MIX IT LIKE Macau You Can’T Refuse a Holiday That Promises Neon-Streaked Skies, Vegas-Like Instincts and a Cuisine with an Identity Crisis
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
LIFESTYLE FOOD+DRINK MIX IT LIKE Macau You can’t refuse a holiday that promises neon-streaked skies, Vegas-like instincts and a cuisine with an identity crisis. When in Macau, drink, eat, and make money. Careful, sometimes all of it is a gamble. BY RAVINA RAWAL F YOU’RE FUSSY about what or Macanese restaurant. On my way out, Shangri-La and others, collectively whom you eat, you could always I stepped all over gold bars displayed offering close to 20,000 additional ask what’s on your plate. Then in alternate floor tiles in the hotel hotel rooms to relax in after long again, if you aren’t fluent in lobby, wondered at the significance of nights of guests going into overdrive. Cantonese, all you’re really left the ridiculously large television screen “Drink up quickly, or you will have with is a solid prayer. Unfair, on one of the hotel’s exterior walls, a punctured tyre on your plate,” Iperhaps, to have an uninformed said hello to ‘Royal Guards’ insisted an English-speaking well- opinion on anything, especially positioned at the entrance (or exit, wisher. I was staring at my soup, a cuisine. But for someone who doesn’t since I was going out)—they said white liquid steaming inside a round, venture too far from chicken and hello right back, so much for hollowed loaf of bread, with little shrimp in the first place, Macau was a authenticity—and marvelled at how bumps hiding just beneath the delightful scare. confused everything seemed. En surface that I suspected to be things I The Macanese cuisine, much like route to the restaurant, a befriended wouldn’t fancy swallowing. But I had anything else from the area, is half local shared fast facts. to make up my mind fast, I saw what Portuguese and half Chinese, Macau cannot have a place on the he’d meant by a punctured tyre—the combining also African, Indian, map yet, it is not complete. For soup was steadily making its way Italian and Malay elements. years, amidst China and through the bread walls, soaking it Much like Bollywood, it Portugal’s administrative deliciously, but leading to its eventual has happily borrowed confusion, someone has collapse. Not wanting to be fussy in successful bits from WEEKEND WOW kept it growing, my first few hours here, I took a here and there, tossed Enjoy Hotel Royal’s steadily reclaiming reluctant sip, and liked it. I could taste them up with a dash of special weekend rate land from a shrinking prawn and, as long as I didn’t local flavour, and starting at Rs 3,809 sea, wiping out the question the specific nature of the applauded a hit remix. night. Includes taxes blue to make place for rest of it, I was happy to lap it up. and breakfast. Visit Arriving from Hong the other colours that Pig’s ear (ear? EAR?) salad was www.royalhotel. Kong, I was told I wasn’t com.mo make up Macau’s zingy up next, though the soup was easily a the only thing fresh off the nights. And for years they meal in itself, followed quickly by ferry—Macau produces will continue to do so, it seems, balcalhau (cod fish) and African curry practically nothing of its own; all food what with acting fast on dreams like chicken with a coconut base. and wine is imported. the Cotai Strip to make place for Psychologically allergic to coconut As long as there’s a good, clean unthinkably large gambling soirées since childhood, and generally room to come back to at the end of that spill into Macau from the rest of unwilling to try animal bits that didn’t an explorative day in an unknown Asia, and especially from Hong Kong, make unswervingly logical sense, I place, I could handle anything, I told Taiwan, and mainland China. resolved to go ballistic on regular jam myself. An indulgent room at the The Cotai Strip? An under- and toast upon returning to the room. Grand Emperor Hotel offered me just construction gaming expanse I’d barely finished the thought when that, in addition to a thrilling city view. between Macau’s Taipa and Coloane the Gods of Macau (and a fumbling Armed with the sort of enthusiasm islands, striving to be the last word in waitress) decided to take it easy on only the first day of a holiday can shopping, fine dining, and me, and also added king prawns and bring on, I left immediately to find ‘O entertainment options. Roped in are pork to the table. The prawns were MACAU GOVERNMENT TOURIST OFFICE Porto Interior’, a highly recommended big daddies Starwood, Sheraton, plump, juicy, and laced with garlic LIFESTYLE FOOD+DRINK and butter—a Macau favourite apparently, and