Street Food Fest

A whirlwind visit to Macau brought me and some other friends to Studio City to check out the Michelin Guide Street Food Festival over the Golden Week long weekend. Normally I wouldn’t fancy such a long day-trip commute for only dishes at a few food stalls, but with the line-up included restaurants and chefs from all across Asia and a few starred establishment, I figure it’s still worthwhile - just think of it like those pop-up restaurant/guest chef event, just that this time these were street food stalls.

We arrived at the venue just in time for the opening ceremony, and afterwards we had the opportunity to have a preview of all the stalls and the dishes they offered before it’s opened for public access. This year the Street Food Festival featured eight different stalls from four different Asia regions, all of which featured in the current issue of Michelin Guide of their respective cities.

Both entrants from Macau were ones playing host to this event. Pearl Dragon, the fine-dining Chinese restaurant at Studio City, has a Michelin star and they brought to us two dishes. The deep-fried king prawn stuffed with minced bamboo shrimp was prepared to order and served with the classic sweet and sour sauce for that familiar tangy flavor, and the second dish of chilled bird’s nest with red bean paste in organic pumpkin definitely won the best presentation award with this dessert served inside a hollowed mini pumpkin – I wish it’s a bit sweeter but overall it was tasty.

Meanwhile, Bi Ying, the casual diner located on the gaming floor of the hotel, brought to us a couple of their signature dishes. With many restaurants around the region now served char siu/barbecued pork using Iberico Pork from Spain, the one I tried at the Bi Ying’s food stall was perhaps one of the most reasonably-priced and also the most delicious. I just loved that honey glaze on top with a bit of the burnt crust.

And event like this allowed me to try foods from different part of Asia without having to travel far. Sesame chicken noodles is a classic dishes found in many Taiwanese night markets, and A Nan Sesame Chicken from Nanjichang Night Market in Taipei was perhaps one of the most famous stall serving this, being awarded the Bib Gourmand rating at the inaugural Michelin Guide Taipei earlier this year. The flavor was milder than I thought but the chunks of chicken were super-tender and laden with the tasty fat and skin.

I was also impressed by a couple stalls from Singapore. Chef Hawker Chan was present at his namesake Liao Fan Hawker Chan Soya Sauce Chicken Rice stall. Its stall at Singapore Chinatown was perhaps one of the cheapest Michelin-starred restaurant in the world and I can see why after having a bite of the soya sauce chicken. While this may not be the juiciest meat (we were too spoiled by the great quality of local chicken), I love the soya sauce glaze with the well-balanced flavor loaded with umami taste.

I have been to Keng Eng Kee Seafood once before, given its proximity to my old Singapore office, and the dish they introduced at the stall, the golden salted egg yolk soft shell crab, was my favorite of the event. The portion was generous, with the whole crab served for each, and perfectly cooked with crispy batter mixed with the mashed salted egg yolk. And rounding up the line-up was another stall from Singapore (Song of India), and a couple from Bangkok (Huan Lamphun and Soul Food Mahanakorn), each bringing some of the best street food represented in their cities.

This was perhaps one of my shortest stay in Macau but it’s a satisfying one with way too much food.

(Event by Invitation and courtesy of Studio City Macau and Michelin Guide Hong Kong/Macau)

When? September 29 2018
Where? Studio City Macau, Estrada do Istmo, Cotai, Macau
Menu Highlights? Golden Salted Egg Yolk Soft Shell Crab (Keng Eng Kee Seafood Singapore)
Web:
Michelin Guide Hong Kong Macau Edition: guide.michelin.com/hk/en/hong-kong-macau
Studio City Macau: www.studiocity-macau.com/en/index.html