芬記燒臘 Fan Kei Roast Shop (Macau) - Elusive Charsiu Pork was Totally Worth the Wait

 I won’t claim to be the first discoverer of this Roasting Shop that is revered by many locals as the ultimate best of the best in Macau,  especially for their Char Siu Pork.  One of the major obstacles is that this shop closes by around 12:30pm max already and usually when I come to Macau my schedule is fully packed for the day to really explore too much, or must remain within a Hotel complex due to Invitation events.   Particularly around this peak hour time when I just can’t walk away.   Despite having travelled past this shop’s location at least 50 times before it folds its gate and never leaving a trace as a signage,  I never even knew it was so close and right next to another great noodles shop Luen Kee I have also eaten at.  You can see how elusive it is when it barely opens for a few hours a day..

 

 

This Queue doesn’t look too long by 11:20am at first sight,  I was like the 7th Person only -
But everyone of these people are ordering 5 to 10 Roast Lunch Boxes for their colleagues,   and then equally the endless Phone Calls from regulars also ordered many Take-Aways for their friends.  I saw at least more than 1 transaction which was over MOP 1,000 just for Lunch Boxes alone.  So you can imagine that being the 7th person in line is just equal to being the 50th in line.

 

 

Finally My Char Siu Rice – MOP $41
After 1 hours wait with my heavy laptop and other things dragging me down with a sore back,  and you might think it’s just a Line after all.  But let me assure you no one in the queue were even ascertain if we will ever get our lunches.  I and others in the line had an interesting conversation,   having been waiting patiently inline for at least 1 hour despite only 7 people’s short of reaching the counter,  only to see so much of the Pork Knuckles,  Char Siu,  or Soy Sauce Poached Chicken being loaded off before our eyes by the Kgs.  This was being ordered by both people in front of us in the line,  or more of those who pre-ordered with the phone in advance.   No one could guarantee we will ever get our shares.  Not a great feeling at all until that last minute of relief.  I am sure someone at the end of the queue didn’t quite make it.

 

My Char Siu Pork finally – MOP 41
The lady charging me said if I gave her HKD 500 instead of Macau MOP 500,  I will be losing out on currency change if she gave me back Macau MOP Currency as change.  (It’s only going to be a few dollars difference). In the end she decided to charge me only MOP 40 equivalent with a $1 dollar discount as a gesture. This was so thoughtful & moving to me.  I can’t imagine this still even exists in this world!  Funny thing is that this same Money Lady was micro-arguing with the Hard-at-Work Chef Guy who might just be her husband,  who was so careful to cut away all the End Charred bits in every piece of his Char Siu pork to make sure everyone gets only the best cuts of the meat.  And he also kept apologising to customers endlessly that his pork supplier today gave him leaner cuts of pork than as usual…   To me this was good enough already to warrant a ~ 9.5/10 

 

 

芬記燒臘 -
The Char Shiu Pork from here is so meticulously amazing.  It took a lot of effort to butcher down every piece of Chicken, Knuckle and Pork meat during peak hour single-handedly whilst he was also watching out for the Roasting procedure at the back.  My Char Siu in the end had the right Macau only Smokiness, the balanced Texture, is Slightly Charred outside, Half Fatty, even the Marinade is like a Master stock very sophisticated and carrying Multiple Spices.   For $41, it beats almost all of the sophisticated $225-295 versions out there for me.   The Cashier Lady and the Chef’s insistence on only giving out the best parts and not ever over-charging you,  it is all part of humanity to me.   After finishing my meal,  I waited for the right moment to walk up to the Chef and said  “The Char Siu Pork was superbly excellent in every aspect and very satisfying..  Thank you Chef!  ”.   I had no need to say that to him but I wholeheartedly really appreciated their approach.  He greeted me back and said “Thanks so much and glad you enjoyed it!”    I really wanted him to feel someone does care and hopefully can keep them motivated everyday despite being overly busy!

 

 

 

Price:  MOP or HKD $41
Food:   ♕♕♕♕♕ to ♕♕♕♕♕ 1/2

Address:  新馬路新埗頭街
Ph:  2892 1539
Opening Hours: Around 10:30am to 12:30pm