TAIPA VILLAGE
Rua do Cunha (官也街)
I’m so tempted to re-title this post to “An (almost) Insider Guide to Macau”. Just end of last year, my BFF, Charlize moved to Macau to join her husband who has been working there for about a year or so. When we were in HK early this year, we extended our stay to visit the cute couple over the weekend. As they said, always trust a local to bring you to the best eating spots. True enough that Charlize and Jie pampered us with so much of good food over a span of about two days.
Our first stop was Rua do Cunha (官也街), a narrow street in Vila da Taipa, the town centre of Taipa island. This is also a must visit place, with a few famous eateries and souvenir shop along the street.
Seng Cheong Crab Porridge is an old favourite. It expands its business by opening up another branch nearby. The crab porridge maintained its quality – the silky smooth porridge was rich in flavor with the original sweet taste of the fresh crabs intact. However, Seng Cheong has increased its selling prices steeply since we last visited. Be prepared to fork out at least MOP 50-100 per person for a proper meal.
Crab Porridge (MOP 150, medium size), Deep Fried Dice Mace Ball, Salt & Pepper Deep Fried Squids
28-30 Rua do Cunha, Vila de Taipa
澳门氹仔舊城區官也街28-30號
Opening Hours: 12 noon – 12 midnight daily
If you are feeling bored of “Koi Kee” or “咀香圆” with branches spotted almost everywhere in Macau, Fong Kei is a less mainstream option. This 10 decades old cookies shop insists on using the most traditional and most labour intensive method to make their cookies. Remember to try their signature “Yuk Chit Sou 肉切酥” cookies with bits of dried meat and “Kai Zai Beng 雞仔餅” filled with plenty of lards and fermented beancurd.
14 Rua do Cunha, Vila de Taipa
氹仔舊城區官也街14號
Tel: (853) 2882 7142
Operating Hours: 10:00-19:30 daily
We left Rua do Cunha (官也街) and while walking towards Tai Lei Loi Kei (大利來記咖啡室); Jie asked if we would like to try some Bird’s Nest Tart and Fresh Milk Tart (燕窩撻&鮮奶撻). Why not? The conventional portuguese tart and bird’s nest tart were nothing to shout about, but the fresh milk tart is the bomb! The tart exudes a milky and creamy taste throughout every mouthful!
13-14 R. do Regedor, Vila de Taipa
氹仔舊城區地堡街13-14號
Tel: (853) 2882 7313
Operating Hours: 07:00-18:00 daily
Cafe Tai Lei Loi Kei looks so different now. They were instructed to keep their tables and chairs within the premise so the whole area look so dead and empty now. We have not spotted any queues as my friends mentioned that Cafe Tai Lei Loi Kei has lost its glamour of former days. Food standard dropped and now they are surviving on only tourist customers.
However, we still like its curry fish ball and curry squids. It was really “syok” to chew on the fish balls and squids doused with plenty of curry sauce on a cold winter day. The curry gravy was so spicy that even Malaysians like us were defeated.
No.18, Largo Gov. Tamagnini Barbosa, Vila de Taipa
氹仔舊城區巴波沙總督街18號地下
Tel: (853) 2882 7150, 6689 1343
Operating Hours: 12:00-18:30 daily
Coloane (路環)
Coloane (路環) is located at the southern part of Macau. It is joined by the Cotai Strip to form one huge island. We also like how this place is so different from the crowded and busy Macau Peninsula. Visitors come here to visit beaches such as Cheoc Van and Hac Sa and to feast on Portuguese cuisine.
We were standing at Avenida de Cinco de Outubro which is the main esplanade where you can look across the narrow channel to Hengqin Island in China.
We were here for Lord’s Stow Bakery’s portuguese egg tart. Lord Stow is Macau’s institution since it opened its first outlet in 1989. We were so lucky as we got our hands on some egg tarts which were fresh out of the oven with the custard still bubbling hot. The pastry of the tarts were made to perfection – so flakey and buttery. With a spotty caramelised top, the custard egg filling was soft and creamy but not too sweet. Perfect!
Each tart costs MOP8 and it’s good to take away a box of 6 at MOP48. Lord’s Stow Bakery is also famous for its cheesecakes, egg white cakes and brandy fruits cake but we did not have enough stomach capacity for those. Lord’s Stow perfect portuguese egg tart can also be purchased from its branch at The Venetian.
#4 安德魯餅店 Lord Stow’s Bakery
Coloane Downtown
路環市區市中心撻沙街 1 號地下
Tel: (853) 2888 2534
Operating Hours: 07:00-22:00 daily
Branch: Shop 2119A, 3/F, The Grand Canal Shoppes, The Venetian Macao Resort Hotel, Estrada do Istmo, Coloane-Taipa
Coloane is really a beautiful area with minimal tourists crowd. We visited Chapel of St Francis and the church interior is so serene and peaceful.
