How does one of Macau’s oldest ice cream shops stay relevant? Lai Kei owner says it’s all about the human touch – and working with fashion brands
- Ambert Kong, the third-generation owner of Lai Kei, reveals how one of Macau’s oldest ice cream parlours, founded in 1933, has managed to stay in business
- It is not just about its retro interiors or the old-school packaging on its ice cream sandwiches – it is its tight community and work with fashion brands
Not far from the shadow of the sparkling golden behemoth that is the Grand Lisboa casino hotel lies one of Macau’s oldest ice cream parlours, where generations of residents have congregated for more than 50 years.
Time has largely passed over the delightfully retro interiors, which has helped earn it a place on the tourist radar.
They flock here to preen in front of the red-bean-coloured facade with “Lai Kei Ice Cream” written across it in gold – and to get their hands on its signature ice cream sandwich. It is sold in a paper box featuring a drawing of a girl in pigtails that was sketched by Lai Kei’s founder, Kong Lai-king, who established the ice cream business in 1933 by selling on the streets of Macau.
Inside, fluorescent lighting casts a glow over the simple wooden chairs and butter-hued tabletops.
Most days, Kong’s grandson Ambert Kong Wing-tsan, 47, will be surveying the Lai Kei kingdom – greeting a steady stream of regulars and settling in wide-eyed Instagrammers as they lap up the nostalgic decor.
Here, it’s all about keeping things as original as possible; other than tweaking some of the sugar content in the recipes and giving the venue a bit of a fix-up here and there over the years, Lai Kei is a well-preserved time capsule of simpler days.
