Pang Kei 彭記
Neighborhood Tastes
Becky, Lam Iok Wa
Having a cup of coffee or a delicious meal in a high-class and stylish restaurant would be a nice thing to do, but eating in an open area would be another unique experience.
The vanishing of the old times favor seems to be the side-effect of the rapid urbanization. Dai Pai Dong, a roadside food stall in Asian countries, keeps decreasing in number in Macao. The Municipal Council of Macao has forced most of the roadside food stalls to move indoor to have a better sense of urban aesthesis since the early 1990s.
Pang Kei, situated on Rua do Parde Joao Climaco (桃花崗) next to the Mercado Vermelho (Red Market), is one of the few remaining outdoor food stalls in Macao. Without splendid decorations, air-conditioners and even a piece of comfortable dining furniture, Wong and his staff serve their “neighbors” nearby day after day.
Wong, 60, is the current owner of Pang Kei. He takes over the business from his retired father. He has started his life at Pang Kei since he was 16.
“My father has started this stall since the 1950s,” recalled Wong. “I did not go to school. I stayed here to learn how to help my father serve the customers.”
The early establishment in the 1950s has earned Pang Kei a long-standing reputation in the neighborhood. Most of its customers are the residents nearby, but several tourists from Hong Kong or the mainland China may sometimes go there.
Pang Kei is in a simple and casual style. Stir-fried noodles and pork chop bun are the only dishes. An awning, an open kitchen, several sets of stools and small tables are all the arrangements there.
The casualness can also be found in starting the conversation there. Cooking in the open kitchen allows Wong to stay closer with his customers. He usually comes out of the kitchen and sits next to them in his spare time.
“It is natural to chat with the person who is sitting at the table next to you,” said Mew, a frequent customer and a friend of Wong who has been coming to Pang Kei for almost six years. “And this is how you make new friends.”
“The milk tea and coffee prepared by the Chinese traditional cooker are what attracts me to come here. The milk tea has a rich and smooth taste. I cannot find this kind of milk tea elsewhere,” Mew commented.
Wherever the customers come from, they are all welcome and treated as one of Wong’s friends. The Cantonese old saying “First time we are strangers; the second time we become friends” can best describe this atmosphere. Calling others’ full name would not be their habit. They indeed just prefer nicknames.
“Social etiquette is not necessary here. We talk about everything,” expressed Lu, an old staff of Pang Kei, “Social issues, gossips and even trivial stuff in our daily life.”
“Some of my customers have been coming for tea or breakfast since my dad’s time, and now they bring their kids to hang around,” said Wong. “Sitting on the stools recalls both their memories and my memories of working with my dad in the past. That’s why I am not going to make any changes to the dining furniture.”
The opening hours of Pang Kei used to be between 6 am and 5 pm. The workers of the nearby firecracker factories would come for breakfast and lunch.
“Now we have a lunch break between 11 am and 2:30 pm as we do not have enough staff,” Wong explained. “People tend to apply for jobs in casinos which offer them a better salary.”
Wong also remarked that his son would not take over his business. It is his friendship with the neighbors that motivates him to keep going. “Though it’s tough working here and it’s not easy to run a business at such a high inflation rate, I enjoy staying with my staff and customers. Friends returned from foreign countries will still come for my pork chop bun too.”