Macau was once a colony of Portugal, though the return has been 20 years, but the Portuguese cuisine retained. In Macau you can eat more authentic Portuguese cuisine, while Kwan Kee dining room is an inexpensive renowned Portuguese restaurant in Macau. It's a long history in Macao, the Macao Chinese boss, but burned very authentic Portuguese dishes, plus the restaurant is open in the vicinity of the famous Ruins of St. Paul area, so the restaurant business is hot every day, diners flock.

What is the concept of a century?

One hundred years is a long time?

In the 500-year history of the opening of Macau, a restaurant has occupied a seat in the 100-year history. The Chinese learn to cook homesick food for the Portuguese. Today, people from all over the world come here to eat Portuguese national cuisine. For a long time since a century, many people still capture the "fancy heart" of many people.

It is the Kunji dining room.

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Start with "Big Food"

Mr. Lin Lin is the third-generation heir to Kun Ji. He and his brother run the dining room that Grandpa created in 1918. Their grandfather worked as a chef in a Portuguese battleship during the period of Australia and Portugal. Later, he used the Portuguese name of the battleship at that time, "Vencedora", to become a self-supporting portal.

"『 Vencedora 』means the goddess of victory. After opening the dining room, many sailors of the Portuguese battleship came to patronize, so there was no Chinese name at first.

Perhaps some people, like the author, thought that the name "Kun Ji" was because the founder's name was also called "Kun". The facts are explained by Mr. Lin.

"A relatively knowledgeable person named" Kun Ji "for the dining room at that time, because the Chinese often said" Qian Kun ", it was male, and Kun had the meaning of female, so it corresponds to the Portuguese name" Vencedora "."

Mr. Lin said that at that time, the guests were young sailors who needed much energy. They had to eat enough to "fill the belly", and the sailors missed their hometown dishes. Therefore, Kunji made "large enough to eat enough." Portuguese national dishes, such as tripe bean braised triangle beans, potato ribs braised ribs or chicken braised.

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Later, some Macao Portuguese, Chinese-Portuguese hybrids, native Portuguese, Indian soldiers and African soldiers from the reserve forces all came to visit Kunji, but there were fewer Chinese guests. Mr. Lin explained that at that time, the Chinese people had a hard life and had little spare money. They usually eat at home, which is very different from the current environment.

As times have changed, some Chinese civil servants have also come to dinner, sometimes with their children, and more and more Chinese have come to know this Portuguese cuisine that was opened by the Chinese.

Father inheritance

Standing for a hundred years at the end of the puddle, Kun Kee witnessed the change of the end of the puddle. Mr. Lin said that the Kunji dining room had been relocated, but it was only the location of several stores on the same street.

"The puddle tail used to be the central area of Macau and the gathering place of Huayang, just like Wanchai in Hong Kong. Tricycle tribes, tailors, doctors, shoe polishers, and even coffin sellers all spoke Portuguese. It ’s a survival tool. At that time, the end of the puddle was very prosperous, and all the flowers were blooming. Next to us was the Broadway Theater. "

Mr. Lin Lin, 60, has taken over the Kunji dining room for 40 years. He said that when he was a child, he had to go back to school to help, because his parents did not have so much time to hang out with them at that time, nor did they have so many things to do like children today. But frankly, he also complained when he was young and frivolous, why he couldn't go out to play.

Mr. Lin repeatedly said that he had a low level of education and had not received Portuguese education, but he saw that he could speak fluent Portuguese and English and communicate easily with guests. He said that this is a tool for making a living. "After reading the book, Macau society is not too prosperous. Macao people do not have many outlets, or they sneak into Hong Kong to work, or work as a civil servant in Macau, work in entertainment companies, or inherit their father's career." It can be seen that he chose The last one.

At 2:30 in the afternoon, after the peak lunch time, we went into the Kunji dining room and saw that many guests still came in and out. We sat down and chatted with Mr. Lin. He could "look at seven at a glance" while answering our questions, while observing the needs of the guests, and "targeting". The guests who just came in were Japanese and said confidently [kon ni chi wa] (Japanese "Hello") makes us admire very much.

