This content chronicles a return trip to Macau, shifting focus from its historical gambling allure to a deeper appreciation of its rich cultural heritage, Portuguese influences, and evolving identity, experienced through local interactions and culinary exploration.
Mind Map
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คลิกเพื่อสำรวจ Mind Map แบบอินเตอร์แอคทีฟฉบับเต็ม
welcome to Macau that was so easy after a quick 1 hour ride with this super cool looking boat Turbo
Jet right here it's not our first time in Macau since we probably came here quite often when
we were still dating when you came to visit me in Hong Kong it was at least over a decade ago
yeah that's true we haven't been here in a long time and I think this time we are more
interested in different things last time it was more about casinos like want to try gambling we
wanted to experience the huge hotels and you know buffets now I think we are more interested in some
of the cultural elements of this amazing but tiny place it'll be a different trip I think so you're saying
that we're not going to gamble a little bit a little bit how can you not when you're in Macau
So Macau just like Hong Kong are both Special Administrative Regions of China that means
we had to exit immigration in Hong Kong and once we're now in Macau we have to go through
immigration again to go to Macau but I think a lot of countries get visa free for 30 days in
Macau so yeah make sure to check before you come here but it is very very tourist friendly but if
you want to skip the crowd because there's quite a bit of people in front of us we usually take
the helicopter here but it was all booked out all booked there was some deal right but now there is
a cheaper option which is the bus that takes you on this beautiful bridge from Hong Kong to Macau
that was so quick and easy so convenient it's too bad nowadays they don't stamp
your passport anymore oh you didn't get a stamp no both in Hong Kong and Macau
yeah because my passport is still so new and there's not a lot of stamps in it I
like to collect stamps okay we have to go outside and find a bus to our hotel cool
did you see behind us this is the Grand Lisboa it's a very significant landmark in the city look
at how beautiful it looks colorful every time I see it I'm always impressed and I think it
is one of the oldest establishments like maybe not this one but the original Lisboa is like
one of the the oldest gaming establishments in Macau there's something about this city
that gives off this really fun vibe yeah everyone's here excited to come excited to
play even the kids the adults photographers because it's such a photogenic city as well
you see our hotel
the pastel color one that's beautiful it stands out so much yeah I love this old part of town
cuz it has a mixed blend of the old architectures and the new modern buildings yeah I think Macau
was a Portuguese colony for 400 years I think so a lot of the influences we see in the city
are Portuguese like these pastel color buildings down this main street we're actually at a really
good location when I was younger I remember coming to Macau and this was one of the most
famous walking streets souvenir streets and we're just right next to it this is perfet
should we grab some snacks before we check in what is it looks so good it's almond cookies
let's get some oh it's so hot they also sell them for 100 MOP for three boxes 100 MOP for
three boxes it's too much though but you can see he's making them fresh like you pack them into
a mold it's delicious but it's quite dry good with coffee though we should get some how much
this one it has pork floss and seaweed this one pork floss and seaweed both my favorite
things in here like this you're very good at marketing two three too much thank you
10 minutes after arriving into Macau it's already making us want to eat want to shop want to
do so much really good energy and customer service is amazing and they all speak English
yeah speak English and just around the corner of where we bought these little cakes just now is
already our beautiful hotel entrance this is so beautiful thank you thank you wow nice and cold
look at the light look at the door all the little touches beautiful she said this
was going back to the 1940s I think wow look at that bathtub and the shower head
even this is very cool all of the knobs here I've never seen this before this is so interesting how
do you open this let's see if we get any view it's just a wall oh automatic curtains how fancy
wow you do get a view you get a view of the Grand Lisboa and down here this is the Senado
Square like a walking street in there can you open it no it's locked I think it's
probably locked for safety purposes but the view is amazing from here though yeah that's the street
we just walked over from so you can tell from here that this is a historic part of the city
like this stands tall amongst all the buildings here only the really really tall ones are further
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do you think this phone is actually working no way there's there's sound coming from oh really
oh my God that's awesome it's working it works but I don't know what the emergency number is in Macau
so just in case we shouldn't call but that is that is so neat there's a mini fridge in there she said
the drinks in the mini fridge are included too wow and all these coffees and teas and
we can make our own coffee even the grinder yeah and then a pour
over there it feels like we are rich couple back in the 1940s
we've stayed at many hotels this one just gives you a feeling of you are in another
place like another time period I think it makes it so special especially when you're in Macau
and it's full of these modern luxury hotels to be able to find something this that's charming
historic but also very well thought out and detailed hotel I'm really happy with this place
don't eat this on the bed don't make a mess but it's so light and
airy inside is pork floss sesame seeds very delicious eat this in the bathtub
babe the phone is ringing you have to pick it up
let's go down for our historic tour of this hotel
I've learned so much from Abby about the hotel about Macau I mean this
building is pretty interesting because it was the first building to even have
an elevator in Macau it was the tallest building in Macau for many years and also
