(Last updated: June 23, 2025)
This is the fourth installment in my “Elaine Series”, which reviews 9 Taipa restaurants recommended by born and bred local resident, Elaine. A certified foodie in her early 20’s, she has the Taipa dining scene cased, and it’s my hope that we uncover a few hidden gems together here, that only Macau people know about. Next up? A Hong Kong style cafe on the outskirts of Taipa Village.
Just like Niu Ji on the old peninsula, Hei Lin Cafe is so popular that they have a pair of outlets on the same street. Packed everyday at lunch, I had to wait all five times I went there, never getting to sit in the original restaurant.
Instead I was motioned to walk in the direction of Taipa Village a little, to their second smaller venue, which was wall to wall as well.
Marketed as a “Hong Style Cafe”, you need to be very careful what you order there, and I wouldn’t touch any of their Egg Noodles ($29 to $35), Sandwiches ($22 to $30), or Spaghetti ($39 to $52) with a 10 foot pole. The reason being they don’t know how to do them at all, sabotaging and subverting them in obscene ways to please the local market. For safer options, just stick with any of the Soup ($25), Fried Eggs ($34 to $40), Fried Noodles ($49 to $55), Fried Rice ($44 to $50), and Rice Dishes ($42 to $52), and you should be okay.
Heeding my own advice, I kept it Macanese all the way and struck gold with three selections: Rice with Minced Beef ($50), Baked Spicy African Chicken ($48) and Ox Tongue with Red Wine Sauce ($52).
Better known as minchi, Elaine’s favourite dish at Hei Lin Cafe delivers the goods, even though it was done in a way I’ve never seen before. Regardless, the extra vegetables and pork fit in just fine, the moist beef pairing with the rice so well that it could be illegal.
The Spicy African Chicken came out all baked and gooey, the upper layer a congealed mess of sauce and sorrow. But as we know, the worse that Macanese food looks, the better it tastes, and this was one scrumptious bird, really good value for only $48.
The cow tongue is a personal favourite of mine, something I put down to my Uncle Doug, who can throw anything into a crock pot and proclaim its greatness 8 hours on. When in Rome, you destroy delicious pastas and pizzas, and when in Macau, you come to Hei Lin Cafe and eat cow tongue, it’s as simple as that. For those afraid to take the dip, don’t be! While technically an organ, it doesn’t taste like one at all, much closer in consistency and flavour to a tender piece of steak.
Also available with curry sauce, I believe that red wine is the way to go, and Hei Lin sure doesn’t skimp on the portion size, giving two huge slabs per order.
Beyond these three dishes that were all 4.5 stars, two other ones disappointed. I’m not sure how good their noodles are, since the Pepper Beef Strips ($52) were just serviceable, and not something I’d order again.
Sure they paired the meat nicely with fresh green peppers and onions, but the rather lame noodles weren’t bringing enough body and soul to the party.
The worst dish I had was the Steak Rice for $48, known as 沙丹牛扒饭 in Chinese.
Usually served with an egg on top, the sausage, vegetables and random pieces of pork really had no business being there, like digging into some big grab bag of bush. It’s precisely these sorts of dishes that puts the fear of God into me when visiting Hong Kong style cafes. For whatever reason, they sometimes bring strange and odd together to birth a Frankenstein, for no good purpose that I can see.
From my experience, Hei Lin Cafe’s best food is served with rice and I will gladly return for more of it, with the Curry Chicken ($45), Fish Fillet ($46), Fried Pork Rib with Chili and Garlic ($43), and Curry Fried Fish ($45) next up on the docket. Unlike other restaurants where I have to order two dishes to feel full, Hei Lin takes care of business with just one. Obviously not the place for special occasions, white table cloths and life altering wine pairings, Hei Lin will only appeal to more adventurous tourists not afraid to get freaky with the locals and try new things.
***Update***
Two more dishes that I wouldn’t order again at Hei Lin, this time from a visit in late 2024.
For proper curries in Macau, stick to Indian and Thai restaurants. The Cantonese obviously fancy it as something they can do well, but their conception of curry seems to be limited to just ‘sauce.’ As in, heap a gravy-like sauce on top of something and then it’s curry. In my opinion, the quality of the sauce is the true measure of a curry; it should be rich and complex enough to stand on its own, independent of the meat and vegetables that accompany it. Without that depth and dimension, the dish falls flat. Hei Lin’s sauce seems to have been prepped as an afterthought, given nowhere near the time and attention it needs to be great. The dish would have also been much improved if the chicken was served off the bone.
As for the Fried Pork Rib with Chili and Garlic ($45), the picture probably tells the story itself.
Fried a bit too long and then covered in indiscriminate chunks of garlic, your favourite takeout restaurant somewhere wants their fast food back. If you’re travelling to Macau as a tourist, skip stuff like this completely—don’t bother trying food you would probably never order at home!
Other “Elaine Series” restaurants
-Loja de Sopa Fitas (叠记咖喱面食): 0 stars. No English menu = no use to us, plus noodles nothing special.
-Kam Lei (金利食店): 1 star. Maybe better than Loja de Sopa Fitas, maybe not. English menus, but more ordinary noodles.
–Xiao Sheng Xuan Japanese Ramen: 2.5 stars
–Duckling: 3 stars
–Rest Yangon: 4 stars
–Tuk Tuk Thai Kitchen: 3 stars
–Chiang Rai: 5 stars
