Here I'm going to outline must-go restaurants and eating spots you need to check out in 2018, beyond the standard touristy spots. It is actual mind-blowing when you contemplate how the world's cuisine converged in this 30km2, on top of existing Portuguese and Chinese food, and I could put this together! Kudos to my sister who lives there for supplying me with the intel and photos!
Restaurants and Cafes
1. Japas by Root
Rua Do Padre Eugenio Taverna Nos. 165-307. EDIF Pat Tat Sun Chuen r/c EE
A Japanese/French concept with sustainable roots - they grow their own hydroponics greens and serve up fine dishes such as oysters and raw fish. It's something different and worth exploring!
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| Source: OpenRice |
2. Chakra SPACE
Shop A, G/F, Kai Va Building, 12A Travessa dos Santos, Campo
水坑尾水坑尾巷12A號啟華大廈地下A號舖
A cute vegetarian restaurant if you're looking for a cosy, intimate space to contemplate life.
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| Source: OpenRice |
Shop C, G/F, 19 R. de Espectacao de Almeida, Ferreira de Almeida
荷蘭園亞美打街19號晶品一地下C號舖
A French cafe inspired destination opened by Betty Fung, an inspirational figure in the Macao F&B (she was featured in a Macau Lifestyle interview). By the way, Betty also does private cooking (set menu) at your house or venue of ur choice (with a kitchen, of course), but you can contact her to arrange it!
They even have their own herb garden!
4. Taipa Cafe
Shop B .The Manhattan Rua de Nam Keng, Flores 花城區南京街曼克頓南塔地下B舖
This Italian/European restaurant has been around for a while, but they serve up pretty good food that is just outside of The Manhattan condo building.
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| Source: OpenRice |
G003, G/F, Galaxy Macau™, Coloane-Taipa 路氹城綜合渡假城地下G003號舖
A new addition to the Galaxy Hotel, this French cafe has traditional French bistro food and Chinese food, which is an odd but interesting pairing.
5. Common Table
Shop A, G/F, Nova City, 349-365 Avenida de Guimaraes, Vila de Taipa 氹仔舊城區基馬拉斯大馬路349-365號濠庭都會地面鋪A
The owners of Taipa Cafe also recently opened another new cafe in town to provide quality brunch food for those seeking the "fresh grocer/bakery" experience.
Local Chinese
6. Wong Chi Kei Noodle & Congee Restaurant 黃枝記
51 Rua de Cinco de Outubro, Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro 新馬路十月初五街51號
They have two locations - one at Senado Square, which is more touristy and crowded (17 Largo do Senado, Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro 新馬路議事亭前地17號) and there's the "old shop" pictured below.
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| Source: OpenRice |
Both locations offer up similar and equally good food as Yat Gor Gourmet for shrimp roe noodles, mud crab congee & wonton noodles.
Block H, 12 Av. da Concordia, Fai Chi Kei 筷子基和樂大馬路12號H座
Similar to Won Chi Kei, Lou Kei is famous for shrimp roe noodles, mud crab congee 水蟹粥, fried wonton, blanched fish skin and various local dishes.
8. Yat Gor Gourmet 一哥美食
Shop C-D, 8 R. Sete do Bairro da Areia Preta, Iao Hon 祐漢黑沙環第七街8號C-D舖
Over at another really traditional eatery, you can find super good cheong fun aka rice rolls made fresh on the spot! Check out another blogger's account of his visit Diary of a Growing Boy's blog - the food really looked so good!
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| Source: OpenRice |
G/F, 1 Rua de Cinco de Outubro, Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro 新馬路十月初五街1號地舖
Featured in this year's Michelin Guide, Ngao Keo Ka Lei Chon is one of my sister's favourite local eateries. They are famous for their super sinful crab roe tossed noodles, super spicy curry beef brisket and other local dishes. Read more about them in OpenRice and in Steph852 Diary.
10. Estabelecimento de Comidas Fai Seng 輝盛根記食館
G/F, 89 Rua da Erva, Santo Antonio 新橋(三盞燈/白鴿巢)青草街89號勝華樓地舖
Whenever you visited a country with a lot of Chinese, there's no doubt you'll find good hotpot. It's no different in Macao. This hotpot place is famous for their mutton/lamb claypot over charcoal which is becoming more rare in most restaurants as they need an open space for the charcoal. Read more about them in this blog post.
11. Sei Kee Cafe
G/F, 1 Largo dos Bombeiros, Vila de Taipa 氹仔舊城區消防局前地1號地舖
For a taste of the traditional, you must visit this super established old school cafe (since 1965) that features authentic milk tea (that you can now take away in bottles) and fluffy, sinful pork chop charcoal buns in Taipa.
