Surely one of the best things about living in Macau is the vast array of delicious, and very often quite affordable, food and dining options that exist within a very small radius.
Wander the backstreets and you can find no shortage of fantastic Cantonese food, Dim Sum and other Chinese regional delicacies. Then of course there are everyone’s favourite authentic Portuguese restaurants around town. In some areas it seems like there are Japanese restaurants on nearly every corner. And recently there are more and more quality cafés and bakeries springing up on the map too.
Then head over to Cotai and there are literally hundreds of dining options to choose from; from extensive buffets to value for money food courts, 24/7 noodle bars and of course Michelin level fine dining.
And amidst all this variety, the city’s very own truly local cuisine is perhaps the most unique. Macanese food, a combination of Chinese and Portuguese ingredients and cooking styles, blended with a variety of aromatic spices from Africa, India and South east Asia, is often described as the world’s very first fusion cuisine.
In recognition of these culinary credentials, last November, Macau was recognized by UNESCO as a Creative City of Gastronomy. And this year, the Macau Government Tourist Office launched the 2018 Macao Year of Gastronomy promotion. As part of this promotion, MGTO partnered with Wynn Palace and the organisers of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants Awards, to hold the prestigious award ceremony here in the city, by all accounts, a tremendous success.
So this month, we go in search of the story behind Macanese cuisine, speaking to chefs, authors and experts about the fascinating history of the food, its unique family-cooking inspired flavours, and what is being done to keep this valuable heritage alive.
In other stories, we speak with some of the great guests at this year’s The Script Road – Macau Literary Festival, learn a little more about the city's history at A-Ma Temple, and preview some of the amazing acts arriving in the city for the 29th Macao Arts Festival.
* * *
Since Macau CLOSER published its first issue in February 2007, the media landscape has changed dramatically, with technological developments and innovations leading to a revolution in the way we distribute, access and consume our information.
As part of our continuing efforts to develop and build on our online and digital platforms, from this issue, Macau CLOSER will begin publishing our hard copy issue bi-monthly, instead of monthly as we have done previously.
Of course, we are still very committed to continuing the hard copy version of Macau CLOSER, as we recognise that this remains a very effective, and indeed enjoyable, way of communicating with our readers. Call us old fashioned, but we still see value in the experience of flipping through glossy pages rather than scrolling down a touchscreen.
However, in this increasingly digital age, it is critical for us to reach our readers on as many platforms as possible, with regular fresh content about our always fascinating city and region.
We look forward to continuing to cover the events and people of Macau and the region with the same level of high quality reporting and story-telling that our readers are accustomed to.
Thank you as always for your support and interest.
Know More, Live Better with Macau CLOSER.
