Macau Explorations

almond cookies macau

The traditional Macanese almond cookies from Koi Kei Pastelaria everyone comes to Macau to buy. They have branches on both the Macau Peninsular and at old Taipa village. The traditional wooden handheld moulds are also available for sale for those who want to brave making the traditional cookies. It’s crunchy powdery and sweet at once with crushed almonds embedded on the inside – they remind me a little of the Malay cookies Kuih Bangkit but much dryer and harder.

I rode my bicycle everywhere in Beijing and discovered so many sweet secret spots. I didn’t do quite the same in Hong Kong but I walked all over my neighbourhood and got to know Saiyingpun 西营盆 and Sheung Wan 上弯 pretty well. I’m still discovering Macau by foot, by bus, unsuccessfully by a rented bicycle and pretty much getting lost. Highlights from the weeks and the little tours I’ve been taking visiting friends on. This old pharmacy that sells all sorts of very old medication with beautiful typography and elaborate box designs also has a Chinese doctor on site. I’m going to start going here to get healthier “调理身体“ and hopefully minimise migraines. They also sell everything from snake skin to deer penis.

macau TCM cabinets
chestnut buffalo horns

The “Leng kok” 菱角 belongs to the family of water chestnuts and look like mini buffalo horns, only available this season during mid-autumn festival. It’s the first time I’ve seen this!

wetmarket macau

 

Look at all this amazing fresh produce from the Red Market, fresh edamame, lots of galangal and all types of Asian vegetables. I’m going to start buying things I don’t know and learn how to cook them from the nasty unfriendly local stall keepers.

roasted chestnuts

Roasted chestnut, the first time I’ve seen this mini cement mixer machine looking thing. Usually in Singapore and Malaysia, they fry them in a giant wok!
va heng noodle lady
Traditional noodle making shop that has been in Macau for generations.

macau tin cans packaging

I didn’t notice the illustrations on these tin cans before, and my friend who was recently visiting bought a couple. Aren’t they great?

And here’s where I’ll be getting my lap cheong Chinese sausages from now on. This shop sells everything from cured meats to the whole range of roasts. They’ve also been in Macau for generations. lapcheong

macau coconut

Thanks to the introduction of my friend H, I’ve been coming here ever so often for fresh coconut water, coconut milk and ice cream! The shop only sells coconut and naturally does it very well. It’s been a long time since I saw vendors doing coconut fresh. And I should learn to do things the traditional way, extract milk from the grated coconut in a cloth bag to make curries and desserts-exactly the way my mother used to do it.

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