Classic Local Dim Sum – Orchid Garden
Last article have revealed Long Va Tea house located next to the Red Market. Another classic chinese tea house Lan Heong Kuok (namely Orchid Garden), is absolutely a great place to recommend. The Orchid Garden Tea house is located in the street of Rua da Madeira; From Hong Kung Temple walking towards the main hawker’s street Rua de Cinco de Outubro, which will able to see the nostalgic, huge iconic green signage. Immediately, turn right to the small street located at the first block, located at East Asia Hotel ground floor.
Tea House in the sixties
The Tea house has a classic, nostalgic atmospheric perspectives. It composes of three floors; The basement can see all the guests gathered and enjoy “one cup, two dim sums” in a row. Most of them are returned patrons, majority all elderly.
It tended to get narrower and cramped on the second floor with a lower ceiling height, like a loft-like nostalgic hidden outlook. However, seats are still quite ample and often in full house.
I like the third floor the most, located on the top level, third floor. It’s not a glamorous interior design either; in fact, the decor still remained its look in the sixties; as if it instantly draws you back to your childhood memories, featuring a yum cha moment in a nostalgic teahouse.
On the wall is full of watercolor ink paintings and ancient chinese calligraphy writing menus; Among them, the red traditional backdrop is my best favorite; It has a colored three dimensional dragon and phoenix carvings set on both left and right panels respectively. The spectacular chinese style wooden arch carvings at the doorway way;the dim sum order sheet and tea dining table setups etc; The whole place were filled with unique nostalgia features on it.
The kind of slowdown attitude
Majority are all seniors holding newspapers enjoying the various yum cha scene; No other restaurant can feel such strong teahouse atmospheres. It is worth coming to feel the slow-down old lifestyle attitude and enjoy the best, delicious food on earth.
Sit down and rock on to the tea time! A gorgeous lady turned around, holding a big food tray towards our directions, filled with signature dishes allowing us to choose from. They also talked to us intimately, same time introduce us the old rules need to follow, while taking good care of us.
The Best Juicy Barbecue Pork
The must-try food is, of course, Orchid garden best-selling honey barbecue pork. The fat were evenly layered and the meat is warm. When biting, it is soft and bouncy, the outer layer covered with Malt honey, slightly burnt; every angle looks so beautiful when taking photo.
Stuffed Taro Crispy Roll
Golden fried stuffed with Taro and meat roll is the greatest treasure of Orchid Garden menu items. Well-stuffed in full with taro paste, the outer layer well covered in golden, crispy skin like a silky fishnet. It taste so soft from the outside to the inside, without feeling greasy at all.
Golden fried Glutinous Rice Chicken
Don’t miss the golden fried glutinous rice chicken. You can’t experience the same classic yum cha dim sim in Macau. The whole chicken rice fully covered in thick egg coatings. The first bite was extremely golden crispy and soft, which still keep up the traditional fillings including pork, mushrooms, chicken, etc., indeed quite plenty.
Other dim sum recommendations include: pork liver siu mai, steamed beef with siu mai, cannot be missed fried noodle and vermicelli , clay pot rice, etc., which all of them are quite good.
After a good yum cha should definitely do some shopping at Rua de Cinco de Outubro. It is one of the busiest street in Macau so far. Many local’s special food items are still available. In addition, you can also see lots of finished garments, stalls, antiques, cultural and creative shops, chinese antique crafts, biscuits, tea, seafood, etc.
Other upcoming article columns will introduce Macau’s long-established old shops, their history, architectural features, and other delicacies, brief one by one in detail.