12. Café Nam Ping 南屏雅敘
G/F, 85-85A Rua de Cinco de Outubro, Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro 新馬路十月初五街85-85A號地下
If I don't remember wrongly, I've been to this cafe and its super traditional milk tea and egg tarts were a heavenly combination!
Portuguese/Macanese Restaurants
13. Henri’s Galley
Shop G-H, 4 Av. Da Republice, R/C, Sai Van 西灣民國大馬路4號G-H地下
I have blogged about Henri's Galley before - it was one of those traditional Macao food places where there's delish breaded Bacalhau (cod fish) and African Chicken!
14. Ó Manel 阿曼諾葡國餐廳
G/F, 90 Rua Fernao Mendes Pinto, Vila de Taipa 氹仔舊城區飛能便度街90號地舖
In Taipa, you can also find this traditional Portuguese/Macanese restaurant that has delicacies such as clams and suckling pig, along with the codfish dishes.
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| Source: OpenRice |
15C-D Rua de S. Joao, Vila de Taipa 氹仔舊城區生央街15C-D號
Within the vicinity, there's also another Portuguese restaurant of mention that negates the traveller with any need to travel all the way to Europe.
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| Source: OpenRice |
Colina de Mong-Ha, Mong-Há 望廈望廈炮台斜坡
The best of a country's cuisine could often be found in training schools. In Paris you have Cordon Bleu, and in Macao there's the IFT, which teaches the next gen how to carry on the heritage. The dish below deserves special mention. It's called Minchi. It is the iconic, national Macanese dish that even the contemporary cafe, Cha Bei, carries. Minchi means minced, and was said to have Anglophone origins. You can find cafes such as Hei Lin serving it too.
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| Credit: David Wong |
There's also the stuffed crab that one must try in Macao!
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| Credit: David Wong |
Galaxy Hotel
They are worth a mention for any first-time foodies exploring Macao, because of their high end foodcourt-ish concept. There is a wide range of well-known local food, plus a mix of cuisines from nearby Hong Kong or Taiwan. The best part here is that you can order dishes from the different restaurants while seated at any outlet.
Desserts/pastries
18. Old House Bakery 老房子麵包
G/F, 13 Patio do Amparo, Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro 新馬路顯榮圍13號地舖
If you are a fan or lover of artisanal and freshly baked bread, this is the place to go! Other than those, there's also chocolate chilli cookies or scones to excite and tickle your tastebuds.
19. A Porta Da Arte 文藝門
32, R. dos Ervanarios, Macao
Not exactly a gastronomic stop more than a cultural one, for this is a lifestyle space of sort with a beautiful rooftop that serves up locally roasted coffee and local designer products. After that you can walk around, since this is pretty near Old House Bakery and other boutiques.
20. ROCCA Pâtisserie
Shop A, G/F, 30 Rua do Noronha, Guia
東望洋魯子高街30號地下A號舖
For a taste of something finer, try Rocca. It has a hip exterior and avant-garde desserts.
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| Credit: Macau Lifestyle Blog |
152 Rue de Braga, Taipa, Racecourse 馬場氹仔布拉格街152號(廣東大馬路悅景峰左側）
Other than being the name of an absurd author, Kafka is also the place for magical souffle and green tea latte or tea. They even have a matcha souffle!
Bars
22. Goa Nights
G/F, 118 Rua Correia da Silva, Vila de Taipa 氹仔舊城區告利雅施利華街地下118號舖
New cool bar in town accompanied with Indian tapas-style cuisine - they are open till 1am!
23. “Bar Stories” at Vida Rica Bar in Mandarin Oriental
2/F, Mandarin Oriental Macau, Avenida Do Sun Yat Sen, Alameda Dutor Carlos d'Assumpção
宋玉生廣場(皇朝)新填海區孫逸仙大馬路澳門文華東方酒店二樓
"Bar Stories" is a concept by Vida Rica bar where they bring in pop-up guest mixologists every weekend, based on the theme of different countries. It is a very popular concept because it brings something new every week.
24. Ritz Carlton Bar & Lounge
51/F, The Ritz-Carlton Macau, Galaxy Macau™, Coloane-Taipa
路氹城「澳門銀河™」綜合渡假城澳門麗思卡爾頓酒店51樓
A classic bar/lounge for well-made cocktails and people watching, without feeling out of place. It's posh and classy, but not over the top (considering how easy it can be to be like that).
25. China Rouge
Galaxy Macau, Avenida de Cotai, Cotai City, Coloane-Taipa
路氹城銀河綜合渡假城
Otherwise, you could also check out China Rouge for their stiff cocktails and entertaining music.
And there you have it! A non-exhaustive but comprehensive list of not 5, but 25 spots to check out in Macao the next time you are there, for a round the world and in-depth tour of food made in Macao. A lot of them I would not have known of, if not for a local (my sister's) intel. I reckon you'll need at least 3 nights there to get 3 dinners in, at least! Let's go!
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