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. In celebration of food and dining experiences . |
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Exploring and discovering new restaurants Dining and chilling out with my loved ones Baking and cooking over the weekends Sharing my love for food with others
Vanilla bean pods (one can never have enough) Valrhona Cocoa powder Valrhona chocolate Macarons from Laduree and Pierre Herme Madelines mold Pretty cake stands (I only have one and only one) YUZU from Japan! (They taste great in almost anything) A food tour to Italy and France Opportunity to study at Le Cordon Bleu |
Thursday, April 17, 2008 Macau Bites  Lago Do Senado My fascination with Macau as country made me interested to discover their culture through their cuisine. To me, it is interesting to see how colonialism left a mark on the country's food scene. The indent of Portuguese influence on Macau is so deep as Portugal only gave up Macau in 1999, ending the longest European rule in Asia. As I disembarked the ferry, I was welcomed by the signs of a flourishing state of casinos. But as we got closer to the city centre, we were embraced by the residue of Portugal's colonial rule. We went into a small store that sells milk-based desserts- Yee Soon Dairies (义顺牛奶公司). They are popular with both locals and tourists alike. I suppose their signature dish is the double-steamed milk (双皮奶) and ginger milk (姜汁撞奶). I ordered the almond milk instead. This bowl of milk is definitely an acquired taste. On first mouthful, I thought it tasted weird. Imagine having the taste of almond backed with an even stronger taste of milk. The texture was also very watery unlike the almond paste soup that I was used to eating.  Almond milk soup On our way up to the Ruins of St. Paul, we were greeted by a lane of shops peddling Macau's specialty products which include the ubiquitous almond cookies. They came in different varieties such as salted almond cookies, almond cookies with sesame and almond cookies with pork floss. One of the better ones is from Koi Kei Bakery (鉅記) The almond cookies are bursting with almond flavour without being too sweet. They also contain chopped almond bits which gives it its crunchiness.  Almond cookies. Yum! We headed to the Coloane island for lunch and of course the famed Lord Stow's Portuguese egg tarts. Coloane is one of the two main islands of Macau and it is about 35 minutes drive from the city centre. This is quite a long way off just to eat. In any case, we were in Macau and there was no way that I'm leaving without getting my hands on those egg tarts! On my previous trip to Macau, I can distinctly remembered how much I LOVED those egg tarts. I'm not a huge fan of egg tarts nor Portuguese egg tarts but the ones at Lord Stow's brought that experience to another realm. Lord Stow's bakery is located on the way to Har Sa Bay. Though it is a small and unassuming shop, do not belittle it as it has been franchised to Japan, Korea, Philippines, Taiwan and Thailand. I wonder why it is the only store in Macau though. We bought some egg tarts and a roll of egg white loaf cake which was said to be good too before heading to Fernando's. Everyone at Macau knows Fernando's. We simply had to tell the cab driver the name and he was like "OH.. Fernando!" before driving us there.  Signboard of Lord Stow's bakery  Droolicious egg tarts Wish I could have eaten more! A stepped into that little shack on Har Sa Bay brought back memories where I was eating at the same restaurant a few years back. The ambience is nothing to speak about really. The bread which reviews said it was good was really below average. It was only slightly warm and slightly stretchy in texture. Since Macau is known for the seafood, given that it is a coast country. We ordered the grilled prawns with spicy sauce and char-grilled sardines with a side salad. These were much better than the bread and ambience. Thankfully! If not I'll be very disappointed for traveling so far sub-standard food. The sardines were really good. Simple but since it is grilled over charcoal, it was fragrant with and the flavours of the fish is well-brought out. However, the dishes here aren't as cheap as you might think it is. Overall, it was a good experience. If I had more time in Macau, I'll definitely check out the other Portuguese food restaurants. I'll be back to this interesting state for sure.  Restaurant- Simple, non air-conditioned Fernando's  The blah bread  Grilled prawns with spicy sauce  The sardines served with olive oil and white vinegar with a side of potatos and salad  Har Sa Bay *** Lord Stow's Bakery 1 Rua Da Tassara Coloane Town Square, Macau Tel: +853 882534 Opening hours: 7am-11pm (Thur-Tue) 7an-6pm (Wed) Fernando's 9 Praia de Hac Sa Coloane Island Reversations are not accepted
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