Press
How long have you been a chef?
On and off for about 10 years, and full on for the last 10 years. So 20 years.
Why did you become a chef?
I enjoy cooking food for people, and seeing them enjoy that food.
Food is very much related to the way I was brought up, I was always around food. Gastronomy is cultural, if I was not working as a chef I would be 'chefing' anyway - I just love cooking. I'm cooking everyday with my team - I simply love cooking. I can finish work and go home and cook again, as well as on my day off I will also cook.
Favourite ingredient?
Balichão (fermented shrimp paste), chilli sauce, tamarind, Gula Melaka (coconut sugar), aged soy sauce, and Flor de Sal. I could not choose one, these are always with me.
Favourite or signature dish?
It is a very difficult question. But from what I'm cooking now it's Signature Crispy Coconut Duck, Sour Pork Curry and Debal Chicken.
Favourite kitchen tool or equipment (apart from sharp knives)?
It has to be the wok.
Food hero(es)?
Kei’s list extended to a page and a half, so we’ve had to edit it down. He explains that his cuisine is so diverse that there have been numerous influences.
Family
My parents and brothers have amazing cooking skills. My Chinese mother in law - she is my southern Chinese cooking teacher, second to none.
Singapore and Malaysia
From Singapore, Eurasian Chef Quentin Pereira. From Malaysia, the late Noel Felix trained me on Melaka Portuguese cuisine. From the same cuisine, I still meet Sara Federica every year to share her three generations of family, handwritten recipes.
Macau
From Macau itself I have to mention Chef Florita Alves. She has amazing knowledge of Macanese and Portuguese cuisine and displays this at her restaurant in Taipa Macau. I’ve also been inspired by Chef Antonieta Manhão.
Goa, China and Thailand
I learned a lot about Goan cuisine from London based Chef Savio Azaredo. On Chinese food Chef Yu Bo has such a deep knowledge of Sichuan cuisine, and Chef Pam Soontornyanakij is an expert on Chinese Thai cuisine, as is Iron Chef winner Chef Gig Kamol.
UK
Finally, from the UK I have to cite Andrew Wong, holder of 2 Michelin stars at his restaurant A Wong, and Marco Pierre White, who needs no introduction.
Any food you can’t/won’t eat
Plain & tasteless food would be my nightmare.
Comfort food/guilty secret?
Nasi Lemak (fragrant rice cooked with coconut milk and pandan leaf), Bak-Kut-Teh (pork rib cooked in broth), leitão assado (Portuguese suckling pig), Chinese suckling pork. Desserts: abade de priscos (a rich Portuguese version of creme caramel) and burnt cheesecake.
If I’m going out to eat, and I can’t get a table at your place, where should I go?
You can go to The Palmerston. They use great ingredients and they have lot of space, so you maybe lucky enough to get a table.
Stupidest customer or kitchen experience?
There are good and bad experiences in this industry, but for the most part we have good ones - maybe 95% good!
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Daily Record
14 May, 2024 BY ALEXANDER SMAIL
Claiming the title of the UK's "only Macanese restaurant", Macau Kitchen should be at the top of your list if it is something fresh and bold you are after. This tiny haven is a true hidden gem, and it likely won't stay that way for much longer.
Beloved by regulars for its fusion of Portuguese, Goan, Malaysian and South China cuisines, Macau Kitchen is one of the most unique dining experiences you are likely to find across Scotland and beyond. The cosy atmosphere completes the experience, and there is no doubt you will leave with a smile on your face.
Click LINK for full article
Good News Macau
January 20, 2024 BY GILBERT HUMPHREY
Macau Kitchen, a Macanese cuisine-serving restaurant in Edinburgh, Scotland has recently won the “Asian Fusion Restaurant of the Year” award from the “4th Scottish Asian Food Awards 2023”, which was held in Glasgow on 8 January. “We can’t believe we won,” Macau Kitchen’s owner and head chef Kei de Freitas told Good News Macau.
“It was another excellent event and we’re proud to be able to shine a spotlight on the trailblazers who enrich our culinary experience every day,” said a Scottish Asian Food Awards spokesperson, as reported by Yahoo! News.
