Macau travel guide for eating, drinking and having fun without gambling or visiting the Ruins of St. Paul's

Hong Kong and Macau have always been popular tourist destinations, but due to a series of recent events, people have been avoiding Hong Kong. As a result, Macau has become a gathering place for people in the Pearl River Delta to hang out on weekends. There are many casinos in Macau, and when they come to Macau, many people will try their luck and gamble a few times. But for someone like me who doesn't like gambling, would rather spend money on food, and doesn't like to go to photo-taking places, how can I have fun in Macau? Today, I want to share a guide to Macau without gambling and going to the Ruins of St. Paul's.

Visit the architectural heritage "Red Market" and eat the most authentic snacks

Instead of going to the Ruins of St. Paul's to take photos, it is better to go to a place with a lively atmosphere and take a leisurely stroll. The Red Market is such a popular place. Because the entire outer wall is red, it is called the "Red Market".
  



Don't think it's just a street market. In fact, the "Red Market" is the only street market building in Macau that is listed in the Macau Cultural Relics List. It was built in 1936 and has three floors. The first and second floors are very spacious and open, while the third floor is narrow and tall like a tower, which is very decorative. There is a wall around the building and an open-air corridor. It has a symmetrical layout, with a tower in the middle and corner towers at the four corners. This kind of building with an Art Deco style is regarded as a representative of Art Deco in Macau's early modernist architecture.


Address: No. 110, Avenida Avenida Guiseela, Macau Special Administrative Region

In addition to selling fresh vegetables, the current "Red Market" also has many hawker stalls selling snacks. If you want to eat authentic street food, I think foodies should not miss this place.
  


The fruit street next to the Red Market is a hidden treasure. The fruit street not only has a variety of imported fruits, but also the most delicious beef offal and sweet soup. At around 4 pm, walking through the fruit street, you will find a long queue at a beef offal stall. A small bowl of beef offal costs 15 MOP, a medium bowl costs 20 MOP, and a large bowl costs 30 MOP.



I have to praise that this beef offal shop is much better than the beef offal shops in Guangzhou! Remember to put more yellow mustard sauce! The most rare thing is that you can make requests to the boss in this shop. If you don’t want to eat any kind of internal organs, the boss can meet your requirements. In Guangzhou, beef offal shops can’t operate like this. Even if you only want to eat the most delicious Tripe, it’s okay! Such an economical and affordable shop is rarely seen in mainland China. In addition to beef offal, this shop also has my favorite food when I was a child - beef tripe porridge (15 Macau dollars). In the clear and cool autumn weather, come and have a bowl, life can’t be better!
  

A whole bowl of tripe

After eating the offal, we walked to the opposite stall, which was a dessert shop. Each small bowl only cost 10 MOP, which was really a bargain. So, each of us ate 3 bowls in one go. Among them, the barley bean curd and winter melon tea are must-try.
  


Special reminder, whether you are eating beef offal or sugar water, you need to sit at this street location to eat. If you are a friend who has requirements for the dining environment, you may not be able to take it into consideration.
  

My brother is eating beef offal

But I personally like this "down-to-earth" way of dining. The vegetable basket serves as the dining table and I watch the people passing by the market walking in twos and threes. However, regardless of the image, holding that bowl of hot beef offal is really very comfortable!
  

A table made of vegetable baskets

Walking around Languilou Lane, looking for Nostalgic gadgets from the 1980s

Near Ruins of St. Paul's, there is an alley with a rather weird name called "Languilou Alley". In the mid-19th century, a wealthy man, Yang Ruoyuan, came to Macau from the United States and built a row of Western-style buildings at the junction of today's Languilou Lane and Rose Lane, and named it "Lan Kwai House".
Because the Chinese call Western things "ghosts" and Lan Kwai Tower is a Western-style building, the Lan Kwai Tower at that time was also called the "Ghost Tower".
  

Address: Southwest of St. Anthony Parish, Macau Peninsula

Later, Yang Ruoyan returned to the United States and sold Lan Kwai Building. At that time, the business of "selling piglets" (an industry in which Chinese people were sold abroad to work as laborers) was popular in Macau, and "piglet houses" were set up in Macau one after another. Lan Kwai House was also bought by a businessman who was selling piglets. This businessman imprisoned all the "piglets" to be sold to Cuba.
  
Unexpectedly, a fire broke out, burning Lan Kwai Tower and killing more than 30 "piglets". After the fire, Lan Kwai House was in ruins. Since Macau people used to describe damaged things as "rotten", the word "rotten" was added in front of Lan Kwai House, also known as "Ghost Building", to change it to "rotten". It became a "rotten ghost building". On the one hand, this not only emphasizes the dilapidation of Lan Kwai Tower, but on the other hand, it adopts the homophony of the correct name (the homophony of "rotten ghost" and "Lan Kwai" in Cantonese).
  

Old-style labels searched

Lan Kwai House was later demolished and turned into a wasteland. Every afternoon, there are street stalls on the open ground selling old materials (old items). In 1939, due to World War II, a large number of refugees poured into Macau.Some of them, in order to meet their daily needs, took all their belongings to pawn shops. And if these items are not pledged at the pawn shop, they will be sold at the street stall of the "Bad Ghost House". Therefore, many antiques, calligraphy and paintings were sold at the street stalls in "Languilou Alley" at that time.
  

