Places to eat in Macao

UPDATE: Fellow VTer ajc3456 claimed that the restaurant is no longer in business (circa Aug 08)

There isn't anything much in way of decor and ambience, just a 2 storey setup with white tiled walls but it certainly serves up good local fare for cheap prices. The cafe sold a bevy of dishes - rice, noodles, buns, cakes, drinks, sandwiches etc. You will be spoiled for choice. They do have an English menu - ask for it.

Favorite Dish: The salt, chilli and pepper pork rice whch comes in a lunch set with soup of the day and a milk tea/coffee for only 23 patacas, comes highly recommended. The pork chop bun (10 patacas) is great too - pork fried lovely in spices and tender and sandwiched in a crispy baguette-style bun. The milk tea (6.50 patacas on its own) is great.

There isn't much in the way of decor and ambience - the walls are tiled with yellow tiles! But the fridge with the many moulds of milk custard is a dead getaway. This is a place for great Cantonese style milk desserts! Steamed milk custard, steamed egg custard and the pride of the shop, the steamed ginger & milk custard. You can have them hot or cold. Very milky & melts in your mouth - you could have 2 or 3 of them at a go.

Favorite Dish: I like the steamed ginger and milk custard but that's an acquired taste for some. Stick to the steamed milk or egg custard then. Price hovers between 13-18 patacas for different variety.

Located on Hac Sa Beach just a few meters from the water, a seafood dinner at Fernando's is a great way to end a day exploring Coloane Island. Locals and tourists alike come in droves for the gigantic portions of authentic Portugese seafood. The grilled fish were flaky and tender, served with freshly chopped onions, parsley, and a drizzle of olive oil on the side, and meat-and-potatoes purists also need not fear, as my sister heartily recommended her steak frites. I found the bacalhau a bit salty, but lovers of Portugese cuisine would probably contend that salt cod should of course be that way. All in all a lovely meal in a relaxed outdoor setting. Get there relatively early (especially on weekends), because by 7:30 or so the place is so packed you may have to fight for a table....

This is supposed to be the flagship of Portuguese food in this former Portuguese colony - the benchmark, the numero uno, if you may. Ambience is quite alright - going for a village tavern look. I did not get to eat here at all as the place was packed to the brim on a Thurs night!!

PLEASE RESERVE A TABLE WELL IN ADVANCE to avoid disappointment.

Portuguese Egg Tarts was the rage in Asia a few years ago. Though the bubble had burst, it is still worth a try while you are in Macau. Unlike the normal egg tarts, the egg custard is baked in a crispy flaky crust, bringing a totally different mouthfeel sensation. A bite in one rewards you with a creamy eggy filling along with a caramelic lingering taste.

This bakery was near my hotel, and their egg tarts are definitely worth a try.

Favorite Dish: Egg Tarts (5.50patacas each)! They serve very tasty pork pizzas as well.

While this buffet is situated in the Sands Casino, and you'll no doubt have to wait a few minutes for a table in the evening, it is actually one of the most incredible deals in Macau! For MP138 for lunch/MP188 dinner all-you-can-eat, the Sands Casino buffet has literally meters of every type or style of gourmet cuisine that one would imagine: Western, Chinese, Macanese, Pan-Asian, Indian, etc. Just their sushi and sashimi table, with an incredible array of melt-in-your mouth fresh fish makes it worth the expense, not to mention their unbelievable selection of fruit, ice cream, and desserts. Definitely worth a walk through the casino, but save it for a day that you're hungry!

Favorite Dish: The hot chocolate fondue station with fresh fruit and pastries was absolutely sinful....

This is a cafe sandwiched between 2 more upmarket restaurants but don't let that fool you. The chef here had won awards for its Garlic Butter Baked Cod. There is no much in the way of ambience and decor; just tasty food! The staff do not really speak good English but they do have English menu and if all else fail, nothing like plenty of sign languages to get your way.

Favorite Dish: The (spicy) African Chicken & the Portuguese Chicken were delicious! And of course the award winning Garlic Butter Baked Cod.

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This place is called Lai Kei and it is a local ice-cream, small and simple family restaurant. It has been here for years and years, from generation to generation. The menu still keeps both Chinese and Portuguese languages.

The restaurant is super clean and their ice-creams are all home-made. As to me is the best place to eat 'true' ice-cream.

I pay a great deal of attention to my health, so, when I feel like eating ice-cream I always come here and avoid all those renamed, expensive and high-loaded sugar brands.

Favorite Dish: My favorite item is the three-coloured ice-cream, this is to say, from the choices you have you pick-up three flavours (three scoops). You can also ask for only one flavour, it is up to you. The ones I like best are peanut, mint, coffee and inhame. There is also strawberry, chocolate, coffee, vanilla, coconut, etc.

The ice-cream here is really amazing and sweet enough to get satisfied.

So, if you like ice-cream and come to Macau or if you come to Macau and like ice-cream, drop a visit to Lai Kei, it is worth.