Meanwhile, Freitas told Good News Macau that the Macau Kitchen had also been shortlisted for the “Best Restaurant in Scotland” category of the Golden Chopsticks Awards 2024, one of the biggest Asian restaurant awards in the United Kingdom. The award ceremony is scheduled to take place on 29 April.
Click Link >>HERE
Caption: Macau Kitchen owners, Kei de Freitas (second from left) and his wife Hoeyyn Ngu, are seen here posing for a group photo with two of their staff members after winning their award at the 4th Scottish Asian Food Awards 2023 in Glasgow on 8 January.
THE MACAO NEWS
20 SEP 2023 BY GILBERT HUMPHREY
Mozambique-born Portuguese chef Kei de Freitas has done a great deal to expand awareness of Macanese cuisine in his adopted home of Scotland....
De Freitas, who also has Goan and Kristang heritage, and his wife were back in town last week, doing further research on the Macanese cuisine scene and enjoying meals at the city’s Macanese restaurants.... In between appointments, the 50-year-old de Freitas found time to talk to Macao News about his culinary journey.
- How did you feel about your latest award from Food Awards Scotland?
- So where is Macanese cuisine now in terms of people’s awareness?
- What do you think should be done to further promote Macanese cuisine?
- What are your most favourite Macanese restaurants in Macao?
- What is the one Macanese dish that you like to eat the most?
- What’s next for Macau Kitchen?
PONTO FINAL
“The AA guide inspectors are adamant: "Macau Kitchen is a unique dining experience in the heart of Edinburgh". "This restaurant focuses on the 500-year-old gastronomic heritage of Macanese and Malacca Eurasian cuisine, following the route of Portuguese spices in Asia. The menu includes favourites from Macanese and Malacca Eurasian cuisine, and they also have a menu that changes daily with a creative menu from the chef based on the principles of cooking style and his personal journey in Macau and Malacca," they add.
" Ponto Final
Bite Magazine
1 MArch 2023, by Di spencer
“It’s probably a little early in the year to pick my best meal of 2023, but I have a feeling that Macau Kitchen will be a definite contender. "
(D. Spencer)
The List
' Portuguese-Chinese fusion is this place’s USP......spices of Goa and tropical climes of Malacca. The duck glazed in plum wine is worth crossing town for.' The List
Edinburgh Live
PONTO FINAL
......Kei de Freitas is the son of Portuguese and a Portuguese mother born in Mozambique of Goa and Kristang descent (from the Malaysian state of Malacca). Then Portugal followed, having grown up in Porto and lived in Lisbon, before going to other stops. He has lived outside Portugal for over 25 years. He lived in London before settling in the Scottish capital...... "I am the fruit of the Portuguese spice route in Asia. Son of a mother with mixture of several former Portuguese colonies. My entire background definitely influences the type of cuisine I like to make", he began by mentioning, explaining that although he grew up in contact with the typical cuisine of northern Portugal, the Portuguese chef also grew up "with Portuguese-influenced cuisines or Luso-Asian cuisine at home by my mother and other family members with various cultural mixes" that pass through Goan and Malay cuisine, in addition to the Portuguese, The Macanese and the Mozambican.
THE MACAO NEWS
Kei de Freitas first dabbled in Macanese cuisine merely because he wanted to know more about his Portuguese creole heritage. Today, the 49-year-old chef-slash-restaurateur is doing more than dabbling in a part of his past.
Freitas is spreading the gospel of Macanese food – what UNESCO has recognised as the world’s oldest fusion cuisine – at his restaurant, Macau Kitchen, in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Since the restaurant opened in 2019, it has added exciting new elements to Edinburgh’s food and beverage scene. In fact, the Edinburgh Evening News named it the 2022 Best World Food Restaurant in June. Since then, the restaurant has welcomed a rush of guests, from once-hesitant Scots who had never tried such cuisine to food journalists and bloggers, who have helped put Macanese food on the map in the UK.
