The interior is soothing, pretty and feels a little intimate despite its size (it can seat 100 people). It has simple tables, chairs with clean lines, with paper lamps on one wall and bird cages on the other. The menu holds plenty of Cantonese dishes, a few from China’s Chui Chow region, but what keeps diners flocking is the pigeon. You haven’t tasted Fried Macau Baby Pigeon until you’ve sampled their version. The bird flesh is so crunchy and juicy, you’d suspect they’re not from around here.
Anita talks pigeon: "Macau pigeon is really a misnomer, because the pigeon comes from Chong San, China. The only place you can eat Chong San pigeon is in Macau. This was before China opened its doors. These days, people raise the pigeon in Hong Kong. Land being scarce in Hong Kong, a friend decided to raise the pigeons in Silang, Cavite," she explains.
"Our birds are the real pigeons from Chong San, China. They look like any other pigeon, but the texture is different. The skin is thin and crispy and the meat is juicy. Baby pigeons are 18 days old, while the large pigeons are 25 days old. They are marinated in a secret sauce and then deep fried. Those who love pigeon eat everything – head, beak, wings – except the bones," Anita says.
For those who are a bit squeamish, since the pigeon is served head and all, sitting on a platter, one can order sliced pigeon with ginger and onion, and it’s just as good.
"One day, I caught a diner taking a photograph of the Fried Macau Baby Pigeon before eating it. I asked him why he was doing this and he said that he loves pigeon and he has been all over the world but the best pigeon he has tasted is in the Philippines. Imagine that!" she narrates.
Another time, Anita recalls, three Americans came and ordered 12 Fried Macau Baby Pigeons. They ate four each!
Before Macau Pigeon House, the only place you could go to eat pigeon was at a Chinese lauriat, and it was one pigeon shared among four people.
"In our restaurant, you can order four baby pigeons and eat them in one sitting," she says.
Anita, who’s based in Hong Kong, comes to Manila anywhere from twice a month to once every six weeks. She was in town recently to launch the resto’s new menu with chef Fong, who’s from Chong San, China.
Anita invited The Philippine STAR to sample Macau Pigeon House’s new menu. Of course, the pigeon stays and so will a number of popular dishes like everyone’s favorite merienda item, the dim sum. Choose from hakaw (steamed shrimp dumplings), siomai (dumplings filled with pork and shrimp), cu-chay (dumplings filled with vegetables and cashew) and siopao (steamed buns with pork).
We sampled seven new dishes, some of which are still nameless, but no less tasty.
Here’s what we thought:
First, the soup. What do you do with 30-day old pigeons? They’re too old to lay eggs and too tough to fry, so they’re boiled for four hours and made into broth. Double-boiled Aged Pigeon Soup is one soup we dream our Chinese lolas made. That is, if we had Chinese lolas. The soup has a comforting texture to its subtle broth and it is quite energizing.
If it is available, a must-try is the alimasag (crab) prepared Chiu Chow-style. This crab, which used to swim in the China Sea, comes as big as your face and is served with Chinese vinegar, soy sauce and ginger. Suahe (shrimp) cooked Chiu Chow-style is an excellent alternative, or why not live a little and order both? Shrimps are tender and plump and served with soy sauce, a little cooking oil and chopped spring onions. Crab and shrimps are steamed and cooled in a special secret way so the original juices and flavors stay intact.
We also tried Steamed Salmon with Tausi. Blast-frozen and imported from Canada, the salmon is steamed the proper way, so it’s juicy, tender and melts in your mouth.
What turns out to be everyone’s favorite is the Steamed Squash. This is a whole squash, steamed with its top sliced open. String beans, button mushrooms, tausi and more squash are added into the hollowed out squash and steamed some more. The best part of it is that it’s vegetarian.
Pineapple Sweet and Sour Chicken is exactly that – chicken cooked the sweet and sour way and served in half-a-pineapple.
Sautéed Squid with Chinese Bagoong is served fresh and juicy with just a hint of shrimp paste. It is simple, delicious and does not overwhelm.
The perfect accompaniment for all these was steamed Thai rice.
For dessert, we had black gulaman with coffee syrup served with whipped cream and Chong San Peanut Roll with bits of desiccated coconut. Yummy.
A year after its successful launching, the owners of Macau Pigeon House are looking into opening a second outlet. This will give people another place to coo about.