Margaret’s Café e Nata 玛嘉烈蛋挞 (Macau)

Margaret’s Café e Nata 玛嘉烈蛋挞 is a small popular cafe tucked away in a hidden alley, with many rating this as a must try places in Macau. It will be no easy feat looking for this place unless you know the Macau well. (Luckily someone in our group knows Macau) No worries, a map is provided at the end of the post! The hint is that it is located near Lisboa Casino.

Margaret’s Café e Nata is best known for its Portuguese egg tarts. Other items such as pastries, cakes, pizzas, sandwiches and coffee are also avaliable. 

Reaching Margaret’s Café e Nata at 1030am, there was a long queue stretching out of the cafe onto the alley. There were at least 15 to 20 people in the queue. The alley is basically empty except for this corner where the cafe is.

How long a wait was it before we reached the end of the queue? I have no idea, but it did not seems long. As we were queuing, we managed to get a table too.

Portuguese Egg tarts

The original intention was to take away the Portugese Egg Tarts as there the tables were all full. Hence, the paper box and not plates. But since we found a table for 6, we decided to eat on the spot. A dozen egg tarts, 2 per person. 

Margaret's Portugese Egg Tarts blew me away. It was piping hot, fresh out of the oven. On the outside, flaky, crispy buttery crust. Inside, soft, moderately sweet, rich and tasty caramelised egg custard. Another 'die die must try', best eaten on the spot when it is freshly baked! 

Milk Tea (hot)

Milk Tea to accompany the egg tarts and keep ourselves warm on a cold December morning. 

If you are in Macau, this is a place you must visit especially if you are a foodie! 

Margaret’s Café e Nata 玛嘉烈蛋挞 (Macau)
Gum Loi Building, Rua Alm Costa Cabral R/C
Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro, Macau
Tel: (853) 2871 0032
Opening Hours: Daily 630am to 10pm (Closed on Wed)
Location
How to get there: At ferry terminal, take a free shuttle bus to Lisboa Casino. Margaret’s Café e Nata is just 200m away from Lisboa Casino. All you have to do is walk towards the direction of Senado Square. 

Location

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Yung Kee Restaurant 鏞記酒家 (Hong Kong)

Yung Kee Restaurant is a Chinese Cantonese restaurant reowned for its Roasted Goose and Century Eggs. It has been reported that they sell as many as 300 Geese per day!

Yung Kee restaurant is located along Wellington Street, 5 minutes walk from Central MTR Exit D2. It is located in Yung Kee Building (yes, they owned the building!). If you are lost, ask the locals!

We were directed to level 2 where we saw a large crowd of people gathering around a lady who was in charge of giving out queue numbers and assigning seats. We were assigned a number and told to come back 1 hour later. We decided to go to Tsui Wah Restaurant located opposite for some bites before coming back as we were starving.

Waiting Area

Waiting Area

When we came back, I spotted this sign saying waiting area. True enough, Yung Kee has dedicated a corner as a waiting area with seats and magazines on a rack. We waited just like everyone else. Luckily for us, we managed to get a table soon after coming in. In total, the time when we got the queue number to the time we were assigned a table was 45minutes.

A very packed level 2

Menu Cover

Chrysanthemum tea (per person) HK$12 (S$2) to quench our thirst. It comes in a pot which is refillable.

Century Egg and Pickled Ginger (per person) 

The famous Century Egg served with Pickled Ginger (per person) at HK$10 (S$1.66). Each person gets half a slice of the century egg. This appetizer looks different from those in Singapore. It is the best century egg I have eaten. So smooth, so soft, so tasty! Now I know why some people take the trouble to bring this back to Singapore!

Roasted Goose (Half)

Braised Soya Beans beneath the Roasted Goose.

The award winning Roasted Goose (half) HK$230 (S$38.33). Fragrant and flavourful roasted goose that was crispy on the outside yet soft, tender and juicy on the inside. There were braised soya beans beneath the roasted goose that soaked up all the drippings from the goose making it fragrant and flavourful. Description is pointless for this dish, you got to try this yourself!