“We feel this award is like a recognition for our hard work and an encouragement for us to keep on [promoting Macanese cuisine],” says Freitas, the restaurant’s founder and head chef. “We are proud of course because Macau Kitchen was the only mixed Asian restaurant nominated in the [best world food] category this year.”
“In the beginning, many people were scared to try [this cuisine] because they never heard about Macanese cuisine and suddenly it became a thing in Edinburgh,” he says.
To reach this point in his career required a journey of self-exploration that Freitas could not have expected would lead to Macao...
20 July 2022
Kei De Freitas, founder, said: 'It was a great honour, we feel that our hard work has been recognised and rewarded. It's important to us because we serve the world's oldest fusion cuisine and to maintain the traditions of Macanese gastronomy, we constantly introduce dishes steeped in history through the Portuguese spice trade in Asia. We hope this award will enhance people's curiosity and interest in our world heritage cuisine.''
Edinburgh Evening News
27 May 2022
Finalists for the 2022 Edinburgh Restaurant Awards in the Best World Food Restaurant Category.
Edinburghlive
4 MAY 2022
Gary Armstrong
Edinburghlive
25 APR 2022
Gary Armstrong
Macao Magazine A global gastronomy
22 JULY, 2020 SAM SINH A ARTS & CULTURE
MACAU KITCHEN, SCOTLAND
Far from the subtropical heat of Macao, over in the cobbled alleyways of chilly Edinburgh’s Old Town sits a temple to all things Macanese cuisine. The Scottish capital may not seem like an obvious location for a Macanese restaurant but Macau Kitchen, which opened one and a half years ago, has become a hit with diners in the city – especially during the UK’s COVID-19 lockdown when it prepared takeaways for locals. The restaurant has since reopened and it is well worth a visit. The cosy dining room is complete with trinkets, photos, newspaper clippings and works of art telling the story of the historic cuisine’s evolution.
Chef Kei de Freitas is the founder of Macau Kitchen. He’s a proud storyteller to each and every guest in his role as UK gastronomy ambassador for the Korsang di Melaka, a group which promotes Portuguese cultural heritage around the world. Born in Portugal, with a mix of Portuguese, Goan and Malay heritage, he is well placed as a cheerleader for the cuisine that takes influences from all of these communities. He says that he got involved due to his love of Macanese cuisine. “You’ve got the whole spice trade in Asia,” he explains. “Macao is really the last stop. That’s where everything is happening. And because it was connected to Portugal until the last 20 years, the culture is still alive.”
The Edinburgh restaurant serves classic dishes like minchi, ‘balichão’ pork and creamy dessert serradura, as well as a number of curries and specials which might borrow in turn from Goan or Malaysian traditions. De Freitas explains with proud enthusiasm: “Cantonese and Macanese people get excited and come here with memories of these dishes.” He says that the restaurant’s mission is to promote Macanese cuisine as authentically as possible, which means frequent trips back to Macao to dine with friends and exchange recipes. “When we serve the dishes here, we tell people about the history,” he says. “So it’s not just about serving the food – it’s about telling the story of the Macanese.”
Macau Lifestyle
26 JULY, 2019 BY LEONOR SÁ MACHADO
MACAU KITCHEN
Located in ancient Edinburgh, Macau Kitchen is geographically far from its namesake but it hits close to home when it comes to concept and tradition. This spot serves typical African chicken, but also an array of curries which you can also find in several restaurants around Macau. Even though not entirely Macanese, it focuses mainly on Macau food while offering other Asian delights as well. Their menu – crafted by chef Kei De Freitas – includes Portuguese chicken and Serradura for dessert. Their chefs are dedicated to promoting the heritage of Macanese cuisine, as the first fusion cuisine in the world. They also travel regularly to Macau so recipes can be updated, added and bettered.
The Leither
Jul 12, 2019 by Alan Bett
“A compact yet world-spanning restaurant, possibly the only of its kind in the UK.”
AA Inspector
"Charming Macau-Portuguese cuisine - what a fusion."
MARCO POLO
" Macau Kitchen is one of the most unique dining experiences you are likely to find across Scotland and beyond."
DAILY RECORD
"This delightful little restaurant is an expert introduction to a fabulous cuisine."
PHIL WANG
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