immediately mine as well. The palatable pork was balchao~, also very popular. Down to dessert, this was destined to get better. RECIPE ‘Pastel de natas’—ordinary-looking egg tarts with an extraordinarily long PASTEL DE NATA (FOR 12 TARTS) story about their adaptation from the Ingredients: 1 cup milk; 3 tablespoons cornstarch; 1/2 vanilla bean; 1 cup white Portuguese egg tart by a self- sugar; 6 egg yolks; 1 (17.5 ounce) packet frozen puff pastry, thawed proclaimed innovative chap, Andrew To make: 1. Preheat oven to 375ºF (190ºC). Lightly grease 12 muffin cups, lining Stow, who tweaked the recipe and the bottom and sides with puff pastry. gave it a permanent place on every 2. In a saucepan, combine milk, cornstarch, sugar and vanilla. Cook, stirring Macanese menu. The ‘serradura’ was constantly, until mixture thickens. Place egg yolks in a medium bowl. Slowly whisk 1/2 described to me before it came to the cup of the hot milk mixture into the egg yolks. Gradually add egg yolk mixture back to table and, frankly, it sounded like the remaining milk mixture, whisking constantly. Cook, while stirring, for five minutes, something I would imagine or until thickened. Remove vanilla bean. concocting years ago in boarding 3. Fill pastry-lined muffin cups with mixture and bake in preheated oven for 20 school—condensed milk, cream and minutes, or until crust is golden brown and filling is lightly browned on top. a coat of crumbled biscuits. RAWAL PHOTOGRAPHS BY RAVINA “Sawdust,” offered the well-wisher, Macau’s beloved balcalhau (cod fish) chuckling as I inspected it. Gone in saying—that is, if you are attempting fantastic anywhere in Macau, so chouriço, are a must for anyone with kind woman appeared to understand RIGHT Dried meats on Taipa food street six seconds, it was simple, but dialogue in English—the older every meal included them. There was carnivorous cravings), and seafood what I was asking and led me to ‘Red include fillet of piglet, beef and wild boar thoroughly gratifying. Back at the generation of the small population of also a full plate of clams every now snacks. A variation of the chewy Market’, a spot on the map that we hotel, I settled in for a thrilling night Macau ignores you in a way that and then that I avoided paying ‘chikki’ back at home, their peanut both nodded enthusiastically to when of 40-inch plasma television viewing, makes you want to fantasise about attention to for the first half hour the candy—coated with sesame seeds or she first pointed it out. On a road those who are, don’t bother shopping but fell asleep before I could change using your invisibility to create first time, after which I got powdered coconut—got both my startlingly similar to most back in for clothes or footwear of local the channel. mayhem in the city. To be fair, the adventurous and surprised myself by attention and my vote instantly. Bags Mumbai, was a large red building that brands—both come in bonsai sizes. Morning found me in the middle of younger ones are willing to decode devouring it between bites of of the sesame-peanut candy to be reeked of an assortment of Being neither, I got enthusiastic about Senado Square, surrounded by desperate sign language and they are fantastic warm bread. Nothing fancier paid for, I had to wait first for a swarm unpleasant smells. collecting an honourable number of people eager to not understand a chatty, but all in Cantonese, which is, than our very own pav here at home, of Japanese tourists ahead of me unusable photographs instead— word I was saying. This is the central again, maddeningly unhelpful. this bread is perfectly crisp outside whose enthusiasm and determination thanked her though clenched teeth churches, garish chandeliers, square, a place to get some action if With most of my time spent with a super-soft middle. For best seemed violently torn between and tight smile, unhappily realising template houses, casinos, and even you want to explore Macau’s culture, walking around in circles, looking for results, wash down bites with stuffing their bags with boxes of these Ithat this was a messy, loud food one of (rich, rich casino owner) history, music, or shopping. Tucking places on a rapidly deteriorating map, Portuguese red wine that doesn’t local treats and taking group pictures market, whose selling points (odd sea Stanley Ho’s many cars. And before away my shopping list (for now), I a perpetually empty stomach was but waste time shooting immediately to (the only reason they even travel, in creatures, no labels) stared at me I’d checked my watch, I knew it was braved an attempt to receive warranted. Lunch was usually at one your head, and ready your belly for my opinion).