Evans TangGetting around Macau is so easy that it makes a food trail a must-do activity. Besides, most hotels provide free shuttle services. Galaxy Hotel (on Taipa Island), in particular, provides shuttle services to many places in Macau. Otherwise, you can always grab a cab easily at the airport, ferry terminal, hotels, or even along the roads.
Now that we’ve got the transport settled, it’s time for the real stuff: 10 Foodies-Approved Yummies that show you what Macau food really is! I’ve categorised my recommendations according to the four main locations: Taipa Village, Senado Square, The Venetiao Macao, and Sands Cotai Central.
Taipa Village
1. Seng Cheong Restaurant (誠昌飯店)
Seng Cheong Restaurant (城昌饭店) is a popular Chinese restaurant located at Rua do Cunha Street in Old Taipa Village. It is known for its signature dish: the Crab Congee. It also serves Frog Leg Congee. Raevian and I ordered the Deep Fried Squid Balls, the Deep Fried Salted Frog Legs, and for me, a bottle of ice-cold San Miguel Beer.
The fried squid balls were quite good but the fried frog legs were sinfully delicious. Fried to a crisp, they are juicy and tasty and I really enjoyed the wonderful flavour of the meat. The San Miguel beer (founded in Philippines but brewed in Hong Kong) has a bittersweet flavor with a smooth texture, and goes perfectly with our fried finger foods. It is also very cheap. We did not order the crab congee as even the small serving (HKD 150 / approx. SGD 24) was too much for two people. However, we regretted this on hindsight and will definitely order it the next time we visit Macau.
28 – 30 Rua Do Cunha, Taipa, Macau
官也街28-30 號
Tel: (853) 2882 5323
Opening Hours: 12pm to 12am (daily)
2. Koi Kei Bakery (鉅記手信)
If you have a sweet tooth for pastries, Koi Kei Bakery will be heaven for you. This purveyor of almond cakes, egg rolls, crunchy peanut candies and beef/pork jerky is renowned for its delicious pastries. What I like about them is their innovative spirit in coming up with new varieties of pastries that combines tradition with modern flair (e.g. Almond Cake with Shredded Pork, Almond Cookie with Chocolate, Pheonix Egg Roll with Seaweed and Shredded Pork). In addition to producing more types of tasty pastries, this approach also helps to cater to the taste of the younger generation and preserve the existence of traditional Chinese pastries.
Koi Kei has sixteen branches in Macau, seven in Hong Kong, and while writing this article we found out they have one in Singapore too! It’s cheaper to buy the pastries in Macau than in Hong Kong. We’ll be visiting the Singapore branch soon to check out the prices there. Raevian and I visited the Taipa (Macau) branch and bought several boxes of the “Phoenix Egg Roll with Seaweed and Shredded Pork Jerky Gift Set”, the “Long Egg Roll” and the “Almond Cookie with Lard”. The varieties that we bought were hand-produced and were slightly more expensive than the factory-produced ones. Based on tasting the samples in the store, my advice is to get the hand-produced pastries as they taste a lot better for the little extra money you pay. As for the egg rolls and almond cookies we bought, the only complaint we had was that we couldn’t buy more due to our limited luggage space! Koi Kei pastries are delicious and you must definitely buy some if you’re in Hong Kong / Macau.
46-50 Rua Do Cunha, Taipa, Macau
官也街46-50 號
Tel:（853）2882 7839
Opening Hours: 10am to 9pm (daily)
3. Tai Lei Loi Kei (大利來記)
Tai Lei Loi Kei (大利來記) serves the best pork chops I’ve ever tasted. Combine that wonderful slice of grilled meat with the crisp toasted bun, and you get a little piece of Pork Chop Bun heaven. The pork chop slice is sweet, fresh, succulent, tender, and it filled my mouth with savoury juices. The only thing that can taste better than a Tai Lei Loi Kei pork chop, is a Tai Lei Loi Kei pork chop bun. The toasted bun is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, and whomever that came up with the idea of the pork chop/bun combination is truly a gourmet genius. (There is also a branch in the Venetian indoor mall, but it doesn’t taste nearly as good as the one at Taipa Village)
18, Largo Governador Tamagnini Barbosa, Taipa, Macau
氹仔巴波沙前地18號
Tel: (853) 2882 7150
Opening Hours: 6.30am to 6pm (daily)
4. Pui Kei Café (沛记)
Pui Kei Café (沛记) is a hole-in-the-wall establishment famous for its signature dish, the “Crispy Pork Chop Noodles”. However, it does not have regular opening hours so you may not find it open when you visit.
25 Rua Do Cunha, Taipa, Macau
官也街25號
5. “O Santos” Comida Portuguesa (山度士葡式餐廳)
This cosy restaurant serves authentic Portuguese cuisine at a reasonable price. The menu is straightforward and the restaurant provides good service.
20 Rua Do Cunha, Taipa, Macau
官也街09 號
Tel: (853) 2882 5594
6. Mok Yi Kei (莫義記)
Do remember to save some space in your stomach for the desserts at Mok Yi Kei. This well-known dessert store is famous for its durian ice-cream and sawdust pudding. It also has a wide variety of other desserts to indulge your gustatory senses.
9 Rua Do Cunha, Taipa, Macau
官也街09 號
Tel: (853) 2882 5440
Opening Hours: 7am to 11pm (daily)
Directions to Taipa Village
The above six eateries are all situated near each other in Taipa Village. In fact, five of them (“Seng Cheong Restaurant”, “Koi Kei Bakery”, “Pui Kei Café”, “Mok Yi Kei”, and “O Santos Comida Portuguesa”) are all located on Rua Do Cunha street, and the remaining “Tai Lei Loi Kei” is just a five-minute walk away from Rua Do Cunha. Therefore, it would make sense to try all of these eateries in one visit.