the first to have the casino license yeah that is pretty awesome so it really encapsulates the
culture of Macau and there's also a heartwarming story behind this hotel and how it has reopened
now in 2024 so this hotel has a long history it's built since 1928 but it eventually became rundown
and also became a Heritage building basically but in 2016 the president of one of these like
big companies in Macau his name is Simon Sio he bought this building because he lived across from
it in his childhood he saw this you know beautiful luxurious classy building in his childhood and
he's always wanted to go inside to explore but got kicked out because back then this has a casino it
was fancy he he was too young to go too young and it's fancy so he eventually he bought it it took
him over 7 years to even negotiate how to fix this up hire interior designers everything to redo this
hotel in a way that fits with the theme of the hotel and the history of the hotel and it wasn't
cheap too it was 2.2 Billion Hong Kong dollars and it's still not done because they're still
working on the first and the second floor to make it a shopping mall area it's pretty neat yeah this
hotel is one of the coolest hotels we've stayed in I think it's pretty crazy that when he was a kid
he was like oh yeah you won't let me in I'm going to buy this hotel yeah well he wasn't joking he
did it that's the coolest part of it so where are we going now we are going to go to Rua do Cunha
I don't know how to pronounce the names of the places but basically it is on a
different part of Macau so this is called Macau Peninsula where we are but there's two other
Islands so one we're going to is called Taipa and this street is like a walking
street there's lots of food there it's kind of like older building so we'll go explore that
so taking the bus is probably the most convenient and the most popular way of getting around Macau
they have a light rail system but it's doesn't really cover I think that many places in the city
and taxis I think are not like we don't see a lot of them and it might be expensive not even sure if
they have things like Uber I think it was banned ride hailing apps so yeah taking the bus it's very
well connected you just need to carry some cash or go and get a card like a Macau I think it's
called an M Pass card so you can put money in there and use it in convenience stores or also for
like public transportation everyone is getting off here this is a famous street it looks so cute and
colorful and I smell something delicious there's so much food just in this little place here and
even lots of baked goodies but we shouldn't eat too much maybe grab a snack or something to drink
because we have a special dinner tonight yes oh it's this place what is it Portuguese egg tart
yeah Lord Stow's egg tart how bad is the lineup right now it's pretty bad but I feel like I
should try it of course you're here already right you go line up it's actually going really fast
success success it was 11 MOP I don't know what the currency is called Macau dollar
it's Macau pataca I think that's what it's called anyways I gave them Hong Kong dollars
and they give me Macau money back so we'll try to use it up while we're here but it was
worth the wait it was only about 5 minutes oh that looks delicious it actually looks so good
it's so hot inside is it really that good you can see how much filling is in it
it's pretty crazy actually tastes like soft sweet steamed egg it's super eggy
so aside from all of the food vendors and all the street food you can find in this street
which is called Rua do Cunha you can get a lot of souvenirs hi you can get a lot of souvenirs
like lots of almond cookies and pastries and beef jerky pork jerky a bunch of different
stuff that you would come here to buy for your family and friends after visiting Macau it's
a very very lively street and definitely one you don't want to miss if you come visit Macau
where are you taking me now it feels a bit haunted feels empty we are like a couple minutes
away from the busy street where we were just now this is called the Yick Loong Old Fire Cracker
Factory and what is interesting about this place is it is kind of abandoned now they the government
is trying to refurbish this area to keep the history of this going but what happened here
was they used to make a lot of firecrackers in Taipa so back in the day this was a huge producer
of it and they export it and perfect right for all the Chinese New Year festivals new business
festivals so it's a very celebratory thing to be making except it's also very dangerous so I don't
know when it happened but there was a fatal explosion here at the factory it does give
you kind of a little bit of like an eerie feeling when I was little I used to play with firecrackers
all the time and I would hold it and light it up and wait until it's almost to the end where
it's about to explode and then throw it cuz it's more cool that way so risky sometimes we're in
the rice field we put it in Buffalo poo light it up and we run away and it'd just explode and poo
would be flying everywhere that's um that's what I did when I was young that's a very boy type of
childhood I think Thai boy my sister and I would never be able to do anything like that so we're
just walking towards the place where we're going to have dinner tonight and we are really excited
because we'll be meeting Karen and Julio who are our subscribers but also they live in Macau now
and know so much about Macau so we're really eager to learn more about the food more about
the culture with them so if you know anything about the early 2000s like Canto pop music or
rock music in Hong Kong in Hong Kong in Macau actually honestly internationally cuz I heard
it in Canada too he's part of this duo him and his twin brother were Soler and they made amazing
music my sister was a huge fan I listened to it all the time at home I knew him when I went to
University in Hong Kong I mean like I knew who he is I didn't know him yeah he's big yeah so
yeah he is kind of the ambassador of the face of Macau for many years now and when he knew
that we're coming to Macau him and his wife both wanted to show us around and give us a
bit more insight into the culture and you know a little local perspective of this beautiful city
