Macau Tsui Yuen Cafe – Hong Kong Hawker Centre?

Macau Tsui Yuen Cafe (澳門翠苑茶餐廳)

English Address: Mong Kok Cooked Food Market 557 Shanghai St Hong Kong

Chinese Address: 旺角上海街557號旺角熟食中心2樓8號舖

Opening hours: Mon to Sun 7.00am to 9.00pm

Click here to view my full Hong Kong Food Itinerary and the 8 must-know about Hong Kong Cafe Culture

Introduction

Macau Tsui Yuen Cafe is situated at a food centre above a bus interchange at Mongkok that is very little known among tourists. We always shop at Langham Place but almost never know of such a food centre exists.

Tsui Yuen is not exactly a cafe but a hawker stall. It is very well known for it’s Macau-Portugese dishes and their signatures are the Portugese-style Curry with Farmer’s Bun, Macau Pork Chop Bun and their Ice Coffee. Don’t be deceived by the stall outlook as they are very popular among the locals.

Apart from Kam Wah Cafe, Tsui Yuen is the most well-liked eatery on Hong Kong Openrice at the Mongkok District.

Click to enlarge: Menu Nov 2013

Grilled Chicken / Pork Neck Farmer’s Bun with Portugese-style Curry

I first visited them in 2012 when a Farmer’s bun cost $HK55 and they increased their price to HK$60 in Nov 2013. I ordered their Grilled Pork Neck and Grilled Chicken Farmer’s bun. A set comes with a bowl of curry, minestrone soup and a bread bowl of grilled meat. One portion is good enough to be shared by two person.

The giant bread is served hot from oven with a crispy exterior and pillow-fluffy center. The idea is very similar to our Singapore “933 Golden Pillow” except the curry is served in a separate bowl.

The curry is like Japanese curry that is more to the sweet scale and not as spicy as the Thai/Indian Curry. It coats the crisp-exterior bread effortlessly in a silky coat of smooth thick curry sauce.

i thought I would be more impressed with the Grill Pork Neck but the Grilled Chicken surprises me. The tender chicken slices were very well-seasoned and marinated and i can taste the fragrance of freshly grill chicken with every mouthful.

Curry Pork Chop Bun

I wasn’t impress with the pork chop bun. I thought the bread is a little dry, pork chop is ok, just that a little bit of curry sauce is added beneath the pork chop which was barely noticeable. It’s a bit disappointing as a signature dish.

Macau Iced Coffee

Introducing my favourite ice coffee in Hong Kong. Whenever i am here, I will order this ice coffee. It is really smooth and creamy and the scattered coffee powder adds on a light fragrance of freshly-grinded coffee bean. Like our Singapore’s Kopi-peng (Ice milk coffee), it quite sweet but that is what made it enjoyable. It’s definitely a revitalizing beverage to have after long hours of shopping!

Conclusion

I was actually a bit disappointed when I re-visited them in November 2013. Since the visit in 2012, my expectation of them is rather high. The curry and bread still taste as good but the much-anticipated grilled chicken didn’t keep up with the initial standard and the portion of the curry became smaller. I thought it’s still not bad, but was already less impressive, but the Ice Milk Coffee still kick ass.

For those who has never visited a hawker centre in Hong Kong, you may wish to pop by this place for a new dining experience. I thought the dishes offered by Macau Tsui Yuen Cafe is quite different from a typical Hong Kong cafe and i hope that their standard can improve. I will it another shot when i visit Hong Kong the next time.

Click here to view my full Hong Kong Food Itinerary and the 8 must-know about Hong Kong Cafe Culture

The set that i ordered in 2012. The curry is served in a larger bowl.

Map and Direction

1. Exit from C4 at Mongkok MTR

2. Cross the very first street and walk a short distance and cross over to another street

3. Turn left and walk straight and you should be near a bus interchange already

4. Look for the escalator in my pic below and take the escalator to Mongkok Cooked Food Market

5. Macau Tsui Yuen Cafe is one of the first stalls that greets you.

This hawker centre is just behind Langham place within a bus interchange and most importantly, look for this escalator. This is the escalator that leads up to the food centre.

You know you are at the right place when you see this signage

 

Sun Kee Cheese Noodle at Tsim Sha Tsui / Wan Chai

Sun Kee Cheese Noodle (新記餐廳)

Opening Hours: Mon – Sun 7.30am to 3.00am

English Address (Google Map): Champagne Court 16-20, GF 13-14, Kimberley Rd Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong

Chinese Address: 尖沙咀金巴利道16-20號香檳大廈地下13-14號舖

Click here to view my full Hong Kong Food Itinerary and the 8 must-know about Hong Kong Cafe Culture

Introduction

This place was recommended by a friend’s sister a couple of years ago. Comparing to most of the eateries that i blogged about in my Hong Kong food itinerary, this is a less known to Singaporeans and almost all of my friends have not heard of it.

The outlook of the shop at Tsim Sha Tsui

Upon entering the eatery at Tsim Sha Tsui, the first thing that caught your eyes is definitely the Hong Kong Stars studded photos displayed on their wall. It includes Grasshopper (草蜢), Edison Chen and a few Hong Kong Stars that i can recognize but not name.

