The 10 Best Macanese Dishes to Try in Macau
Macau is more than just a casino city. It’s also a place where East met West over 400 years ago to produce the world’s first fusion food: Macanese cuisine. A unique blend of both Chinese and Portuguese ingredients and cooking techniques, here are ten of the tastiest Macanese dishes to try on your next visit.
Minchi
Minchi is a signature Macanese dish. Comfort food at its best, combining minced beef with diced potatoes stir-fried with onions, and seasoned with Worcestershire sauce. It’s often topped with a fried egg and served with a side of steaming white rice. Minchi is a household favourite in Macau, but you can also find it on the menu at several Macanese restaurants in town. Try local canteen-style restaurant Riquexo.
Riquexo, Songbo Village, 69 Av. de Sidonio Pais, Macau +853 2856 5655
Tacho
This Macanese take on a traditional Portuguese slow-cooked stew is a veritable feast of both European and Asian elements in one. Combining cabbage, with cuts of ham, pork and Chinese meats, including cured sausages and duck, it’s a warming winter stew that is true Macanese soul food. Try it at Restaurant Carlos.
Restaurante Carlos, 432-438 Rua Cidade de Braga, Alameda Dutor Carlos d’Assumpcao, Macau +853 2875 1838
Capela
Capela is a Macanese-style meatloaf. This popular family-style dish consists of beef, pork, chorizo, bread and olives. It’s topped with crispy bacon slices and grated cheese.
Lord Stow’s Bakery, 1 Rua do Tassara, Coloane, Macau +853 2888 2534
African chicken
Considered the quintessential Macanese dish, African chicken is essentially a Macanese take on a chicken curry. Created by a local Macau chef in the 1940s, using spices he obtained from trips to Africa, it’s become a staple dish at local restaurants. It’s a moreish combination of chicken baked in a rich sauce made of peanuts, tomato, grated coconut, red pepper, a little chilli, and sometimes a touch of paprika.
Restaurante Litoral, R/C, 261-A Rua do Almirante Sergio, Macau, +853 2896 7878
Pork chop bun
Sometimes referred to as ‘the Macanese version of a hamburger’. This signature Macanese snack combines a succulent marinated pork chop wrapped in a warm, chewy bun. Sun Ying Kei specialises in this Macanese speciality.
Sun Ying Kei, GF, 2B Rua da Alegria do Patane, Macau
Braised pork in tamarind shrimp sauce
Another mouthwatering example of Macanese fusion cooking is stewed tamarind pork. A slow-cooked pork stew coated in a rich Macanese shrimp paste sauce. The sauce is a careful balance of sweet, sour and spicy flavours. It blends dried shrimp, brandy, salt and pepper, chillies and bay leaf.
Restaurante Litoral, R/C, 261-A Rua do Almirante Sergio, Macau, +853 2896 7878
Salted cod fritters (Pasteis de Bacalhau)
These delicious golden brown croquettes, filled with salted cod, mashed potato, onion, egg and parsley, are a staple of Portuguese and Macanese menus. Crunchy on the outside and creamily soft on the inside, they can be served either hot or cold. Try them at O Santos, a local Portuguese restaurant in Taipa Village.
O Santos, Rua do Cunha, n.20, Taipa, Macau, +853 2882 5594
Macanese chilli prawns
Also known as gambas à Macau, Macanese chilli prawns are stuffed with garlic, red chilli, shallot and parsley before being fried and finished with a white wine and garlic sauce.
Restaurante Litoral, R/C, 261-A Rua do Almirante Sergio, Macau, +853 2896 7878
Macanese-style Portuguese chicken (Galinha à Portuguesa)
Despite the ‘Portuguese’ reference in its title, this dish originated in Macau. It’s essentially chicken and potatoes cooked in a mild, coconut-based, yellow curry sauce made with turmeric powder. Try it at Macau’s oldest Portuguese restaurant, Solmar.
Solmar Restaurant: 512 Avenida da Praia Grande, Macau, +853 2888 1881
Macau egg tart
Arguably the city’s most famous snack, Macau egg tarts continue to sell quicker than proverbial hotcakes. Based on the Portuguese pastéis de nata and given a local spin, they combine crispy crème brulée tops, flaky pastry crusts and delicious egg custard centres. Best served fresh from the original Lord Stow’s Bakery, located in the heart of Macau’s Coloane Village.
Lord Stow’s Bakery, 1 Rua do Tassara, Coloane, Macau,+853 2888 2534
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