Must-try’s when Eating and Drinking in Macau

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Macau was under the rule of Portugal until 1999 and as a result, was able to attain an intermingling of diverse cultures. The multiple strands of culture are evidently seen in Macau’s architecture, art, music, dance, dress, and-of course-cuisine. This makes Macau cuisine richer and more diverse, as is apparent in the great number of restaurants in the city. This makes eating and drinking in Macau not a difficult task at all, except probably where choice is concerned, given this array of excellent options.

Macau has a particular cuisine that makes it recognizable worldwide with its exceptional restaurants and bars. Its cooking is characterized by a combination of both European and Asian elements along with some exotic flavors from Portuguese colonies such as Brazil, Angola and Goa. With four centuries of Portuguese influence, most of its local specialties offer a tinge of Portuguese flavor such as the Bacalhau, which is dried salted codfish, a favorite of the Portuguese. Other dishes include African Chicken, Galinga Portuguesa, Linguado Maca and Calo Verde.

Other Portuguese elements to Macau cuisine are excellent wine and coffee. There are a wide variety of drinks that Macanese locals best enjoy after work but the most common is beer. Specialty drinks include the Vinho Verde which is a Portuguese white wine that is best accompanied by salty food and the Caipirinha, which is a delightful Brazil cocktail.

Today, the population of the city is still mostly made up of Chinese, thus the heavy influence of Chinese, most particularly Cantonese cuisine. Dim sum, which is a Cantonese breakfast, is a popular favorite in Macau. Small portions of usually steamed food such as savory meat, seafood and vegetables dishes are served with Chinese tea. Congee, rice and noodle dishes are then eaten just before dessert towards the end of the meal.

There are plenty of famous snacks in Macau that remain the most popular items to bring home to family and friends. Here are some of them:

Almond Cookies - Upon walking along the Rua do Cunha toward the Ruins of St. Paul, a wonderful nutty smell will surely catch your attention. Those baked almond cookies are common purchases that tourists take home by the bagful.
Barbecued meat – Barbecued meat has the same texture as beef jerky with sweetened and seasoned spices. Meal lovers will surely find it hard to resist these juicy slabs of meat in sheets.
Shark’s fin – Usually served in fancy and expensive restaurants around the world, there’s no need to wait for special occasions when eating shark’s fin in Macau. Fook Lun New Rua da Felicidade found just across the Senado Square offers shark’s fin soup at affordable prices. The bad part may be having to wait a long time for your order, but the good part is knowing that slurping this amazing soup is worth it.
Pork Chop Bun – This sizzling deep-fried pork chop found in between delectable white buns is simplicity at its best. There is no need for dressing or condiments as the secret lies in the crispiness of the bun and the juiciness of the pork chop itself.
Portuguese egg tarts – Macau’s decadent version of egg starts consists of a buttery and flaky pastry shell with custard filling similar to a crème brulee’s consistency. To top it off, these egg tarts have a crunchy caramelized sugar shell making it even more generous when it comes to sheer flavour. Lord Stow’s Bakery indeed has the best Portuguese egg tarts in Macau.

There are dozens more to try and indulge in when eating and drinking in Macau. If the casinos won’t keep you busy, having to try everything that Macau cuisine has to offer will!