This place is not super crowded, but the tables were mostly filled up

Sun Kee’s signature dish is their grilled pork cheek (or pork jowl) in cheese sauce, or I simply call it the cheese noodle.  I visited their two outlets, one at Tsim Sha Tsui and a newer branch is at Wan Chai. And the reason for visiting this place whenever i visit Hong Kong? Matchless Grilled Pork Cheek, be it from Singapore, Bangkok or Hong Kong itself.

Tsim Sha Tsui Branch Menu (as of Nov 2013)

Wan Chai Branch Menu – 1 of 2

Wan Chai Branch Menu – 2 of 2

Cheese Noodle with Grilled Pork Cheek

Pork Cheek refers to the cut at the jaw area, at the hollow of a pig’s cheek. This area is mainly made up of  lean meat, interlaced with thin layer of fats. As pork cheek is not exactly tender, the best way cook is to cook is for an extended period of time until the fiber and fats break down. It’s also one of the best cuts for barbecued pork.

It’s served with the cheese sauce covering the pork cheek

I’d tried pork cheek in various eateries in Singapore, Bangkok and Hong Kong but my favourite is still Sun Kee’s. Theirs are very well marinated and has an exceptional grilled fragrance. If pork cheeks are grilled properly, the interlaced fat breaks down and melts in your mouth and that is exactly what Sun Kee has to offer.

Ta Da~ After some re-arrangement of the pork cheek

Their cheese noodle is also the reasons for my visit. At first glance, it appears to be really cloying but apparently not. The cheese sauce is not exactly heavy on the stomach. The taste is very balanced and the cheese is not overpowering.  It is especially enjoyable when the cheese mixes with the oil from the grilled pork cheek.

The only thing is they are not too generous with their cheese sauce for the price paid (HK$42 or S$7). As pork cheek doesn’t come cheap because of their limited availability on a pig, i guess this price is still kind of reasonable.

Love their smooth creamy cheese noodle

Grilled Pork Cheese Dry Noodle with Sunny Side Up

I visited their Wan Chai branch on my last visit and I’m glad that the taste doesn’t differs much from Tsim Sha Tsui’s. The menu is slightly different so i ordered their dry noodle with pork cheek. In actual fact, it taste exactly like indo mee (a kind of instant noodle that can be found in Singapore) andddddddd I LOVE IT!

Look at those pieces of meat~

It’s quite dumb to pay such a price (HK$43) for an instant noodle actually but i still get to eat the grilled pork cheek with my favorite instant noodle so who cares. Only order this if you really really like indo mee.

You can order just the grilled pork cheek if you can’t get enough of it, but i thought it taste better when it’s paired with cheese sauce.

I’m pawned by these grilled meat

For my past visits, I tried other dishes like the fried rice, sausage and egg cheese noodle and their chicken wings but they are not exactly worth It. The cheese ball is not bad, and you may order their grilled pork cheek itself but i still think it’s taste best with cheese sauce.

Cheese Ball, drizzled with cheese and the filling is cheese.

The chicken wings. Nothing special and i thought there is an artificial taste in it’s marinate.

Conclusion

Actually I am a little reluctant to write on this eatery because the lesser the people know about this place, the better. Most of the time, there is no queue when I visited and this place so it’s not bad to keep its this way. But I thought my blog is not that influential anyway so I thought I shall just share it for the benefit of my readers.

Out of my five visits, there was one time (the third time) which the Grilled Pork Neck didn’t keep up with the standard while the rest of the fours times were great. I think i actually recommend their Wan Chai branch more because it’s more comfortable and easy to find. In fact, it’s only thirty seconds walk from Capital Cafe. You may read up more on Capital Cafe and their black truffle scrambled egg toast here.

So far, after so many trips to Hong Kong, this is still one of my must-visit. Even if i am really really full, i will just probably share a bowl of noodle among two person. This is so-call die die also must eat. I’d recommended Sun Kee to a couple of friends and some say they love it. Another one say it’s nice, but don’t need to visit every time. Let me know how do you find it.

Click here to view my full Hong Kong Food Itinerary and the 8 must-know about Hong Kong Cafe Culture

The Wan Chai Branch Shop Outlook

The interior of Wan Chai Branch. Actually it’s much more comfortable than Tsim Sha Tsui Branch.

Sun Kee Wan Chai Branch

Opening Hours: Mon to Sun 7.30am to 11.00pm

English Address: 3 Burrows St Wan Chai Hong Kong

Chinese Address: 灣仔巴路士街3號地下

Map and Directions

Wan Chai Branch

I tried different ways of reaching Sun Kee but thought this is not the fastest, but easiest way, to follow the main road – Hennessy Road and turn right at Mallory St

Tsim Sha Tsui Branch

It’s easy to locate Champagne Court by coming out from Exit B1 of Tsim Sha Tsui station, walk along Nathan Road and turn right into Granville Road then turn left on Carnarvon Road. When you reach Champagne Court, you may a little effort to locate the eatery as it is within the building at ground floor.