It is a joy to just walk around and explore Coloane Village. Its narrow lanes are lined with pastel-coloured houses and shops. They also have the cutest street names. We were pointing to “mei nv xiang”, which means alley for the beautiful girls. Geddit geddit?
Here we are at Hac Sa Beach which is famous for its black sand. However, to prevent the beach from disappearing due to erosion, the government “refilled” the beach with yellow sand.
There’s a nice walking/cycling trail at Rua de Hac Sá Long Chao Kok. Great for us to burn some calories before we continue eating.
How could we miss out the famous cheoc van beach at Coloane?
We spotted mostly locals who take a stroll along the beach, while their dogs running after waves and kids running after balls.
Macau Peninsular
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.
Speically cooked cow offal, with curry sauce, is such a delicacy in HK and Macau. For only MOP 25, we had almost everything in one bowl – stomach, hooves, shin, intestines, liver, head, tongue with some beancurds and vegetables. This little alley near to Ruin of St Paul has all the stalls lined up in a row, and they are selling almost the same thing.
#5 咖喱榮
G/F, 10C Travessa da Sé, Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro
新馬路大堂巷10C號地下
While walking towards Keong Kee’s mutton belly pot, we stumbled across this cute little community park with grafitti art adorning the walls!
Those elaborated drawings were really interesting; blending graffiti and fine art in a celebration of creativity.
We were there since 530 pm as our friends knew that there’s only 4 large tables and 2 small tables and the queue is always so long! Those who came by around 6pm got to wait for another half an hour. We order a big mutton belly pot (MOP 110), extra orders of beancurd, yam slices and turnips to be shared amongst the four of us. The al fresco environment + charcoal fired hot pot is an unique experience and this eatery deserves a post on its own! Read our full review HERE.
#6 強記秘製羊腩煲
新馬路關前正街街口
From 6pm till sold out
Wonder which is the best place to have a night view of Macau Peninsular? The walkway next to Wynn Macau is the answer. We can see Macau Tower and Sai Van Bridge from where we were. You can also come here after catching water fountain at Wynn Macau’s performance lake which happens every 15 minutes from 11am to 12 mid night. The choreography of water, light, fire and music will sure to amaze anyone. There’s also the tree of prosperity and dragon of fortune show available every 30 minutes at Wynn Macau’s lobby.
MGM Hotel’s lobby were so beautiful and whimsical during Christmas time!
It’s time for supper after we admired those beautiful night views of Macau. This particular stall is really a hidden gem and tourists might find it difficult to locate this place. Nothing costs more than MOP 30 here, the portions were so decent and most importantly the noodles were so delicious!
The Beef Brisket Noodles was quite decent but the soup was not as flavourful as expected.
The noodles were really springy and crunchy, something which Malaysia’s wantan mee is really lacking of.
We also ordered a wanton and squids combination. The wantons were as big as ping pong ball with 4-5 whole pieces of fresh shrimps inside. The shrimps were so perfectly cooked that they have a firm and bouncy bite. The squids were so tender and full of flavour. I think we fell in love with this bowl immediately. And the best thing is it costs us only MOP 20+!
#7 文記 Man Kei
Border of R. da Restauracao and Patio da Barca, Santo Antonio
新橋(三盞燈/白鴿巢)光復街渡船台交界
Operating Hours: 07:30-01:30 daily
Taipa Village
Jie took us around Taipa Village and we passed by The Venetian while they were having this Christmas theme light show.
The night is still young for Macau – the Las Vegas of the East.
It was really a fun day out with our BFFs. Their hospitality will really make us FAT! If we include the tong suis and milk pudding which we ordered and ate inside the car, that would be 9 food stops in one day! Stay tune to Part II of Macau’s Food Itinerary!
Read more about travel experiences @ Macau:
Macau Island – Leitaria I Son Milk Pudding, Ruin of St Paul, Poon Weng Kee Cookies
Thank you for sharing. It brings back fond memories. Wonder if you have try the following;
1. The cow offal at Hung Pun Kei, which is a few doors away from the junction of Rua do Cunha, if you are walking towards Cafe Tai Lei Loi Kei. This shop was featured in Choi Lam food & travel series.
2. Miramar Portuguese Restaurant, next to Westin. Excellent Portuguses duck rice and beef ribs.
3. The Dim Sum at Wing Lei, Wynn’s casino.
Also, thank you for the Hua Hin posting. We managed to get there last year via your detailed instructions. We love every bits of the adventure and food. Especially the dinner and breakfast at Jeck Be-Ak /Som Moo Joon.
Can wait for your Part II- Macau. Cheers.
Hi Michael, thanks for reading our blog. Noooooooo we never tried all those food that you have mentioned! Will add them to our to eat list hehe!
Glad you enjoy Hua Hin as much as we do, it is really a hidden gem!