Chef Lou Chi Seng worked at Macau Government House between 1974 and 1999, preparing meals for the last six Portuguese governors in the territory. And according to the chef, each governor had his own particular eating habits. Today, the 71-year-old chef says he prefers Portuguese to Chinese cuisine, and even runs his own Portuguese restaurant.
In limited, but still understandable Portuguese, which he learned as a child at the Sir Robert Ho Tung Luso-Chinese primary school, Chef Lou explains that he started working as a cook in 1969, out of necessity.
“I started working in kitchens because, in the old days, people in Macau were very poor, there was no money. In a kitchen there was always food to eat,” he says, adding that if he had gone to work in a factory instead, he wouldn’t have been able to eat so easily. In 1974, when he entered the kitchen of the official Governor’s residence, currently the main headquarters of the Executive, he had never cooked any Portuguese cuisine before.
“I learned everything at the palace,” he recalls. “I started to become interested in Portuguese cuisine, and now I prefer Portuguese dishes, because of the strong flavours”.
During his 26 years of service, Chef Lou cooked for Governors José Eduardo Martinho Garcia Leandro, Nuno Tavares de Melo Egídio, Vasco Almeida e Costa, Joaquim Pinto Machado, Carlos Melancia, and Vasco Joaquim Rocha Vieira. None of them were ever interested in eating Chinese cuisine. In fact “they didn’t like Chinese food” which, for the chef, was never a problem: “Portuguese dishes are the ones I like to make the most”.
“Of all six governors, the one I liked the most was Rocha Vieira,” he confesses. And who did he like the least? “I’d prefer not to answer that,” he says, smiling.
Asked about any interesting circumstances or events he witnessed during his time at the residence, the chef prefers to remain discrete.
“There were none….well, there were some, but …” he ends up saying, shaking his head, reluctant to elaborate.
General Garcia Leandro held the post of governor of Macau between 1974 and 1979, and was therefore the first gover- nor Chef Lou served.
“He was very economical, and ate very little. He would eat a piece of grilled fish for lunch and ask me to save the rest for dinner. I then made patties with tomato rice and a little salad. That would be enough for dinner, so it was quite simple,” he recalls.
The second governor during Chef Lou’s tenure was Tava- res de Melo Egídio, who occupied the Governor’s Palace for two years, between 1979 and 1981. He was the one who gave the chef the least amount of work: “I liked working for him because he always dined out”.
According to the chef, Tavares de Melo Egídio’s regular absences meant that in a month he would only work the equivalent of around ten days. The few times the governor did have dinner at the palace, he liked chick- en rice, “as if it were duck rice, but with chicken.”
The third governor he cooked for, Vasco Almeida e Costa “was always angry” and was also the one with the most appetite. “Ah, he ate a lot,” Chef Lou exclaims, “He was very fond of fried pigeons”. According to the chef, on one occasion he ate seven fried pigeons in one sitting. And his dinner parties were always big affairs: “He al- ways brought a lot of people, secretaries, chief of staff, etc.”
Recalling the other governors, Lou Chi Seng only remembers that Pinto Machado did not eat garlic, and Carlos Melancia did not eat anything with pepper. Rocha Vieira, the final Portuguese governor in Macau and the chef’s favourite, had a preference for seafood, crab, cod and spare ribs.
“He was very nice,” Chef Lou insists. “I’m still his friend; when he comes to Macau, he always takes a picture with me,” he says, proudly showing a picture taken with the former governor on his visit in 2018.
“Whenever he comes here, he comes to talk to me. And whenever I go to Portugal (I’ve already visited the country 10 times), I go to visit him. We became real friends. We spent a lot of time alone in the palace, so we spent a lot of time together”.
"I started working in kitchens because, in the old days, people in Macau were very poor, there was no money. In a kitchen there was always food to eat."
Lou Chi Seng is now the chef and owner of The Junk of 9 Jades (O junco de 9 Jades), a restaurant that he opened on Pedro Nolasco da Silva street about three years ago. Here he maintains his con- nection with Portuguese food that he developed cooking for the six governors.
“In this restaurant I welcome many people from the Portuguese community, but also peo- ple from all over the world, who like Portuguese dishes a lot,” says the chef. Shrimp and crab shell, duck rice and cod dishes are some of the most popular delicacies on the menu.
Proud of a career that started almost half a century ago, the 71-year old chef is considering retiring in the next couple of years.
“Maybe I won’t stay here in Macau. My family is in America, but I would like to move to Portugal as, after all those years in the Palace, I got to know and really like the Portuguese,” he concludes.
九魚舫
O Junco de 9 Jades
3F號白馬行37號
No.37 Rua de Pedro Nolasco da Silva, 3A, B & C, Macau
Tel : (853) 28250194