thank you for having us guys is it alcohol is non-alcoholic it's very nice
Cheers Cheers this is nice this is fig syrup I mean this is a non-alcoholic there's no alcohol don't
worry the kids are having them yes I don't even know the origin of this is it typically Macau or
it's a fig syrup but it's not like very strong or very sweet it's very refreshing and fruity like prunes and raisins
never had anything like this it's interesting because do they have a version that has
alcohol in it or is always like this would be good with alcohol
Julio and Karen have invited us for dinner here and also with their friends who are a
Macanese family and we wanted to learn more about Macanese culture so they're the perfect people
to ask I think it is a blend of Cantonese and Portuguese cultures but they will tell us more
about it it's so interesting just observing them you speak Portuguese and Cantonese and
English they're like just yeah so multicultural you guys speak Portuguese right depends when
she's pissed off all languages come out but the kids now learn Portuguese and Mandarin
in school speak English to each other but at home they also speak Cantonese with their mom
four languages but we are more typical of the generation that we speak Cantonese but
we don't read and write it particularly unless we studied it if not yeah growing up in Macau
pretty much the Macanese community just spoke Cantonese without reading writing yeah I also cannot write
Chinese and you read I can read some now because I watch a lot of television and I sing a lot of
karaoke with my family same here so I can read it now like I think 70% but I still cannot write
it you do a lot of fill in the blanks right yeah yeah it's like this and this oh that must be that
so just 15-20 minutes into the dinner I already learned something
Macanese culture is not as simple as we thought it was it's not just Cantonese and Portuguese influence
because dating back to like 16th century like the Portuguese did a lot of traveling and exploring
they stopped in many places like Africa Malaysia India lots of places and they
collected a lot of goods like spices and other kinds of stuff and when they came to Macau all
of that was incorporated into the cuisine here at the time and so it has influences from many
many different cultures Macau's story is about people from different origins meeting
in this place so actually it's fascinating because you see Julio's parents us me my
mother and my father they met here my mother was mixed already Macanese right so mixed for
many generations and my father she met when she was studying in Portugal and she brought him here
and I was born here so you know there there's some magic here in Macau that attracts people
from different places to here there's a romantic story about it true I like this version so much
ooh nice and hot on the bum
it's another very beautiful but very hot day here in Macau today we're going to stay in the
Macau Peninsula area which is where the hotel is and it's also a UNESCO World Heritage site
as well so we'll do some exploring around this area today Julio and Karen are going to come
back to join us and show us a bit more of the places that they like to eat at Michelin 2024
oh 5 years did it miss it one year what happened then so this place is called Wing Kee I think
their tofu-fa is the best here of course you can try everything else the noodles is
good too so what do you usually have um we have the tofu noodles and also the you know chicken blood jelly
like duck blood it's like a blood jelly okay yeah I'll try it
first tofu-fa yeah in a long time it's very refreshing actually I've been always wanting
to order this but I always get too full after my meal so now I'm going to start
with my dessert Flora has a habit of eating dessert first before her main meal she eats
what she likes actually there's a Chinese saying though so eat the sweet or like choose
the Sweet Life before the rough life this one is tofu and egg noodle you notice this tofu
it looks extra silky and smooth because it's made in house and not just the tofu
is made in house but also the egg noodle since 1958
very comforting I like shops like this it feels homey
Portuguese pancake what's a Portuguese pancake I actually have no idea I've heard of like a pudding
before that's famous here but then this one looks like a crepe yeah they look like crepe let's try
it look at that nice and hot oh if you want to add some toppings uh the Portuguese people like to add
the cinnamon cinnamon oh we love cinnamon you can do by yourself okay what do you call this again
there's no way you can pronounce that
wow I didn't realize Portuguese is so hard to pronounce and let's not start with the
R's cuz Portuguese to pronounce the R in the beginning of a word you say [...] so
to repeat is [...] and and that's also two when it's and when there two two R's in the middle
it's [...] and so to say to recur
cuz there's R in the beginning there's two RS in the middle and
there's a lot of R's I can't even do I can't I can't even roll my R's
to recur
okay this looks so good this looks delicious
I want to see you talk in Thai
look at the juices oozing the 500 year old egg recipe
my auntie in Thailand say let's open in Thailand one of this oh this would
sell in Thailand too Thailand love chewy desserts
this is delicious oh we need to share sorry guys you have to order your own
would you like to try one see this is something I never knew Macau had people come here
of course you go eat the egg tarts the almond cookies that's all what I knew
of Macau but this is very unique thank you so much thank you so much nice to meet you
so nice that's so satisfying let's go for a walk to digest yes perfect
I have been here many times I have never seen the backside of this and I think majority of
the people who came to Macau before probably didn't get to see this they
wouldn't walk over here yeah look everyone is down there and it's still beautiful they
use this as the iconic East Meets West in the religious term where you have a
a Catholic church with a Chinese traditional Temple stuck next to each other in harmony
Wonderflo
so before we leave we're going to try our luck at the casino not much but you
know 20 Hong Kong dollars yeah leave our little
mark in Macau right before we leave contributing to the economy of Macau
