Sensation Macao

 

  "To touch - Macao's inner world
    To see - Macao's present and future
      To hear - Macao's silence and noises
        To taste - Macao's traditional and fashionable flavors
          To smell - Macao's cross-cultural fragrance"

                                                                              

                                                                              

 

    

Legend of Barbecue Pork

By Victoria, Ieong Weng Ian

 

It is 12:30 Monday; people start to queue up in front of the most famous barbecue pork shop in Macau - Fun Kei Food Store. Why are people willing to stand in line and wait for more than 15 minutes to get a piece of barbecue pork during their limited lunch time? The store is no more than 600-square feet with the simplest decoration, and for take-away only.
From the 1960s, Seng Mak and his father started the business of Fun Kei Food Store in the centre of Macau; due to the famous quality and reasonable price of the barbecue pork, the Maks have successfully created a distinctive landmark of the Cantonese cuisine in the local culture for more than 50 years. According to Mak, he did not receive a normal education; instead he started to learn the barbecue pork cooking skill from his father when he was around 16 years old. "When I was young, I was the only breadwinner in my family; I had to learn a skill in order to support my family."
Mak said that in his hometown in Guangdong, many people served the barbecue pork as a centrepiece or a main dish in the traditional family dining establishment. "Traditionally, people only bought the barbecue pork during the Chinese Lunar Year; nowadays, most of the people buy the barbecue pork (or other barbecue products) for their happy moment, too. Therefore, I would like to provide them with the best barbecue for serving all my guests."
Mak also claimed that his own business did encounter challenges and obstacles, such as in the periods of swine flu and bird flu which made Mak's business drop by almost 10% a month. "Every business has its own risk and I am sure a slow season would never last forever, and now my business still runs very smoothly," said Mak energetically.
Becky Mak, the only child of Mak, who is a fresh graduate of University of Macau (UM), never thinks about inheriting her father's business. "I don't know how to grill or roast the pork, some people have ever asked whether I am going to take over my dad's family business, my answer is definitely 'No'. I never look down upon it, but I understand that my ability will enable me to sustain my family in other ways in the future," said Becky with a warm smile.

Due to some commercial reasons, Mak refused to provide the recipe of his famous barbecue pork. If you would like to try to make your own barbecue pork, the recipe we found on the Internet would be very useful.