People playing mahjong in Languilou Alley

With the passage of time, “Languilou Alley” now has the most nostalgic and retro shops in Macau, including antique shops and A renovated furniture store, as well as a toy store.
  


You can see dolls from the 1980s, retro trademark paper products, and even some very old decorative furnishings. Every little thing here contains decades of old stories about Macau.
  



The decorative toys you find may be the only ones left in the world. Compared to buying the same products in the mall, I prefer the surprising feeling of shopping for items on my own.
  


Eat authentic "Macau Portuguese cuisine"

How can you not eat authentic "Macau Portuguese cuisine" when you come to Macau? Back then, when the Portuguese colonists came to Macau, they were eager to eat their hometown food, but the preservation technology was backward at that time. If the raw materials were shipped to Macau by sea, they would spoil halfway. In order to solve this problem, the chefs tried to use substitutes, such as coconut milk instead of fresh milk, and local sausages instead of Portuguese sausages.

Combining the essence of cooking techniques of Portuguese, Indian, Malaysian and Chinese Cantonese cuisine, the unique "Macau Portuguese cuisine" was created. Just like "Portuguese chicken", it is famous among the more than 200 "Macau Portuguese cuisine" dishes. But in fact, there is no such dish as Portuguese chicken in Portugal.


Portuguese Chicken

The authentic Portuguese restaurant I want to introduce today is not a restaurant that serves chicken, but seafood. In fact, the Portuguese love to eat seafood. Because Portugal is located on the coast of southern Europe, it is blessed by the warm ocean currents, has a mild climate, and is rich in seafood. This gift from heaven has naturally become the main ingredient of Portuguese cuisine. Portuguese cuisine likes to use olive oil, garlic, herbs, tomatoes and sea salt for seasoning, but not many spices. Portuguese seafood dishes are very rich and varied, including cuttlefish, cod, octopus, eel, shellfish, etc.


Portugal

The New Bay Portuguese Restaurant, which opened in 2013, mainly serves southern home-cooked seafood. The restaurant is not very big, but the atmosphere is warm enough. Moreover, the restaurant looks very clean and tidy. The lady who took the order was Portuguese, and we had to communicate in English throughout the process.



Address: Block Z, G/F and Loft, Huanyu Mansion, 88 London Street, Macau

The Portuguese-style fried clams and seafood risotto at this restaurant have changed my view of seafood. Especially the clams, I have never eaten clams as fresh as this one. The light lemon fragrance, plus the coriander that complements the soup, if it weren't for the high price, I could eat two large plates by myself. The soup from the fried clams is very suitable for pairing with the homemade soft bread.


Portuguese style Clams, MOP$158


The homemade soft appetizer bread is provided free of charge.

The seafood risotto is surprisingly large. It is clearly called for two people, but in fact, four people can't finish it. It is called risotto, but it is actually similar to soaked rice. The thick seafood broth is cooked with seafood and rice, and the hot aroma is very rich. Moreover, there is lobster in the seafood!


Seafood rice 2 persons, MOP$378

Later, I learned that this restaurant is very famous in Macau and has won many awards, so its business is very popular. If you want to dine there at night, remember to make a reservation in advance.

Have a cup of coffee and a bun at the oldest tea restaurant

Opened in 1968, "Nan Ping Ya Xu" is the oldest tea restaurant in Macau. Back then, October 5th Street was the busiest street in Macau, and Nanping Yaxu could be said to be a symbol of fashion in the 1960s. If you have read our earlier article "The Past and Present Life of Hong Kong Tea Restaurants", you will know how popular the tea restaurant culture was in Hong Kong and Macao at that time.


Address: Ground Floor A, No. 85-85, October 5th Street, Xinma Road, Macau Special Administrative Region

Nowadays, the furnishings in "Nanping Yaxu" still maintain the style of the ancient morning tea restaurant. The green tile decoration, wooden tables and chairs, and the bakery cabinet that can be seen as soon as you enter the store are full of the times. feel.




The four-person booth was small and crowded. Some old customers were reading newspapers, while others were sitting facing each other and chatting. Everyone was sipping coffee and eating bread, and suddenly felt like going back to the old days, when the years were peaceful. Sometimes when Traveling, you don't have to speed up, it's also a good choice to stop and experience the local culture.



As for food, "Nanping Yaxu" also has a wide variety of food. Old-fashioned and delicious foods such as barbecued pork egg noodles, egg tarts, and egg yolks have won my heart. Coupled with a cup of frozen mandarin duck, it's not a problem to sit there all afternoon.





I believe many people have noticed that Macau, which was gradually forgotten by "Internet celebrities", has made a comeback. Why? I'm sure everyone understands, because the neighbor next door "fire" has done a good job of diverting the friends in the Pearl River Delta who want to spend a weekend, and led them back to the quiet Macau.

It can be said that "salted fish has come back to life"!



For me, every time I come to Macau, I always feel that the surrounding environment is full of people and peaceful. And most importantly, there is my favorite shrimp paste!