Hong Kong Street @ Novena

Been to this place a few times. Sometimes for lunch, sometimes for dinner. But almost with some certainty, there are just that few dishes that we ordered, over and over again. And, this place was always busy and bustling with diners.

signboard

utensils and chillies (not very spicy)

a glass of cold barley while waiting for the food

As usual, we ordered a large 'san lao he fen' or 'sam lou hor fun', 'har jiong gai' or prawn paste chicken and a fried fish noodle soup (small).

san lao he fen

closer view

San Lao He Fen, a pale white looking dish consisting of 'hor fun' (flat kway teow noodles), lots of beansprouts, and fish slices (non-fried) that doesn't score any points in the looks department, but tasted yummy! It has a good dose of 'wok-hei' (that smokey charred smell/taste of the strong wok fire). Unfortunately, the fish slices does taste quite bland.

'har jiong gai' (prawn paste chicken)

deep fried goodness

Prawn paste chicken doesn't taste very strong, served piping hot with crispy skin but inside was still moist, tender and juicy. Not overly salted, so can be eaten on its own. Smear it with some of the sambal chili and it's addictive.

In my haste to devour the food (was hungry!), realised that I didn't take any pictures of the fish bee-hoon soup. That dish is a favourite of another friend. It has milky soup base, with ginger and vegetables in it. The fried fish was chunky and meaty. Comfort food.

This meal fed 3 girls and 1 guy comfortably. Total cost was about $13 per pax.

Sashimi House SAKURAYA @ Anchorpoint, Alexandra Road

Went on a weekday during lunch hour. Did not make any reservations, hence we were asked if we mind the counter seats. Nope. Not at all. The counter top/table surface/width was quite spacious. There is a daily set lunch that changes everyday and there is also a ladies lunch set (~@18++).

counter seats table setting

We ordered a Bara Chirashi and a salmon butter set and the food took some 15 minutes to arrive. Prior to that, the lady beside us who came much earlier than me, was asking the waitress the whereabouts of her lunch!

salmon butter set

tasty salmon butter

Tried my friend's salmon butter and the fish was nicely moist. Good choice! The salmon butter set was the cheaper one amongst our two lunches.

bara chirashi

My chirashi came in a nice lacquer bowl. So pretty.

full of goodness!

closer view

Plenty of fish in my bowl. There were the usual maguro, sake, white fish, tamago, cucumber and crabstick. The rice was nicely vinegared. First bite, the tangy sourness crept onto the tastebud and after chewing the rice, gradually it tasted of sweetness. The fish were fresh but don't really fancy the crabstick though.

seaweed layered ontop of the rice

The meal costs about $33 for two pax, and no charge for green tea.

Cafe Tai Lei Loi Kei @ Taipa, Macau

We had a hearty lunch at Fernando's. Yes. But the quest for pork chop buns MUST NOT be forgotten. So we took a bus from Hac Sa beach and headed back to Taipa village. This place is near the Olympic swimming pool, and about 10-15 minutes walking distance from Venetian Hotel.

notice the red tentage? That's where we're headed

brisk business

coke seemed popular

menu

We were still very very full from lunch, so ordered just 2 pork chop buns to share.

good sized meat

pork chop bun, different angle

with bone

nice and tender

As all reviewers would tell you, it is just the bun and the pork chop. Nothing else in between. One bun is MOP20. Reasonable price for the meat.

Only managed a few bites from the pork chop bun. The bread was chewy and a little bit dry but luckily the meat was tender and flavourful and not too salty. There was still a nice buzz going in my head after all the sangria earlier from lunch...

Fernando's @ Coloane Island, Macau

Located at 9 Praia de Hac Sa, Coloane Island. We saw this restaurant as we were walking towards the Hac Sa beach. Looked nice, so after our short frolick on the beach we went there for lunch. But since we did not make a prior reservations, we waited for our turn. Third name in the queue for that afternoon. 

front of the restaurant

We were ushered to the inner courtyard of the place. There is a bar inside there, and you could order your drinks while waiting for your turn. No drinks menu. Just bottles of liquor with prices shown. Not expensive. Can get a bottle of wine for MOP120. 

outdoor seats, but it was wet from the rain

probably can have a game or two while waiting

Waited for about 20 minutes before we got our table. While waiting, noticed that most seemed like regular customers and they are treated like old friends by the manager of the restaurant. There were some Japanese tourists as well.

inside the restaurant

table setting

We ordered a pitcher of Sangria (was thirsty!), grilled pork ribs, chargrilled chicken, fried rice, and vegetable soup to share.

Diners were given bread basket and butter to start their meal. Bread was served warm with nice crust on its outside and soft fluffy white on the insides.

bread and butter

Sangria~

vegetable soup

My friend was having flu, so she had the vegetable soup and fried rice. The soup tasted mild and healthy.

sausage fried rice

lots of sausage, green bell peppers

The fried rice was quite dry. Mildly salted, and good to eat with all its ingredients.

pork ribs

yummy tender chargrilled chicken

The pork ribs and chargrilled chicken were served on a bed of chunky fries with a few olives (unpitted) thrown in. Pork ribs were slightly dry and quite salty. Nice when washed down with Sangria.


The best dish for our table, would have to be the chargrilled chicken. Slightly spicy, tender and moist meat. Seasoning was about right as well. Good!


The pork ribs and chicken can be ordered in full, or half portion. Think we ordered full portion for the ribs while the chicken was half portion.


Sangria was just MOP120 per pitcher. And we shared it amongst 3 pax. About 2-3 glasses per pax. Got me a good buzz too, meaning the alcohol was good stuffs. Hahaa! Pork ribs were about 7 bones for a full portion. Can't remember the exact price but it should be between MOP120~MOP140 that range.


The fried rice portion was huge. Think it can also be comfortably shared out between 2 to 3 pax.

Margaret's Cafe e Nata @ Edificio Kam Loi, Macau

Located near Senado Square, it sits quietly amongst a backlane. If you look carefully while walking along those jewellery shops opposite the road of Grand Lisboa Hotel, you might just see the sign pointing you to the right direction.

walking towards the cafe

morning crowd on a Saturday

This is basically a self-serve joint, so just find yourself a seat. Share table if you must, or simply do a take-away. Besides egg-tarts, they also have simple cakes, pastries, and sandwiches. The menuboard is inside the shop. For sandwiches, you don't need to pay first. Proceed to the sandwich counter and tell them what you want. Then only go to the cashier to pay, order egg tarts and drinks.

If you had ordered drinks like hot coffee or hot milk tea, then you will get a queue tag and they will send you the drinks later.

queue tag

If you're ordering egg tarts (like half a dozen or more) to take-away, then the kitchen will prepare the order for you. If you're eating in, then remember to collect the egg tarts from the staff manning the egg tarts counter before going back to your seat.

take-away box

some more charred...

huge egg sandwich

egg tart

soft, and moderately sweet with flaky buttery crusts

milk tea

Egg tart sells for MOP8 per piece, while milk tea costs MOP7. The egg tarts tasted best when eaten fresh. Packed some to take home and its crusts turned chewy instead of flaky when it was reheated using a toaster.