"People of every nationality have different movements. From the movements, you can tell which country the guest is from. For example, the Japanese will nod when speaking, but the Koreans will not; the Portuguese will move their hands when speaking Unlike the native Portuguese, even Portuguese who have been in Macao for a long time can be distinguished from Portuguese who have just come from Portugal. "

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Guests = friends

Mr. Lin treats guests like friends and likes to talk, so he has accumulated many friendships. On the day of the visit, there were also many Portuguese guests in the dining room, some young and some older.

One of the Portuguese guests took the initiative to chat with us. He was over seventy years old. When he came to Macao with the army, he later became a marine police and took root in Macao. He has been in Macao for 54 years and has been patronizing Kun Ji for 54 years. Both his brothers and Mr. Lin are good friends. After I retired, I went to Kunji almost every day. My relationship with Kunji was very good. I also bought things for the staff from time to time.

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Mr. Lin said: "Some guests come to dinner sooner or later, but they actually have a family; a few guests are more interesting. After drinking tea with his grandson, he always comes to Kunji to sit down, have a cup of coffee and chat. , Just like Clubs in foreign countries. "

We also chat with another native Portuguese who insists that he is "Chinese". He has immigrated to the United States, but he must come to Kun Ke every time he returns to Australia, because he feels that "these people" and "this kind of people cannot be found anywhere else. taste". Although he is older, he still loves to eat Kung Kee Gillette. He expressed great pleasure for the 100th anniversary of Kunji and strongly suggested that Lin Sheng should have a big banquet to celebrate!

Mr. Lin said: "I have met some Portuguese pilots and told me when I returned home that I could bring any souvenirs I like. At that time, I just laughed and wanted to eat Portuguese egg tarts. Then he really returned to Australia from Portugal. At the time, I took a dozen Portuguese tarts to me by plane! "

Cooking food may not be the apparent "cooking food" and "collecting money". In his career, Mr. Lin has learned many things in life and also experienced many interesting things.

"Some Portuguese who came to Macau for a long time brought me their home-made cheese when they left Macau. At that time, it was a cake-sized cheese. It was too thick for me, but for friendship, it was there anyway. He took a bite in front of him and said it was delicious. "

Mr. Lin Jiajun, the first Chinese bishop of the Macao Diocese, often came to dinner when he was born. Mr. Lin said that Bishop Lin only came to dinner at three or four in the afternoon, because there were often members of the church at that time, which made the bishop feel embarrassed, so he would eat late to avoid this situation.

Also, the Portuguese guests who came to Macao with the troops in the past because they did n’t make much money, they did n’t pay every time they ate their meals, they would "credit" and settle after one month. However, because they had to return to Portugal at any time, some guests owed Kun Ji some of the money.

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The reputation of Kunji's old shop is not derived from media reports, but from person to person, ten and ten. But with the popularity of the Internet, foreign tourists also come here.

Today, the guests in the Kunji dining room can be described as very diverse. Mr. Lin said that he has hosted Japanese, Korean, even German and Italian, and some tourists have come to Macau for six days and have eaten four times in Kunji. Mr. Lin is very pleased with this and very grateful for his appreciation.

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Of course, there are also inland guests who have come to Macau in free travel in recent years. Mr. Lin said that the quality of mainland guests is high or low. With the good economic conditions in China, the level of many mainland guests is also very high, not just the negative news that they see on weekdays.

"I met a guest from Henan. She is fluent in English and has an American accent; while some Chinese speaking Portuguese, they thought she was a Portuguese!"

Kun Ji is often full. What happens if you meet a guest who has not sat for a long time? Mr. Lin said that in the past two decades there have been many such guests. "People used to drink too much, no matter whether it was lunch or dinner, they didn't have as many programs as they are now, so they would stay longer in the dining room." Lin Sheng also said that before, there were often customers who were drunk in the store, some trouble, some She slept backwards in the shop until early morning, but Kun Ji allowed the guests to do so, and gradually established a trust with the guests.

Ever operated without a license?

Mr. Lin revealed that the Kunji dining room has been in business for more than 100 years, but only registered a business license in 1918, but had been operating without a license for at least ten years before this year. Lin Sheng said that this "open secret" is known to many Portuguese.

During the "One Two Three Incident" in 1966, Kun Ji was closed for about a week. At that time, the whole of Australia responded to the ban on the sale of things to the Portuguese. At that time, Kun Ji's guests were mainly Portuguese.

