Macau affordable reasons for a happy weekend
History and culinary delights awaits in Macau
Macau excursion
It is cliché to say a change is as good as a rest, but when one only has a few days break, an excursion to Macau is an easy and logical choice.
With the weather becoming mild, a two-day retreat to Macau is manageable. Our neighbour, just one hour south, with its Portuguese heritage, radically differs from Hong Kong and so offers the potential for that cliched change-rest.
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Having only a vague idea of what to do in Macau, we accepted a generous offer from the Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) to show us what is on offer in the city.
Macau St. Lazarus district
On arrival, we went to the tranquil St. Lazarus district for its Baroque architecture, cobblestone streets and for some history.
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We learned that this sixteenth-century St. Lazarus Church originally ministered to a leper colony.
These days, it serves more serene Catholic purposes and as a backdrop for Instagram pictures.
Adjacent to the church is Albergue da Santa Casa da Misericórdia, founded in 1941 during World War II.
It was originally a shelter for the poor and displaced, later a home for elderly women.
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The Albergue consists of a large courtyard surrounded on three sides by colonial-style houses.
Albergue centre
Inside the courtyard are a pair of conjoined camphor trees.
These old trees grew together on their own and are auspicious to the residents and visitors.Â
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Today, the Albergue is a cultural centre with restaurants, art galleries and shops. We had lunch at Albergue 1601.
Albergue 1601 occupies one of the heritage buildings on site, which has been beautifully restored. The dining menu offers classic Portuguese dishes.
Each course sampled was a touch of the Mediterranean with plenty of seafood, olive oil and fresh seasonal produce prepared in mouthwatering tangy spices and sauces.
The restauranteurs emphasized their focus on sourcing key food and beverages from Portugal for the menu. A delicious example of that came in the desert, a soft sweet pear poached in Port wine.
Produce from Portugal
Everything on offer, even the canned beverages and bottled water, were from Portugal.
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As avid collectors, the owners frequently visit Portugal to bring back antiques. As a result, the restaurant is filled with curios waiting to draw your attention or provide inspiration.
Portuguese Fado music
In the room we lunched, there is a wall dedicated to albums by their favourite fado singer, Amalia Rodrigues.
Fado is a genre of music with soulful vocals accompanied by a Portuguese twelve-string guitar.
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After lunch, we walked with executive chef Pedro Almeida to his second venue, Pasteis de Chaves, for classic pastel de nata (Portuguese egg tarts) and savoury Pasteis de Chaves (Portuguese beef pastry).
Chef Pedro’s signature pastries were made from his versions of traditional recipes. His pastel de nata are are made with puff pastry and are flaky and buttery; the custard is creamy, slightly sweet and has a caramelised sugar topping.
He pointed out they are not to be confused with Macau-style egg tarts, which have firmer and crumblier shortcrust pastry, smoother, less sweet custard and typically do not have a caramelised top.
His amazingly flaky and crispy beef pastry, he says is from a classic combination of ingredients that has huge doses of history and flavours.
Maritime Silk Road exhibition
With all that food in us, we retreated to the Hyatt’s Andaz Hotel to check in and rest. By dinner time, we were ready for an up-market interpretation of a Cha Chaan Teng (Cantonese cafe) at the South by Square Eight in the MGM complex.
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Then, we went to the Poly MGM Museum’s inaugural exhibition on the sea routes commonly referred to as the Maritime Silk Road.Â
That evening, we saw the Light Up Macau projection mapping show near the food street Rua do Cunha entrance in Taipa village.
The show was an illuminating end to an evening of shopping at this quaint location.
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The following day, we rode the new Light Rail Transit; the driverless cars provide convenient transportation to casinos, hotels and entertainment venues. The sections on Taipa Island are above ground, enabling an elevated perspective.
Exiting Barra station, we were driven to the old neighbourhood of Santo Antonio, which has the famous ruins of St. Paul’s.
Artwork all around Macau
We were directed to the Memories Souvenir Studio, where we participated in a workshop to make egg tart-shaped fridge magnets. Â
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Lunch was at Tromba Rija, which served a Portuguese buffet on the ground floor of the Macau Tower.
The mussels were delicious, but it was the egg whites baked with custard and cinnamon that I remember most.
View from Macau Tower
After lunch, we headed up the tower to look down on the city. What struck me was the extensive development on the other side of the Hengqin Channel separating Macau from the mainland.
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Then we were off to the Barra district’s Navy Yard No.1, which is being transformed into an art district.
We visited the Macau Contemporary Art Centre to see Chinese contemporary artist Cai Guo-Qiang’s cAI: Soul Scan exhibition organised by MGM.
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Navy Yard No.1 is also hosting Zhang Yimou’s Studio. Yimou is known for his epic films, including Raise the Red Lantern (1991), nominated for an Academy Award, and for directing the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
We followed that with a tasting from the various food trucks stationed just adjacent to the exhibition.
The Contemporary Art Centre and the food and beverage offerings are transforming the Barra district into an attractive go to destination for tourists.
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For an adrenaline fix we were introduced to the Fun Fun Kart at the Lisboeta entertainment complex. Here, we were provided with electric karts capable of going sixty kilometres per hour.
After a safety briefing, we were let loose. Admittedly, some aggressive driving (mine) caused an incident, but as all the karts are centrally controlled, they could stop them until the tangle was undone. I can confirm that the experience lives up to its name.
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Our final stop was the Grand Lisboa, where we saw Snoopy’s Winter Vacation installations.
For those into Peanuts comics, there are dozens of places to take selfies with the characters.
Traditional Portuguese food and culture
On the ferry ride home, I had to admit there we had a whirlwind of a visit.
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The two-day retreat allowed for a brief introduction to the city’s traditional Portuguese aesthetics in the form of architecture, savoury dishes, sweet egg tarts and soulful fado music.
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Along with Macau’s grand hotels, its modern interpretations of the classic Cha Chaan Teng, new museums and art galleries, there was plenty see and do on this short excursion to our sister city.
Text Martin Wray / Photos Martin Wray and Cammy Yiu
