The Cube

We reached Macau in the evening, unexpectedly it was quite tricky to find dinner at around 8 PM by the time we got to the hotel. We had an afternoon flight out from Macau Airport, so that gave us 3 breakfasts, 3 dinners and 3 lunches. We had a late breakfast on day 2 and skipped lunch. On the last day, we did take away from a small shop for lunch and ate at the airport. 

Overall, we enjoyed our meals in Macau. Total cost were for 4 adults and 2 kids. 

We didn't visit the store in Hong Kong but had a late breakfast here in Macau. I had a basic luncheon meat egg instant noodles. We also shared the steamed milk dessert. From memory, we had the steamed double layer milk and the other ginger milk. Total MOP 378. 

We wanted to try a different pork chop bun, plus this was near to the hotel and the initial shop we said is only a takeaway store which we got for lunch. We ordered Ovaltine crispy toast and peanut butter pork chop polo bun. This cannot be daily food. Even when I read the menu I could feel that it is cholesterol inducing. Total MOP 178.

There are a few branches

We wanted crab congee and found this eatery. We didn't know they were popular when we went especially since it was a late lunch and the shop was fairly empty. The noodles were made with traditional bamboo noodle pressing techniques and melded with fresh duck eggs. Total MOP 484. 

26 R. de Nossa Sra. do Amparo, Macao

We were lucky to find this shop for dinner. Most of the shops seemed to have stopped dinner service by the time we got to the hotel and dropped our luggage. The owner is a Portuguese who has been living in Macau for many years. He noticed that we wanted to try all the food so he served them as 'petiscos'. Total MOP 274. 

This was a fairly small shop and there were no empty table when we got there. The service was very prompt though. There is a menu right outside the shop and the owner came out, gave a piece of paper and pen to my sister and asked her to write down our orders. He knows his stuff because among all of us, sis' command of Chinese is the best. We got a steamed, fried and pan-fried dumplings - one of each and deep fried mini mantou. Total MOP 125.
 

This was our last dinner in Macau. Total MOP 382.

MacaoR. de Camilo Pessanha, 28號, 號地下

This was initially our choice for breakfast but on arrival we noticed it was only a takeaway store. So after breakfast, we came to takeaway. I borrowed these photos from my sis' FB. We spent all our cash here which wasn't a lot left after saving what we needed for the bus fares. 

There are a few branches but we got this from Taipa Village. This was inhaled very promptly. MOP 109 for a box of six. 

There are a few branches as well. On our walks we saw a bakery and wanted a snack and got 2 egg tart and 1 coconut tart. What we didn't know was that this bakery is famous for Pastel de Chaves, yes, dumb mistake given the literal name but I didn't notice any Chinese signboard. The tarts we got were tasty though. Total MOP 30. 

28號 R. dos Ervanarios, Macao

We came out of the Food Truck Company and saw dessert in coconut yoghurt. Total MOP 95.

On arrival at the Outer Terminal, we waited and took a hotel free shuttle to get us to our hotel. 

Macau is consist of Macau Peninsula, Taipa and Coloane. Connecting Taipa and Coloane is Cotai, an area of reclaimed land containing of the newer casinos and resorts. We based ourselves in Macau Peninsula and took a bus (MOP 6 per person) to Taipa on second day. I was the only one who had been to Macau, and that was more than 15 years ago.

We stayed at Caravel Hotel which is near Sofitel Macau at Ponte 16. Getting around Macau Peninsula was by foot. I enjoyed the walks through smaller laneways before hitting the much more crowded touristy area. 

Leading up to the temple are sections of the old city walls, built as early as 1569. The walls were constructed with incorporation of local techniques and materials, especially a solid compound named chunambo. It is an elaborated mixture of clay, soil, sand, rice straw, crushed rocks and oyster shells compacted in successive layers. 

 

The Ruins of St. Paul's refer to the facade that was originally the Church of Mater Dei built in 1602-1640 and the ruins of St. Paul's College, which was adjacent to the church. Both structure were destroyed in 1835 due to a fire. 

Mount Fortress is located on top of Mount Hill, 52 metres above sea level and covers a trapezoid area of approximately 8,000 square metres. 

We stopped for lunch and resumed our walk at the St. Lazarus District. 

It was said that in 1566, Bishop Melchior Carneiro came to Macau and arrived at the St. Lazarus district. This district was considered an out of town back then and many lepers were exiled from town to here. He established a leper hospital and built the St. Lazarus' Church dedicated to Our Lady of Hope next to the hospital to give the patients somewhere to pray. The Portuguese name of the church is Igreja de São Lázaro. It was said that the word “Lázaro” has two meanings. The first was related to the story of “The Rich Man and Lazarus” in the Bible. The other story was because "Lázaro" also means "lepers" in Portuguese. Hence St. Lazarus District is also known as the "Leprosy Quarter". 

We then we rounded back to the Senado Square. 

Mum was curious over the big hotel resorts/casinos in Macau so we headed to Taipa the next day. First stop was the Taipa Village area before The Venetian as the latter is indoor. We started from Tin Hau Temple and turned right into the Taipa Village area and finished at Art Space. 

The Venetian is within walking distance and it felt like it was nearer walking from Taipa Village to The Venetian than inside The Venetian. 

It was our last day in Hong Kong. The plan was to take a ferry to Macau although we know there is also the bus option. On the day itself only we decided to take an evening ferry, maybe around 4 PM or so. I tried to buy the tickets online but unsuccessful. We initially thought to just rock up, buy tickets and get on a ferry but were advised otherwise by the hotel staff. They said that the tickets might run out. So we decided to split up as there was point to have everybody going to buy ferry tickets. 

Anyway food first. Breakfast as usual at a cha chaan teng, we went to Soul Kitchen 四寶食堂. After the tasty pork chop bun from the day before, we decided to also try pork chop from this place but it fell short. Below was our breakfast situation that day. 

We split up after breakfast. I went to get the ferry tickets from Sheung Wan. We went with Turbojet from Sheung Wan to Macau Outer Harbour. The rest went for a ride on the iconic Hong Kong tram and hunt for Pokemon cards. I am still a little perplexed how I only managed to have 2 meals and got ferry tickets when our ferry was later in the evening. 

By the time I got the tickets, we met back at Central MTR station and have lunch. We ended up at this Taiwanese food eatery in Central - Eat Together 一起食堂. I thought it was ok but my mother wasn't impressed. 

From memory, we took the 4:30 PM ferry. So we should have enough time to do more but somehow all I managed to do was had breakfast, bought tickets and ate lunch.