Macau fires back at Hong Kong lawmaker’s ‘ordinary food’ remarks

Hong Kong legislator Adrian Pedro Ho King-hong sparked heated cross-border debate after openly describing Macau’s cuisine as “extremely ordinary” during a legislative session while urging the Hong Kong government to promote “tourism plus cuisine” and position the city’s culinary culture as a key tourist attraction – remarks that were widely quoted in numerous newspaper articles.

Ho is reportedly the nephew of former Macau Chief Executive Edmund Ho, while Kevin Ho, a current member of the Macau Legislative Assembly, is his cousin.

According to reports, the controversy arose during a non-binding legislative debate on “Promoting Tourism and Dining,” in which the Hong Kong legislator claimed that Macau’s food is “extremely ordinary,” noting that street snacks such as pork chop buns, Portuguese tarts, beef offal, and almond cookies are also widely available in Hong Kong. He went further, reportedly stating that he frankly did not understand why many long-established shops on Macau’s Rua do Cunha – selling these very items – are portrayed as Macau’s “delicacies” and have become must-try items on tourists’ lists.

“I dare say that Hong Kong’s pork chop buns are better than Macau’s. I’m telling you!” he was quoted as saying.

Despite Ho’s suggestion that the Hong Kong government should emulate Macau’s promotional strategies by actively generating online buzz to promote local snacks – making Hong Kong cuisine a must-try experience for tourists – his remarks about Macau’s ability to systematize and brand ordinary foods sparked controversy on social media in both cities.

In response, former Macau Legislative Assembly member Sulu Sou took the lead in launching a “Macau’s Best Pork Chop Bun Contest” ranking on a social media platform, emphasizing in another post: “Macau has many extremely delicious foods – and none of them are just ordinary.” While listing Macau’s signature dishes, he noted that “most pork chop buns in Macau achieve a double crispiness in both the bread and the pork chop.”

Notably, Macau is the only city in Greater China selected as one of the World’s Top 100 Food Cities and has been designated by the United Nations as one of the world’s 56 culinary capitals.