Chuseok Weekend 2018 in Macau -- Food

Korea celebrated Chuseok from September 24 - 26, 2018. These dates fell on Monday - Wednesday, which means the holiday really started when everyone got off work on Friday afternoon/evening.

For those who don't know Chuseok: people here call it "Korean Thanksgiving," because it is a time when families get together in the oldest relative's home for ancestral ceremonies--and spend time together as a family, making memories.

So it's a harvest-time national holiday spent with family (like American Thanksgiving). This is one time when it feels like the entire population hits the road. Anyone who ever got stuck in Korean traffic during this time knows what I mean.
It's common for a 6-hr drive to last 12+ hrs. Yes, it gets that bad.
Maybe that's one reason why more and more people (not just families) travel internationally during this time. Airlines know this, so they jack up the prices to criminal levels--just like American Thanksgiving and very much like Christmas time in most places.

Then, you get people like me who know all this but need to leave the country for a spell just for the sake of sanity. So I went to Macau.

If you didn't know, I already traveled to Macau before--during Chuseok 2017! It's not that Macau is my official Chuseok destination, just that it is small enough for me to explore and enjoy in a few days (the length of the Chuseok holiday). I also had a few things I wanted to do that I missed last time.

However, instead of going for the entire 5-day holiday, I only went for the weekend. Why? Flight tickets were either sold out or too expensive for a later departure date. Besides, I liked the idea of having 3 days to recover from the trip before going back to school on Thursday.

I'm ready to share my pictures and a couple videos with you. Only this time, I'm gonna do it a little differently: instead of posting by day, I've divided these posts by topics. As you can see from the title above, this one post is dedicated to the food I ate.

Hungry?

I'm sorry.

Let's start with my 1st meal in Macau (this time around).

A Vencedora

I saw this restaurant as I was googling about Macau. Yes, I already visited once, but I wanted to check if there were any secret places I missed--especially food-wise.

In case you didn't know, Macau was a Portuguese colony for 442 years (1557 - 1999). You will see Portuguese everywhere--one of the main reasons why I love Macau!

I felt triumphant when I found this place!

The menu in Cantonese & Portuguese.

Just so you know, the prices above are in Macanese Patacas (which are basically equal to the Hong Kong Dollar).

I love how similar Spanish and Portuguese are!

And just to think I can have this exposure to a Latin language by taking a 3-hr flight from Korea.

(Beef) Minchi. It tasted like home, it was so good!

Gelatina Musang Mok Yi Kei

Serradura (Sawdust pudding). It had a durian aftertaste.

Perhaps this container was next to some durian flavored-something for a while, and the durian penetrated this container. It was "meh."

Where I got the "sawdust" pudding.

Lord Stow's Bakery/Cafe/Garden Cafe/Express

Coming here was like making a pilgrimage. I can never hear Macau and not think of their egg tarts. I don't know how Portuguese egg tarts are like (I understand those are the originals), but these in Macau are the best I've ever had. Lord Stow's Bakery in Coloane is where it all started for these egg tarts in Macau. 

I didn't know this, but where the main bakery is, there's also a cafe, a garden cafe (restaurant), and an express (cafe) by the same people/brand/recipe. 

The original bakery--where you can get boxes of egg tarts.

The Garden Cafe (left) and Express Cafe (right)

That's very good to know.

I stepped into the express cafe and treated myself.

You can never eat just one egg tart. Beside is a cinnamon shaker.

The Cafe (really full when I passed by and took the picture)

Restaurante Litoral

This restaurant just happened to be about 2km from my hotel. It's also the nicest one I've ever treated myself to (alone) since I've been in Korea.

Entrance with the menu by the door.

Intro to Macanese Cuisine--in Portuguese

Same as previous, but in English

Below are 4 pages I took pictures of from the menu, so you can see an introduction of what they have and how much they cost--in Macau Patacas/Hong Kong Dollars.

Started with Caldo Verde (green soup)

Is that pork? Whoops.

African Chicken -- before

African Chicken -- after

Serradura -- without the durian aftertaste. Very nice.

Feast (in Sands Cotai Central)

Exploring the hotels/casinos along the Cotai Strip, I was looking for somewhere to eat Minchi again. I ended up at a buffet restaurant called "Feast." A server guided me to the buffet area and gave me a tour of the options. I asked if they knew Minchi. Apparently, I was mispronouncing it. When I showed pictures of it on my phone, then they knew what I was talking about.

Well, one of the cooks made it especially for me. I was sooo honored, touched, and happy!

My last meal in Macau was a very happy one.

Beef Minchi -- again!

This concludes the food episode. Next, I'll post pictures of pandas--both giant and red pandas.