This year marks the second edition of the Macau Slow Food Guide, put together by Event major students at the Institute for Tourism Studies. The Guide features plenty of local diners and old establishments that have been cooking the same recipes for generations, and sourcing their ingredients from the local wet markets and noodle makers.
While not exactly “Slow Food” in the way it is practiced by Carlo Petrini in Italy, the way Macau eateries and diners operate is still very much local, with little carbon footprint. Many noodle shops offer daily handmade noodles. Variations of fresh tofu are always sold out by the end of the day. Fresh coconut milk from shaved and ground coconuts is wrung out of cheesecloth bags, not UHT packages. And at the wet markets, fresh fruit and vegetables as well as farmed chicken eggs come across the border from China every day.
You won’t find beef or pork flown in from around the world, or any exotic European vegetables in these eateries. And no long-lasting GMO foods either. While not exactly organically grown or of the best pedigree, the produce here is local, real and perishable – cheap and cheerful with a short shelf life.
Many of the 100 eateries in the 2014 Guide are charming old establishments that have been around for generations. Lai Kei Ice Cream was established in the 1960s. Its décor is still steeped in the feel of that era, and they still serve traditional ice cream ‘bricks’ sandwiched between wafer thin biscuits and packaged in beautiful vintage design boxes. The ice cream is made fresh daily with red bean centres – the Cantonese popsicle that most of us in South East Asia grew up on as the popular choice.
Then there is ‘Tomato’ located by the Ruins of St Paul’s and serving up local Macanese dishes since the early 1990s. Dish highlights include the 10-hour, slow-cooked curry beef brisket with over 32 ingredients, served with a Macau-style bread bun and fried bacalhau.
Water crab is a popular dish here in Macau and Wong Kung Sio Kung has been serving the dish for over 30 years. He also hand makes his delicious bamboo rolled noodles.
The 2014 Macau Slow Food Guide is available for free at entry points into Macau (Zhuhai border, Macau Ferry terminals) and eateries and restaurants featured in the guide.
Wong Kung Sio Kung
No.308-310A, G/F Sui Han Mei Street, Macau. P.26 of the Slow Food Guide
Tomato
No. 4 Calçada da Rocha, Macau. P.82 of the Slow Food Guide
Lai Kei Ice Cream
No. 12, G/F Avenida do Conselherio Ferreira de Almeida. P.166 of the Slow Food Guide
