Hon Kei Handmade Coffee in Coloane

14:50

As a coffee lover, I'm always searching for (highly-rare) good coffee in Macau. Sadly, there is only a handful of acceptable coffee here. In this post, I would like to bring you to one of the hidden coffee place in Coloane- Hon Kei Handmade Coffee 汉记咖啡.

Since there isn't many seats available, it can get pretty crowded. Often, you will need to share the table with other patrons.

HOW TO GET HERE

When I say hidden, I really mean it. First of all, it is far away from the busy Macau island or Taipa. It's not on a main road and there is practically no other shops nearby. Unless you are taking a taxi or Uber here, you will need to walk for a bit. For public buses, you may take 26, 26A, 50 and 15. Get off at Coloane Village or 路環市区 and walk about 15mins to reach here.

You will need to walk pass a (not in used) ferry terminal named Ponte Cais De Coloane and climb up a 'hill' before reaching. As the road leading to the shop is very steep, be prepared to sweat a bit and work some muscles. There is also some dodgy-looking broken house (I think?) and may bump into some stray dogs.

THE SHOP ITSELF

I really like the Chinese handwriting here

TASTE VERDICT

Personally I find it very different from normal coffee you get in Macau, it is rather thick/rich. There is a think layer of coffee-like cream (I think it is as a result of the stirring action when preparing the coffee) that is floating on top of the coffee. As the cream is all you drink when sipping it, I felt that the actual taste of coffee had been covered. Overall, the coffee tasted a bit weird for me.

Sipping the super thick with a cream top coat Hon Kei Handmade coffee

Well after walking much to get here, you will need to eat something. So we ordered this very standard luncheon meat bee hun thinking that nothing could go wrong. But... I think you can tell by just looking at the picture below, so plain and not appetizing at all.

MOP 19- "Cold hand beaten sweet coffee"

MOP22- Pork Chop Bun

MOP 20- Rice noodles with luncheon meat

MOP 32- Instant noodles with chicken chop + cheese

SERVICE

As you can see, it's an old old shop. Just like many other coffee shops in Macau/HK, don't expect any good services. Hon Kei is always packed and that also means the staff are always busy. You will have to wait for like 10mins for them to get to your table to take order. Another thing is, you might try to approach them to do the order instead.

Takeaway version

REVIEW SUMMARY

If you haven't been here before, definitely come and try it at least for once as it is one of the most popular 'old' coffee place in Macau. For me, I've tasted better and cheaper coffee when in Malaysia so this doesn't really impress me much. But given the quality of coffee in Macau, I think Hon Kei does a pretty good job already.

Also, whenever I come to Coloane it gives me a different kinda feeling. After climbing the 'hills' and being rewarded with a cup of iced coffee, especially when it's summer and you're sweating all over, I think the experience is really something.

Here are some fun shooting: