Dongbeiren Restaurant in Macau

After lining up under unbearable summer heat on Rua do Campo for almost an hour, I finally got inside the newly opened Dongbeiren Restaurant in Macau. Although I already went to one of their restaurants in Zhuhai a few months ago, the wonderful experience made me eager to try their new branch in Macau.

This restaurant serves family-style Dongbei, or Manchuria, dishes from the northeastern part of China. Dongbeiren successfully turned traditional family food served at ordinary Chinese homes 40 years ago into a fashionable business. Typical countryside food such as steamed corn bread, soybean bread, traditional dumplings, coarse food grains and fresh vegetables were listed on the menu. The decoration of the restaurant is also very interesting, with tables decorated just like the traditional village beds in the 50's Chinese villages and the walls are cleverly decorated with memorabilia from the cultural revolution period. The waiters and waitresses are also a group of fun-loving people. If you order one of the more expensive dishes, they would all group together and perform a traditional folk song while delivering the food onto your table.

When I told the manager that they have just opened a great restaurant. He told me that he's not satisfied with the quality of service after all 6 local employees had left within 2 days of the restaurant's opening because of heavy workload. It made me wonder why innovations have to come from outside and the locals are so lack of creative ideas or commitment to hard work.