outside in the warm humid weather.  

We waited about forty-five minutes to an hour before our number was called and were promptly seated at the basement, which is an extended seating area (not a makeshift one). The restaurant was simply decorated with traditional square tables with marble tops and wooden stools. The menu is incredible; there are all sorts of congee, noodles and rice dishes. I wished we could sample more, but it is three of us versus thirty (or forty) over dishes. In the end, we settled on a bowl of crab congee (famous), a plate of shrimp roe braised noodles with wonton (also famous), a plate of beef brisket braised noodles with wonton, and a pork chop bun (a Macanese specialty snack).  

Beef brisket braised noodles with wonton.

Shrimp roe braised noodles with wonton. Those red 'powder' on top? Not chilli powder but dried shrimp roe.

The braised noodle dishes were awesome. Egg noodles are champions! Springy, not soggy, a delightful satisfying crunch with each bite. The beef brisket braised noodles is marginally better than the shrimp roe noodles because it has enough gravy to keep it moist. The shrimp roe noodles are a tad too dry for my liking, because it is difficult to eat. Spreading the bright red shrimp roe evenly all over the dry noodles takes some work. Even then, the distribution is unequal. If you have not tried shrimp roe before, it is savoury and has what they call the ‘umami’ taste, a Japanese concept of a pleasant savoury flavour. The wontons are to be extolled for their generous filling of one whole shrimp per wonton. They are massive compared to wontons found in coffee shops in Singapore.

Crab congee.

It is not difficult to see (or taste) why the crab congee is popular. It is absolutely to die for. The crab shell is definitely not for display just to whet your appetite. All the goodness found in the shell is left intact for customers to savour. The texture of the congee is excellent, smooth and creamy, requiring almost no chewing. The porridge is flavourful and a winner in my books. I regret leaving Wong Chi Kei without trying their century egg congee (excuse for returning).

Pork chop bun.

The pork chop bun is the first (out of the many!) that we tried that day. The deep fried pork chop is well marinated with a salty flavour. I cannot pinpoint exactly what flavour it is but just know that it is not bland. The buns are your average buns, nothing special. Actually, the pork chop bun felt a little slapdash, a quick and simple snack for people in a hurry. When I say simple, I meant really simple. There are just two ingredients: marinated pork chop and buns. I am not sure why it is considered one of the “most famous and popular snacks in Macau” (according to Wikipedia). Surely it is too simple to be such. Then again, it is a snack, so slapdash is befitting I guess.

[Side note about the pork chop bun: I will not be dedicating a post specifically for the pork chop bun because it is not very appealing to me and I would not do it justice. After trying the first one at Wong Chi Kei, I found nothing special about it and although I did take a bite or two from other specimens, I still found it uninteresting. My two other travel buddies however, agreed that the pork chop bun from Tai Lei Loi Kei (大利来记) has the best flavour, so there you have it. A simple Google search informed me that there is a Tai Lei Loi Kei outlet in Malaysia so you need not travel far to find out what the fuss is about.]

My weirdly flavoured pick-me-up.

Pork chop bun aside, the meal at Wong Chi Kei was worth every minute perspiring in the warm air outside the shop with millions of noisy and pushy tourists (we were aMUST-TRY.

s still as stones to prevent more perspiration). I highly recommend you to try it when you are in Macau. It is a

Extra reads: Wong Chi Kei Official Website & Sumo Eat Sumo Travel.