Read a food menu in Chinglish ? Almost impossible!

I try to be wordless but just could not help it!

Now...if you are a foreigner in Macau and does not read Mandarin, would you jump at this menu?

Mild one to start with...
What is Soaked Chick? Shouldn't it be Braised Chicken with Abalone Sauce?


One by one, the horror unveils...


Would you know Crisp skin grilled meat food...= Roast pork (烧肉 ) ?

The syrup fork cooks = Honey glazed BBQ pork char siew, 叉烧 )?

Though Char Siew was indeed derived from traditional way of cooking pork where slices and strips of syrup-glazed and marinated pork are are skewered with long forks and placed in a covered oven or over a fire , surely you can't name a dish...THAT??!?!?!?!??!

Another absurd, ridiculous one...Burns the taste double, to put together the food
WHhhaAT? HARrrr? HUH? AHHHH? Does Roast Meat Combination Plate (烧味双拼) makes more sense ?

The high quality goods burn the taste
I do not know what kind of dish this is....even from the Chinese version - 极品烧味 literally meaning Premium Roast Meat, it's hard to know the specifics.

Have a good laugh! LOL!

You may like to try these recipes. Though I'm not an expert in naming dishes, I'm sure they make more sense than the above.
BBQ Pork Pastry ~ 叉烧酥 ~ Char Siew Sou
Braised Pork Belly
Slow Cooked/Braised Pork Ribs
Oyster Sauce Chicken Wings ~ 蚝油鸡翅


Tag: pork, roast pork, chicken

Almond cookies, wife cake and Macau goodies

I heard many of you take a day trip to Macau when in Hong Kong. Don't worry if you can't finish all the good eats in a day, get some souvenirs...FOOD souvenirs! You must visit Koi Kei in Macau (many stalls near Senado Sqaure, Macau) - they are famous for their pastries and cookies. I brought back some cookies and "cake-like" pastry products. By the time you read this, they are already gone :O

Almond cookies. I could not resist these mini ones. Don't they look like chess seeds? They are called Chess Cookies 棋子饼...yes, indeed. Almond cookies that crumble and melt at the slightest bite. What's best about these almond cookies - they even have real almond bits and chunks that add that extra texture.

For your information, the Chess Cookies does not come with the chess board ;p

Wife Cake (Biscuit), sweet pastry.

Primarily made from sugar, cake flour, melon sugar

Wife cake 老婆饼 - almost like the sun cake 太阳饼 that I can get in Taiwan. I actually prefer the Hong Kong wife biscuits to the Taiwan sun cake because I find that the latter has too much pastry and less filling. I'm the type who prefers more fillings than the crust/pastry layers. If there is a story behind sun cake, then what's that of wife cake ?

There is also the Husband Cake 老 公 饼- the savory version made from pork fats, sugar, peanuts, sesame, five spice powder, cake flour. The story behind the Husband Cake is not as well-established as the Wife Cake, just as the Husband Cake product is not as popular as the Wife Cake.

What other food you can enjoy in Macau:
Portuguese egg tarts
Pork chop bun
African chicken

Tag: macau eating, street food, travel macau

Portuguese egg tarts or Chinese egg tarts

Portuguese pastéis de nata...what is a Macau trip without Portuguese-style egg tarts...and how can I pass on that ? :P

Do you like Portuguese-style egg tarts


or the Chinese egg tarts ?

To me, the difference between the Portuguese Egg Tart and the Chinese Egg Tart is clearly IN THE PASTRY CRUST CASING and the CUSTARD SURFACE. Portuguese egg tart always comes, dressed in flaky pastry while Chinese egg tart sometimes crumbly, sometimes flaky. Portuguese egg tart also has that signature "caramelized-sugar" crème brûlée-look, at the surface ~ a finishing topping of caramelized sugar, never found in normal Chinese egg tarts.

So I did not forget. And I had many, in fact. I prefer Portuguese-style egg tarts (葡式蛋撻, more commonly simply as 葡撻) to the Chinese egg tarts. However, if it is a tasty, freshly-baked, warm from the oven Chinese egg tart, I could not resist anyway. In short, just don't make me choose.

Irresistible authentic Portuguese-style egg tarts in Macau!

Portuguese-style egg tart is a modification of the original Portuguese pastéis de nata

Hmmmm....egg-related recipes - there is a sweet one and a savory one, which do you like?

Tag: macau eating, street food, travel macau

Eating in Macau, food you should not miss

Was in Macau more than a month ago and only posting it up now :O ...took me so long! Gosh! Since it was a short trip, we did not (and did not want to) do any "homework" on what-to-eat. Just "follow-our-instincts". Decided. Really...it should not be too difficult. *Sniff a sniff-sniff* and open your bright sharp eyes...

Pork chop bun 猪扒包. Oh...you would never have guessed something so simple can be so good. It's just a minimally-seasoned (probably salt and pepper?) pork chop sandwiched in a warm baguette-style bun. Nothing else. No pickles, no mayo, no bacon, no lettuce, no tomatoes. But, IT IS GOOD.

Along the streets from Senado Square to Ruins of St. Paul

Fresh-Water Crab Congee 水蟹粥 . We did not go to the best shops to try this. We would have if we have done our due diligence. Nonetheless, they are almost everywhere. Cooked in scallions and ginger, and just...a fresh water crab, this congee/rice porridge is mildly sweet (must be from the crab) and cooked to smooth velvety consistency.

Stall opposite Holiday Inn, Macau

African Chicken is one of those must-try dishes in Macanese cuisine. I wanted to try this signature dish at SOLMAR along Avenida da Praia Grande, recommended by Kate - Aapplemint but alas...it was rather out of place for us to go considering we did not have much time in Macau.

African Chicken in Cafe Deco, Venetian Macau

Instead, we had our African Chicken in Cafe Deco, Venetian Macau. I believe it was a modern twist to the traditional African chicken in which the sauce/gravy is cooked with the chicken. Here, the sauce is served by the side. It's acceptable for me this round, since I have not tried African Chicken before anyway. The sauce/gravy is indeed a BLAST! wOOt! Flavor-bombed with a mix of spices. I wonder if it's a mix of Portuguese, Indian, Malay, and Chinese spices since that is representative of Macau cuisine. Also tried a Pan-Seared Bacalhua (dried cod fish, a tradition in Portugal) dish and Caldo Verde (vegetable) soup. They were both good. Only thing bad - the damage. 2 soups + 2 main courses setting us at USD$72/-

We had to find something to eat before we board our departure flight. Found something nearby where we stayed (yes, opposite Holiday Inn, Macau) and had some tea-cafe-style food.

Beef brisket noodles...and


Ham and spaghetti soup 火腿意粉. I was actually expecting macaroni but it was spaghetti.


Well, there ends our 2D1N trip in Macau. A place where East meets West, tradition meets modern, the old meets the new. You could see all these aspects in their cuisine and food. How interesting. Though I was not there long enough to immerse in their culture, the food has definitely aligned us.

Tag: macau eating, street food, travel macau