It’s always nice when you are treated to lavish meals at five star hotels and expensive restaurants. But my passion has always been about exploring the local food scene – whether overseas or in Malaysia. So, the most memorable meal for me in Macau was at Lok Kei Noodle.
This no-frills eatery is only open for dinner and operates until past midnight for late suppers. Although Lok Kei is well known for a few things such as crab porridge and a variety of snacks and stir fry dishes, their signature bamboo pressed noodles is the real attraction here.
Most of the famous wanton noodles I had in Hong Kong suffered from having a strong and disgusting alkaline taste. Lok Kei’s noodles did not have this problem at all. The wanton dumplings were not as big and compact like what you’d get in Hong Kong but they were still delicious and way better than what we’d get locally. MOP$28 for a bowl.
Braised beef brisket noodle @ MOP$28. I thought this was great. The flavours of the brisket was deep and rich, everyone enjoyed it more than the wonton version.
Our tour bus driver highly recommended the fish balls (米通鯪魚球) @ MOP$52. The portion was generous considering you get 10 pieces of fish balls. The fish balls are actually made from mud carp and deep fried with a coating of pre-fried vermicelli noodles.
The outer layer was slightly crunchy to the bite whereas the interior was flavour-packed with a firm, delicate texture. If I were a Hongkie the term to describe these fish balls would be 彈牙 (bouncy to the bite?) Anyway, a visit to Lok Kei wouldn’t be complete without trying this unassuming yet delectable dish.
The stir fried clams with black bean paste (豉汁炒蜆) @ MOP$ 52 was another recommended dish. These clams looked quite similar to lala but they had a thicker and shorter shell. They were truly fresh as well as you can see.
I might be ignorant but to be honest, I still don’t really understand the appeal of shrimp roe noodles (虾籵捞面) But everyone else seemed to be enjoying it. I had a taste of the noodles and found that it wasn’t as fishy and dry as expected. MOP$38 per serving.
Stir fried beef hor fun (乾炒牛河) @ MOP$45. The beef slices were nice and tender but overall the noodle did not impress us as much as the other dishes did.
And finally, the crab porridge (水蟹粥) A medium portion consiting of two crabs cost MOP$180 and the serving size was big enough to be shared at least among four people. The crab itself was not really big nor fleshy but they had roes that helped to sweeten the otherwise bland porridge. It sure tasted mild and uninspiring at first but the flavours did come through, albeit slow.
One other thing I like about Macau (compare to Hong Kong) is that the food operators are generally more polite towards their customers. I did not encounter any grumpy or unfriendly staff at all.
Lok Kei Noodle 六記粥麵沙梨头仁慕巷1号D地铺
1d Travessa da Saudade, Ribeira do Patane, Macau
Business hours: 6.30pm – 2.30am