Vegetable with Oyster Sauce

Vegetable with Oyster Sauce HK$75 (S$12.50). Honestly I have no idea what this vegetable is. The vegetable was big and fresh, paired well with the oyster sauce.

Chinese 'Waxed' Sausage & Preserved Fresh Goose Liver Sausage 

We also ordered the Chinese 'Waxed' Sausage (lap cheong) & Preserved Fresh Goose Liver Sausage. The Chinese 'Waxed' Sausage was delicious. But the Preserved Fresh Goose Liver Sausage was too adventurous for me.

Fried Rice in Yangzhou Style

Fried Rice in Yangzhou Style (Large Portion) HK$145 (S$24.16). Lots of ingredients (shrimps, char siew, egg, scallions) and was well fried. Certainly another dish to try.

From this meal, I can conclude that a stay in Hong Kong is not completed without stopping over at Yung Kee. The 'die die must try' dishes are the Roasted Goose and Century Eggs. The food here is definitely worth the wait!

As we were leaving, we saw this sign that states that all the roasted geese have been sold out!

If you know when you are coming over, do ensure that you make a reservation for not only a table but also the goose!

ps: H&M is located nearby.

Yung Kee Restaurant  鏞記酒家 (Hong Kong)
32 Wellington Street, Yung Kee Building
Central, Hong Kong (Near Central MTR, Exit D2)
Tel: (852) 2552 1624
Opening Hours: Daily 11am to 1130pm
Website
For reservations below 5 pax: http://www.yungkee.com.hk/reserve/reserve-e.html
Location

Location

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Tsui Wah Restaurant 翠華餐廳 (Hong Kong)

Tsui Wah Restaurant 翠華餐廳 has come a long way having first started in 1967. Today, this cha chaan teng has expanded with over 17 outlets in Hong Kong and has even ventured into Shanghai and Macau.

We were on our way to Yung Kee when we spotted Tsui Wah Restaurant located directly opposite Yung Kee Building. At Yung Kee, we had to take a queue number and were told to come back 1 hour later. As we were hungry, we decided to visit Tsui Wah Restaurant and shared 2 items before going back to Yung Kee.

There was no queue at Tsui Wah Restaurant. We were directed to the second level, where there was more sitting capacity. We noticed that even the second level was full. Luckily, a big group left just as we came in.

Level 2 filled to the brim

Look at how nicely decorated the restaurant is.

As we were in a rush and did not want to order too much, we decided to just order the two recommended dishes that was 'popping' out of the menu.The two dishes were the Fish Balls & Fish Cakes with Rice Noodle in Fish Soup and Prawn Balls with Stirring Noodle in XO Sauce.

Fish Balls & Fish Cakes with Rice Noodle in Fish Soup

The Fish Balls & Fish Cakes with Rice Noodle in Fish Soup cost HK$29 (S$4.83). A healthy dish and the rice noodle is actually kway teow. The fish soup was fragrant and flavourful. Moreover, there was no fishy taste.

Prawn Balls with Stirring Noodle in XO Sauce

The Prawn Balls with Stirring Noodle in XO Sauce is priced at HK$45 (S$7.50). The noodle was QQ, but a tad too dry. The bonus was that the prawns were big, firm and very fresh! Delicious!

Milk Tea (cold)

Milk Tea (hot)

Despite the crowd, the service here was prompt and efficient. Overall, a good meal that achieved our aim of going somewhere with good and fast food without compromising our queue at Yung Kee and yet help fill our stomach with some food.

ps: Tsui Wah Restaurant is also famous for their crispy bun with condense milk.


Tsui Wah Restaurant 翠華餐廳 (Hong Kong)
15 Wellington Street
Central, Hong Kong (Near Central MTR, Exit D2)
Tel: (852) 2525 6338
Opening Hours: Daily 24 hours
Website
Please check the website for all the outlets. Different outlets has different opening hours. 
Location

Location

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