Method One: You can easily reach Taipa Village by walking from Galaxy Hotel. It will take about fifteen minutes. Click here for directions. If you are unsure, you can check with the friendly Galaxy Hotel staff. There used to be a shuttle service between Galaxy Hotel and Taipa Village but it has been discontinued.
Method Two: Otherwise, you can catch a cab from the airport, the ferry terminal, your hotel, or simply flag a cab along the streets. Raevian and I found the Macau cab fares reasonable and they only charge by the meter (instead of quoting you a random overpriced amount like in some countries).
You can refer to this map to get a better idea.
Senado Square
7. Wong Chi Kei (黃枝記粥麵)
Wong Chi Kei (黃枝記粥麵) is situated at Senado Square, which is about 5 kilometres away from Taipa Village. Raevian and I took a fifteen-minute cab ride from Taipa to reach here. This famous Chinese restaurant has a long history with its first shop opened in 1946. Its signature dish is the famous “Braised Egg Noodles with Shrimp Roe”, which we ate with prawn dumplings. We also tried their deep fried dumplings.
17 Largo do Senado, Macau
澳門議事亭前地17號
Tel (853) 2833 1313
Opening Hours: 8am – 12am (daily)
8. Magaret’s Cafe e Nata (玛嘉烈蛋挞)
This bakery is famous for its Portuguese egg tarts and is a strong competitor of Lord Stow’s Bakery and Cafe (see below). Many people rate this as a must-try in Macau.
Gum Loi Building, Rua Alm Costa Cabral R/C
Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro, Macau
新馬路馬統領街金利來大廈17B地舖
Tel: (852) 2871 0032
Opening Hours: 6.30am to 10pm (Closed on Wednesdays)
Directions to Senado Square
Wong Chi Kei and Magaret’s Cafe e Nata are both situated at Senado Square.
Method One: You can take a shuttle bus from Galaxy Hotel to “San Ma Lo (新馬路)” (Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro). From there, just walk two minutes to Senado Square.
Method Two: If you are going from Taipa Village, you can grab a cab from the Rua do Cunha taxi-stand in Taipa Village to reach here. It will be a fifteen-minutes ride. You will travel across the bridge from Taipa Island (where Taipa Village is situated) to Macau Peninsula (where Senado Square is situated).
Method Three: Lastly, you can catch a cab from the airport, the ferry terminal, your hotel, or just flag a cab along the streets. We found the Macau cab fares reasonable.
The Venetian Macao
9. Lord Stow’s Bakery and Café
Raevian and I made sure to try the famous Portuguese egg tarts sold by Lord Stow’s Bakery and Café as we had read many rave reviews online. We visited the branch at the huge Venetian mall. Personally, I am not a big fan of egg tarts, as they taste a little too rich for my liking. However, Lord Stow’s egg tarts made me a convert. All their egg tarts are served freshly baked from the oven.
The flaky puff buttery crust, combined with the hot creamy egg custard in the centre, brought life back to a guy who had spent the past two hours trudging through endless rows of luxury brand shops. The egg tart has a perfect balance of flavours, with the savoury crust perfectly complimenting the sweet aroma of the egg custard. The only thing better than one Lord Stow’s egg tart, is six Lord Stow’s egg tarts; captivated by the delicious taste, Raevian and I bought half a dozen Lord Stow’s egg tarts for our breakfast the next day. However, I would recommend eating them upon purchase, as they are served freshly baked.
The Grand Canal Shoppes, Venetian
Level 3 Unit 2119a
Tel: (853) 2886 6889
Opening Hours: 10am to 11pm (opens till 12am on Friday and Saturday)
(The Original Bakery)
1 Rua da Tassara, Coloane
Tel: (853) 2888 2534
Opening Hours: 7am to 10pm daily
Directions to the Venetian Macao
You can easily reach Venetian via any of the free shuttle services provided by the various Macau hotels. Also, Venetian, Four Seasons, Sands Cotai Central and City of Dreams are all within walking distance of each other. Once you reach the Venetian mall, you can use the mall directory brochure to find your way to the cafe.
Sands Cotai Central
10. Yum Cha at Sands Cotai Central
Yum Cha is a dim sum restaurant situated at the Sands Cotai Central, which is a casino resort consisting of Conrad Hotel, Sheraton Hotel, and Holiday Inn. We were looking for a breakfast venue and were dangerously close to choosing McDonalds when we saw this restaurant. We decided to give it a try as we knew it’s difficult to find bad dim sum in Macau/Hong Kong. Indeed, the Yum Cha dim sums were all up to the mark. We ordered standard dim sum fare: har gao (shrimp dumplings), siew mai (pork dumplings), century egg congee, shrimp rice roll, and carrot cake. All of them tasted pretty good and I especially liked the century egg congee. Overall, we had a satisfactory breakfast. Most importantly, it passed muster with Raevian, as I have long learned that a hungry Raevian is an angry Raevian.
Directions to Sands Cotai Central
Similar to the Venetian Macao, you can easily reach Sands Cotai Central via any of the free shuttle services provided by the various Macau hotels. As mentioned earlier, Venetian, Four Seasons, Sands Cotai Central and City of Dreams are all within walking distance of each other. Yum Cha is located near the East Lobby of Sands Cotai Central, close to the Sheraton Hotel casino.
And that’s a wrap! Don’t forget to visit these places when you’re in Macau! And feel free to drop us a comment on delicacies that we’ve missed!
Contributed by Eat and Travel with Us.
