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2008-11-27
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I don't want to sound all whining and complaining and all...but as scandalous as this may seem (the crying face), I have tried my best to conjure up something meaningful with the least mean finger-pointing blames. That said, 誠昌 does have what it takes to be one of the best eateries of its kind in Macau, instead, with burgeoning publicity in the press and on TV in the past year, 誠昌 has become an icon, where many foodie plan their pilgrimage to eat here. But the food served here has taken a wrong
As Macau's pioneering eatery that's famous for its Crab congee and Fried dace balls, there are now so many upcoming places that sell the same things. It's only a matter of time before these two took over the Portugese custard tarts to claim the staple of Macau. TV hosts have visited here, and so did magazine reporters from all over Asia. The articles and compliments pile up high. The smart move will be to retain the same quality over what was served and what is served. Instead, the owners must've fallen into the glamour of stars in the ratings and how many thumbs-up have been given to them. We arrived at the packed restaurant at 6 pm. The earliest table we could get was 7 pm. Just perfect, we arrived there as the waiting crowd parted like the Red Sea as they heard we reserved a table. There was no glamour, it's just something reasonable to do on a Saturday night. Then the waiter arrived with notepad in hand, we asked for recommendations, as he started ticking off dishes and writing them in the pad, not asking. He's writing down what it appeared to be a mountain of food for 4 people. Then we asked for the eel, only to realize that half an eel will cost about $250. We've had the eel before -- gigantic rounds of eel steaks with plenty of black bean and garlic mash smothered all over and steamed until cooked through. The fish was so thick in size that by the time it cooked through the outside has turned mushy. Not exactly the best way to cook it, and at times we were overcharged for its weight.
We ordered a crab congee (Large, $125), Deep-Fried Dace Balls, Braised E-Fu Noodles ($28), and Boiled Pork Offals ($48), another signature of this place. The crab congee arrived first. The pot must have shrunk a few sizes like our wallets for the past few months. At the peak of crab season there was hardly any coral in the congee, let alone visible in the naked eye. A faint yellow spread across the congee that contradicted against green onions and the white smooth congee. The congee based was good enough, but the crab was nowhere to hold the candle as the last one we had here. The crab tasted like crab and congee tasted nothing of the crab. Disappointingly enough the crab wasn't the same kind of crab we had either.
Fried dace balls were dainty to begin with -- Delicate golden brown fishballs with clam-sauce as a dip. No rice-crispies or vermicelli as crusts, the fishballs were barely hot enough to be considered fried to order. Without dried tangerine peel in the mix, these fishballs tasted rather bland with no depth in the flavour. I wondered if the only thing remotely fishy in these came only in the name?! With two specialties sloppily served with such ease from the kitchen. we were still hopeful to have a brow-up moment. The braised noodles were forgettable, when a messy pile of noodles mixed with enoki mushrooms and a bland soy sauce then tossed on the plate. It tasted like carbohydrates warmed up in the microwave, or those packaged dinners in plastic trays, whichever is more appetizing.
Then our brow-up moment arrived. Boiled pork offals (heart, intestine, liver and kidney) were steamy hot on a bed of lettuce. I took a bite into a seemingly perfect liver. I couldn't believe my eyes before I chewed up...I present this to you to judge here, in this picture -- half a piece of bloody (very rare, still bloody) liver. I was still in shock with my chopsticks in mid-air while we signaled the waiter to come over. I held up the messy pile with the offending bloody offal. He looked at it, pondered for a second and looked back at me. It seemed like he's daring us to say the words (to return them). He did NOT apologize, did NOT say anything. Offensive may it be, I did a shroving motion with the plate in hand and looked at him straight in the eye...no words needed, he and the plate of offending meats disappeared into the kitchen.
5 minutes later the same plate of offals reappeared on the same plate (chipped on the side). The offending half-bitten liver was removed, and the plate was set before us with a bang, like they aimed and tossed onto our table. The waiter smirked at his perfect aim and walked away. The re-cooked offals are no longer bloody, but this time they are BLOODY OVERCOOKED. Tough like cardboard and tasted of nothing remotely meaty, we decided its fate on our wish list...it's off, the list I mean. The staff had no problem producing the check, but as we left the place pissed off with a recurring tune in my head ringing..."I don't get no...satisfaction", I realized the waiting crowd has increased in size with folks holding guidebooks in their hands longing to get a seat into this overrated establishment. The length that some of them were willing to go through (e.g. waiting for 2 hours for a table with no guarantee that some dishes will be sold out) beggars all rationality. What attracted them perhaps was the idea of eating in venues that got plenty of publicity as the food came secondary to the glamour within it all. I realized that no matter how awful the food were served in a place like 誠昌, there will always be a fanbase who want to visit there, just for the sake of it.
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