However, Mr. Lin said with a smile: "I was a student and didn't know how to worry about martial law. I only knew that I didn't have to go to school, I couldn't go out to buy things on the street, and I couldn't wander on the street, because the demonstrators who were on the street at that time would be controlled by the police." "In any case, this family business has survived a difficult period."

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What kind of difficulties has Kunji experienced since he has been in business for 100 years? "From 1973 to 1979, it was difficult for Macao to hire employees. After the" 1, 2, 3 incident ", Macau began to prosper and Lisboa also opened, but the actual population was very small at that time, only more than 200,000, although there were Many illegal immigrants from Mainland China come to Macau and they can be hired at that time, but their goal is not to settle in Macau, but to smuggle to Hong Kong. Plus local Macao people leave to find work elsewhere, so that time It is very difficult to invite people. "

Today, another problem has emerged, that is, there are no locals.

"Taste", "future"?

When it comes to inheritance, Mr. Lin Lin has no children, and his brother ’s children do not plan to continue the catering business. Whether Kunji can be passed on has become a question. "It ’s very hard to cook, and future generations do n’t like to do it, and they will not continue to do it. It is a matter of interest, so the quality of life is not good. At that time, I had no other work to do, and I made money in the dining room before I continued to do it. , But the environment is different now. "

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For Mr. Lin, what is there to be proud of in my life? "I can make a living, earn money to buy what I like, without worrying about the economic conditions, and I can be appreciated by many customers. Looking back and eating our food is already very satisfying."

"Well, half a glass of wine!"

Is it common sense to eat Portuguese national food and drink red wine? But a special service is provided in the Kunji dining room, which is to provide guests with "half glasses" of red wine. "People used to think that drinking helps digestion. Sometimes guests want half a glass of wine, so we cooperate with them."

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Mr. Lin laughed and said that many restaurants do not sell as much wine as Kun Ji. For example, a Portuguese priest used to call half a glass of red wine every time he came to Kun Ji, but he called many half glasses every time, so he sold the wine. There are also many.

Improve dishes to cater to public taste

Mr. Lin said that the previous dishes tasted salty, but now because many people pay more attention to health, the dishes have also been improved to reduce the saltiness and make appropriate changes to meet the needs of the public.

We asked Mr. Lin to introduce a signature dish, but he explained carefully that people in different places like different dishes.

"If you are a Macao, you will definitely eat Portuguese chicken and Ma Jiexiu balls; if you are Portuguese, you will eat Ma Jiexiu with triangle beans. This dish is equivalent to Cantonese people eating plum steamed pork patties, which everyone will eat; if they are native Portuguese , I introduce to eat dry and free beef rice, especially because it is made of pure beef; if you are a Japanese customer, you will like oxtail, squid, sardines; if you are from Malaysia, Singapore or mainland China, generally do not like to eat Cattle, they will eat pork tenderloin, Ma Jiexiuqiu, and pig hand red beans, which are more in line with local eating habits. "It can be seen that Lin Sheng cares not only what dishes are sold, but more important is to know what dishes guests like.

However, Mr. Lin seems to have the most confidence in Kun Ji's dish "Ma Jiexiu with Beans". "Most of the other restaurants are Ma Jiexiu served with potatoes or noodles, but we are making Ma Jiexiu with triangular beans. This dish is rarely eaten in places."

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After cooking for so many years, does Lin Sheng still like to eat it? "I will also eat, sometimes I will go to someone else's shop to eat Portuguese national food, even when I go to Portuguese, I will also eat Portuguese national food."

In recent years, Macau has also opened many Portuguese restaurants. Will there be much competition for this century-old restaurant? Lin Sheng replied without hesitation: "Each one has its own way. This is not a problem at all." Lin Sheng defines Kun Ji as a mid-priced restaurant, which is not expensive. In fact, the most important thing is not just good taste, but human touch.

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Storyteller

I do n’t know if any readers, like the author, have never eaten his Portuguese cuisine before knowing Mr. Kun Jilin. In the face of this century-old shop, it is really a bit overwhelming. In fact, some people may not necessarily understand the fame of Kun Ji's century-old shop, but I believe that a restaurant that can maintain so many years, in addition to maintaining the food standard, can retain the stomach of the residents, it must be the love of the dining room, That memory. Faced with the dilemma of "want to pass on without anyone else" in the future, Mr. Lin can "think open" like this, and whether we should also think seriously, a few years later, when the younger generation resists to engage in a certain industry, these old shops How can it continue?