Everyone always seems to be busy these days, but no Hong Kong-er can be too busy for a one day or one night trip to Macau. But if you’re too lazy to think of what to do, follow this sightsee-less one-day guide and eat all day!
1. Stay at Conrad
If you’re staying overnight, keep yourself close to the must-eats, but away from the crazy crowd in Venetian (seriously, one of their entrances on a Tuesday afternoon was comparable to rush hour at Admiralty).
Conrad is just across the road from Venetian (in Sands Cotai Central) and is my favourite hotel so far. It’s classy, clean and staff are very helpful, but just a tad pricier.
Laksa from Golden Pavilion
2. Have an amazing bowl of Burmese noodles for lunch
Walk next door to City of Dreams and devour a delicious bowl of Laksa or Myanmar-style coconut curry chicken noodles at the Golden Pavilion, bang in the middle of its casino.
But if you’re not truly that lazy, the cheap and truly local option would be at 成群小食店, where a bowl of Burmese noodles cost only MOP21. They also serve delicious thick broth fish soup noodles for a similar price. However, it’s a trek away from the casino world – in fact, I took a MOP80 cab there.
Coconut curry chicken noodles at 成群小食店
Pastelaria Fong Kei
3. Buy the best Wife Cakes home
Take a shuttle bus from City of Dreams to Galaxy, then ask for directions to go to Taipa Village (you need to get on an overhead walkway). There’s a street to buy all your souvenirs and I highly recommend the wife cakes 老婆餅 and almond cookies from Pastelaria Fong Kei. I would avoid Ko Kei and Choi Heung Yuen as they are so commercialised (taste so too) and can be bought in Hong Kong anyway.
Pork chop bun from Tai Lei Loi Kei 大利來記
4. Macanese pork chop bun for tea
This pork burger is definitely top one or two priority when in Macau. There’s nothing fancy or extraordinary about it, just one tasty piece of meat in a nice baguette-type bun!
Pork chop bun from 新好利美食餅店
Tai Lei Loi Kei 大利來記 is the best one I’ve had and their store in Taipa village definitely does it better than their other stores (one in Venetian and one by Ruins of St. Paul 大三巴). You could also try 新好利美食餅店 for a similar experience.
Egg tarts from Lord Stow’s bakery
5. The famous Lord Stow’s egg tarts
The photo says it all! There’s one conveniently located in Venetian and you can easily walk back from Taipa Village.
Carbonara from Sheraton Macao’s Bene
6. Italian dinner at Sheraton’s Bene
Portuguese food is probably the standard meal you’re supposed to have, if you’re a tourist in Macau. But I’ve been to several and wasn’t particularly impressed. It might be because I’m simply not a fan of that cuisine though!
So if you’re anything like me, go for the Italian restaurant in Sheraton (right next to Conrad!) which serves affordably delicious food. Food, environment and service are all top notch, while prices are so reasonable (about HK$350 per person, excluding drinks).
See the restaurant review here.
Remarks
Of course you’d probably want to slot in some gambling or shopping time in between to help digest some of that food… Enjoy!
