The Symbol of Macanese Gastronomy

Aida de Jesus, known as Dona Aida, founder of Riquexó restaurant in the 1980s, and a unique figure in the Macanese community, passed away at the age of 105 in March. Before opening Riquexó, Aida de Jesus worked in the kitchens of Hotel Lisboa and Hotel Estoril. 

 

President of the Macanese Association, Miguel de Senna Fernandes remembers Dona Aida as a “icon of the Macanese community.” She was “a very simple lady, an ordinary citizen, but one who earned the respect of everyone.” She was also, “very determined…otherwise it would have been impossible for her to have had the impact that she had.”

 

“Macanese gastronomy has Dona Aida as its symbol. The physical symbol no longer exists and now the myth is born,” says Senna Fernandes. “The community recognized in her a very respected person who inspired the affection of all.”

 

Miguel de Senna Fernandes is also the director of Dóci Papiaçám di Macau, and points out that Dona Aida was very supportive of the Macanese theater company. 

 

“Everything she could do she did: she prepared food, made her restaurant available, she lent her own name. She understood that this was important for the community,” he comments.

 

Carlos Anok Cabral is the president of the Confraria da Gastronomia Macaense (Fraterntiy of Macanese Gastronomy), and he too agrees that Dona Aida, who is a meritorious confrere in the association, had a determining role when it comes to the gastronomy of the community. 

 

“Dona Aida dedicated her entire life to Macanese food,” he recalls, “She was a very important figure for Macanese gastronomy and in the Macanese community, because there is no one in the Macanese community that doesn’t know Dona Aida de Jesus.” 

 

On a personal level, Cabral remembers Dona Aida’s smile, humor, and dedication to people.

 

Florita Alves, Macanese chef at La Famiglia restaurant in Taipa village, has a similar opinion. “Dona Aida never left Macau and never abandoned Macanese cuisine,” she notes. “She was a great inspiration to me, which I appreciate very much,” she says, adding, “She was a woman who never left the kitchen, and was always ready to share.”

 

Architect Carlos Marreiros describes Aida de Jesus as “an indispensable figure in the Macanese and Portuguese community in Macau. This is because “she was a good cook, a practitioner, someone who recorded the knowledge and secrets of traditional Macanese food.” 

 

Noting that Aida de Jesus lived through historical milestones such as two world wars, the 1-2-3 Uprising, and the boom in the gaming industry, the Macanese architect says that Dona Aida was “a living memory of Macau’s history and its urban and demographic development.” Marreiros concludes by suggesting that Dona Aida should “be studied more, so that her memory will live on for generations to come.”

 

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