龙华酒楼 (Macau) (Casa De Cha Long Wa)

We googled places to have good dimsum in Macau for breakfast. And it seemed like the only place that was consistently recommended was this place. It wasn't on the main road, and is located next to some small market stalls.

There's a very 1930s feel about this place, and everything is self service. You wash your own tea cups and chopsticks, take your own dimsum from the tray, and pay for your food at the counter. You can dream on about air-con. It's just natural air here.

There were random bags of tea and other things lying around, giving a very rustic feel to the place! It's like a small little museum on its own, with a collection of the stuff accumulated over the years!

So here comes the food. The food is ridiculously cheap, although I'm not sure how to describe the taste of dim sum in this place. Let's just put it that I like my normal dim sum a little better. The dim sum here doesn't taste bad, but it isn't anything spectacular anyway. I suspect it might just be what what dimsum used to be, and hence it missed out on the evolution. That I don't know, you have to try the food to understand.

Overall, it's a good place to just sit around and take a few pictures of a 1930s looking place. It's not commercialised, just feels very homely. Also, the people at this place are very friendly. The guy at the cashier invited us to walk around the place and just take photos! Sacrifice a little for the quality of the food, in order for you to have a feel of an old establishment!

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陶陶居海鲜火锅酒家 (Tao Tao Ju)

We asked the concierge from our hotel where to get good chinese food. And he recommended that we go to 陶陶居 to try their traditional cantonese dishes. Apparently, it's been around for seventy years. It took us quite a bit of trouble trying to find this place. It's hidden in a small road, and it's easy to miss. So, keep your eyes peeled when you're walking and you shall be rewarded with good food!

I know the below looks like abalone, but it's not. It's pomelo skin 柚皮. How they make it to the final product, it's for me to know and for you to find out.

This is a crab pocket with prawn 鲜虾金钱蟹盒. The outer layer is pork, and the inner is stuffed with crab meat, prawn, roe and winter melon (apparently).

and this is... i'm sorry i don't know what this is. But it shouldn't be that significant since I can't remember what it was!
This was the dish which left us so bemused, albeit slightly irritated. So there was a confusion between siew yok (roasted meat/pork) and siew awk (roasted duck). And the waitress shouted at my mum who was ordering to pronounce it properly, when everybody at the table heard roasted pork. Oh well, at least the roasted pork was worth it! Crispy and not too salty!

Ultimately, this place serves good food. However, it was a letdown in terms of service. Asian restaurants are not known for requiring tips. However, a waitress was hovering next to us, obviously waiting for tips. Go there for the food, cross your fingers, and hope you have some decent people waiting on you!

陶陶居海鲜火锅酒家

新馬路爐石塘巷6-8號地下

(853) 2857 2629

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Restaurante Fernando (Macau)

Undoubtedly the best meal I had in Macau. Slightly pricey, but for the ambience, for the taste- it's well worth it! Located near the Black Sand Beach (Hac Sa), it's safely tucked away in some corner. It's quite a distance away from the casinos. And the two times we went there, we were told to take the cab. Well, if you're looking at shaving a few bucks off cab fare, you can just take a public bus there. It takes something like 45 minutes from the city centre, but you save $$!

Portugese food- the very thing you need to have when you're in Macau!

The bread is freshly baked, and when i say fresh, i really mean fresh. It's one of the best bread I've ever eaten. Crispy on the outside, fluffy in the inside. To top it all off, it's served hot, with butter! (Not that like I butter, but still, for butter lovers, it's a total treat!)

The prawn is so-so though, we felt like it wasn't too fresh, even though they were rather big prawns.

The next two dishes are certainly worth a mention. One is the cod fish and the other is the roasted pork. The cod fish was very fresh and had a very smooth texture. Although there was a hint of saltiness, it only serve to enhance the overall taste of the fish.

And i'm saving the best for the last. My mother never ever remembers what she eats. She forgets the places she visited 3 years ago, let alone where we ate. But this, she remembers. And the roast pork stays as good as it ever was. The crispy outer skin of the pork, coupled with a layer of fat below the skin, together with the not-dry meat makes a great combination. Although I would say that the skin is really the thing that makes this dish shine through.

But they have a strange rule- no bringing of your own drinks in your restaurant. So we had to buy bottles of mineral water from them which was actually double or triple the price of water sold elsewhere in convenience stores.

But, oh well, will that really turn you away from yummy food?

p.s. check out the wall where people from all around the world put their currencies into the "walk of fame"!

Restaurante Fernando 法蘭度餐廳
Praia de Hac Sa, Nº 9
Coloane, Macau
2888 2264

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Macau II: Everything besides Casinos

Besides casinos, there are other things to do in Macau as well. Macau is well know for its almond biscuits. There are two main brands, but the one below is the more famous one. You can see many shops selling these kind of pastries near the streets at St Paul.

Look at the crowd in Koi Kei on a normal day! We also tried the almond biscuits from their next door neighbour and I conclude that Koi Kei's almond biscuits are better. By the way, there are free samples in all the shops. So, if tasting is believing, why not? Also recommended are the egg rolls, with different variations. There are those with the seaweed ones which are pretty awesome.

Another popular snack in Macau is the portugese egg tarts. It's somewhat like creme brulee with some puff pastry. But I still prefer the normal egg tarts, but well, for a change, portugese egg tarts are pretty good too!

and of course, there is the ruins of st paul's. It's basically just a wall. It was built in the 1600s, and destroyed by a fire during a typhoon in 1835. The day we went, there were some performances going on to celebrate ne zha's birthday. And for your information, next to the ruins, there is a ne zha temple. Although it's very easy to miss it, it's a listed UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Another site that is listed is the Temple of A-Ma, after which macau is named. It has a history of over 500 years, just imagine that!

Other attractions that might be worth a mention include the Fisherman's Wharf. Honestly, I don't think this place is much of a big deal. It's only for people who think they will never get to see the real Colosseum. Otherwise, this place is very empty, and there are no good and cheap restaurants around. There's a pretty good seaview at this place though!

There is also the 黑沙滩 (Hac Sa Beach) where there is black sand. This photo doesn't do the place justice because it doesn't capture the black sand. There is yellow sand appearing in this picture only because the government refilled the sand with yellow sand so that there wouldn't be further erosion of the black sand.

It's possible to go to all the casinos and still see the other face of Macau. We completed all the casnios and these places (and other eateries) in 4 days! Because Macau is so small, it's very easy to get around as well!

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Macau I: Casinos

One relates Macau with casinos.

And one relates casinos with Macau and Las Vegas.

Although, take note, Singapore is expected to pass Las Vegas in terms of gaming revenue. (Not sure if that's a good or bad thing.) It was very eye opening to see everything the casinos had to offer.

There were buses from one casino to another, from each casino to Zhu Hai (lots of shopping). Even if your hotel does not have a shuttle bus that goes to Zhu Hai, you can take a shuttle bus to one of the major casinos then go off from there. Here's a tip: You can even take taxi everywhere. The taxi prices are insanely cheap.

Every casino had its own special characteristics. It would be good to do your research before you go. For example, Sands has hourly performances, Wynn has its beautiful water display with fire, etc.

Even if you don't gamble, it would be nice to just walk in and look at how they run the place. The glamour of the interior walls, the sound of the jackpots rolling, both forlorn and excited faces.

But seriously, Macau isn't all about its casinos. Think about the St Paul Street, 黑沙滩，the Portuguese egg tarts, the almond biscuits- all these to come in a second part!

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