Shop: Mercearia Portuguesa

albergue 1601 macau

Admittedly I actually haven’t been back to this cosy little corner shop for over a year now and was back recently and reminded of all the cool quaint things homage to Portugal, when Macau was still its little colony. Located in a charming bright yellow art deco style building with a courtyard (you can head opposite to Albergue 1601 restaurant for lunch al fresco when it’s nice outside).  Take a night stroll through old parts of Macau and Taipa Village, you could almost imagine you’re in Portugal.

Mercearia Portuguesa literally means little corner Portuguese shop – which literally describes the quaint little store well. It’s the equivalent of a provisions store, our the Chinese 小卖部,杂货店 – a little shop that sells provisions and everything in between.

If you’re looking for artisanal produce from Portugal – everything from herbs, spices, olive oil to canned sardines – straight from its source – you will find it here.

artisanal produce mecearia portuguesa

Gorgeous handwoven rugs all the way from Portugal. I think they’d make great throws for the sofa and perhaps a great House Warming party gift!

handmade rugs macau

Love this old school sweet dispenser, a pity this vintage treasure isn’t for sale – how many great childhood dreams had it captured? I’ve never grown up with these, but remember seeing them in old European films.

mercearia portuguesa macausoap mecearia portuguesa macau

One of Mercearia Portuguesa’s star product is their Claus Porto soaps that come with gorgeous packaging reminiscent of the belle epoche. With a history that spans over a century and soaps the Portuguese royal family used, you probably want to get your hands on one and then frame the packaging. (A side note trivia that it’s one of Oprah’s favourite soaps). The shop is the exclusive distributor and the good news is they are working on getting more of these gorgeous soaps to Singapore.

portuguese soap

Leonar at the store tells me that they are the exclusive distributor of this traditional sardines brand “Pinhais” and is directly in touch with the owner of the same family name. Rain or shine, he goes to sea everyday to catch sardines and supervises the whole process of canning and exporting. On days when there isn’t good fish, there is no canning. Those were the days of valuing quality over quantity and mass production. It’s rare these days, this sort of “slow food” practice.

sardines macau

All these gorgeous handpainted tiles (top row gets my vote and purchase!) that I’m told are meant to be placed by the window sills or on top of the fire place for decor.

Screen shot 2015-01-29 at 18.57.02

Screen shot 2015-01-29 at 18.53.42

Finally, how cute are their sardines logo?? Even Smudge is having a little moment with fish. :)

Calçada da Igreja de São Lázaro nº8
Macau SAR
Tel: +85328562708

Mon-Fri 13h00-21h00

Sat-Sun 12h00- 2100h

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest

You May Also Like