HK & Macau Trip Day 5: Leitaria I Son, Ruin of St. Paul, Poon Weng Kee Cookies

For our travel itinerary, please click here.

Welcome to Macau! Macau is comprised of the Macau Peninsula , the islands of Taipa and Coloane and the reclaimed area COTAI. During our previous visit to Macau, we spent one full day in Macau Peninsula and was busy exploring Taipa village on the following day. We took First Ferry from China HK Ferry terminal in TST and boarded onto our hotel shuttle bus once we arrived to Macau Ferry Terminal. Take note that most (big) hotels in Macau provide free shuttle services, so please check with them beforehand.

Getting to Macau
1. By Air:
Macau International Airport is located on Taipa Island and is 15 minutes away from the Macau Ferry Terminal and 10 minutes away from the COTAI Frontier Post.
2. By Sea (from Hong Kong):
a. TurboJET, between Hong Kong Ferry Terminal (located in the Shun Tak Centre at Sheung Wan) and the Macau Ferry Terminal (located in the Outer Harbour)
b. First Ferry, between China (HK) Ferry Terminal in Tsim Sha Tsui and the Macau Ferry Terminal (located in the Outer Harbour)
c. Cotai Strip CotaiJet™, between Hong Kong Macau Ferry Terminal (located in the Shun Tak Centre at Sheung Wan) and Macau Taipa Temporary Ferry Terminal

The tickets cost MOP 142 on average for economy class seating.

Local Transportation:
1. Buses
Between Macau and Taipa visitors can catch buses 11, 22, 28A, 30, 33, 34 and also the airport buses AP1, MT1, MT2, N2, 21 and 26. Buses 21, 21A, 25, 26, and 26A connect Macau, Taipa and Coloane.

For journeys on Macau peninsula there is a flat fare at MOP$3.20. If you travel to Taipa, it costs MOP$4.20 and if your destination is Coloane village MOP$5.00. If you go to Hác Sá, you will pay MOP$6.40.
2. Taxis
Taxi charges MOP$13.00 for the first 1600 meters. MOP$1.50 will be added for every 230 meters afterwards.

There is a MOP$3.00 surcharge for each piece of luggage carried in the boot; MOP$5.00 surcharge for boarding taxi at the Macau Airport or journeys from Macau to Coloane; no surcharge from Macau to Taipa or from the islands to Macau, but between Taipa and Coloane, a MOP$2.00 surcharge applies.

Information from http://www.macautourism.gov.mo/

We took a bus from our hotel (Best Western Taipa) to Senado Square. The bus routes in Macau are really confusing; so we will always check with the bus driver before we got onto the bus. Note that you will not get any change so please prepare the exact amount

Our first stop is Leitaria I Son (義順牛奶公司), a humble little establishment well known for its milk based puddings and desserts.

Open daily
No. 7, Largo Senado (they also have branches in other parts of the city, i.e. Jordon, Mongkok, Yaumatei, Macau, etc.

The Ginger Milk Pudding (MOP 16) was extremely smooth and silky and the taste of milk is so creamy and fresh. That zing-licious ginger flavor is perfect to warm up our little tummies too!

We also tried another signature of Leitaria I Son – “Xiong Pei Tan Nai” (Double Skin Steamed Milk Pudding). A mixture of egg and milk is steamed until layers of ‘milk skin’ is formed on the top of the pudding. Again, this wobbly little milk pudding is silky smooth with a milk aftertaste. My heart was melted instantly!

Holding a map, we continued walking towards Ruin of St. Paul. There are numerous souvenir shops selling many interesting trinkets and food along the way.

We passed by the oh so famous Kui Kee.

I love freebies to it’s great sampling snacks off the streets of Macau. Where ever you go, some random strangers will come up to you and offer you some snacks or cookies.

Instead of pushing through the crowd just to grab a bag or two of those mass produced cookies, we looked for 潘榮記減蛋金錢餅 (Poon Weng Kee Cookies).

Using only egg yolk, flour, sugar and butter, every cookies is painstakingly made by hand.

First, Mr. Poon will roll the dough into ball shapes and pressed it against an aluminum surface to form a crisp thin layer. He insisted on using charcoal as a cooking fuel for more than two decades. In fact, Poon’s crunchy wreath-shaped cookies were really aromatic and addictive.

We made it to Ruin of St. Paul despite the excessive weights we carried around our tummies. It is originally the Cathedral of Saint Paul where the only remaining part is its facade.

Behind the façade are remains of the original pillars and a shrine.

my favourite picture 🙂

The Museum of Macau.

Fortaleza do Monte, a 16th century fort in Macau.

Such a serene scene…

Back to Senado Square

Mcdonalds and Portuguese style building, a perfect blend of ancient and modern culture.

More Macau’s food post is coming up next! Stay tuned!