The food in Macau alone is worth the trip to this tiny former Portuguese colony in southern China. While most visitors come to Macau to gamble in the Las Vegas of the East, foodies will absolutely love Macau for its unique and delicious food scene. Normal people like you and me will also enjoy the yummy food in Macau.
Most visit Macau on a day trip from Hong Kong, and while a day is just about long enough to see the main sights, it will take much longer to indulge in Macau’s food. Whether you’re in Macau for a day or an extended trip, the food won’t disappoint.
The combination of European and Chinese culture, exciting casinos and, of course, the extraordinary food scene make Macau one of our top places to visit in China.
Don’t know where to eat or what to order?
No worries – we will show you the best places to eat in Macau and tell you what to order.
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What to Expect from the Food in Macau
The food in Macau is a wonderful mix of everything good. While many suspect Macanese cuisine to simply be a fusion between Portugal and China, it goes, in fact, much wider than that.
The boats which brought the sailors and culture from Portugal to this tiny enclave clinging to mainland China did not sail straight from Europe to Asia. Along the way to and from Macau, boats would call at other ports in the Portuguese world.
Recipes, ingredients and spices from Portugal, Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, Goa and Timor Leste arrived here in China. Over the years, they have all simmered and organically came together in something truly outstanding. One can go so far as to argue that Macanese cuisine is perhaps the original fusion food, bringing food and flavours together from Europe, South America, Africa and Asia.
Food in Macau can either be Chinese, Portuguese or Macanese and sometimes the lines get a little blurred. Food, without a doubt, is the heart and identity of Macau.
We all know that food brings people together, and peaceful Macau is a prime example of this. As a result, Macau is a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy (just like Chengdu in mainland China) for how the food nurtures cultural diversity and economic growth.
Eating in Macau is exciting and can be as simple or extravagant as you choose. From over-the-top decadent meals in five-star casino hotels to humble street food bites, there is something out there for every taste and occasion.
Eating in Macau by Area
Macau is an autonomous region of China located in the steamy Pearl River Delta. Macau can be divided into 2 main areas, with its own personality and charm.
The Macau peninsula is attached to mainland China, while the island of Taipa (and Coloane) is connected by bridges to the peninsula.
Macau Peninsula is where you’ll find the famous St Paul’s ruins and iconic Grand Lisboa casino. The streets and alleys around St Paul’s are chock-a-block with shops selling famous Macanese snacks such as Bak Kwa (Chinese pork jerky), almond cookies or egg rolls. All these shops offer free tastings, so come hungry and try your best to get a taste of everything on offer. Trying does not mean you have to buy anything.
The island of Taipa is home to the Cotai Strip and its casinos. Taipa is where you’ll find some of the best food in Macau. Choose between fast and cheap food court meals in the casinos, great value hotel buffets or slow and extravagant restaurant meals.
Free bottled water, coffee and tea are available in all the casinos, so don’t bother buying these.
Outside the casinos, Rua do Cunha in Taipa Village is where you’ll find the best street food in Macau, and it must not be missed.
Coloane, located on the southern tip of Taipa Island, is a world away from the glitzy casinos of the Cotai Strip.
Rustic and laid back, Coloane might be a bit out of the way for people who are only spending a day in Macau. However, it is quite charming, and the fantastic Portuguese restaurant Fernando’s on Hac Sa Beach is a Macau institution and often our sole reason for going to Macau.
Where & What to Eat in Macau
Sorry, I know you must be hungry…Now that you know a little about Macau and its food, let us show you our favourite places to eat in Macau.
Hotel Buffets:
Macau has luxury hotels and casinos offering world-class dining options. And the best is that you don’t need to be a millionaire to indulge. These hotel buffets are too good to pass up:
Urban Kitchen Buffet at Macau JW Marriott (USD 44)
Spotlight Buffet in Studio City (USD 22)
Le Buffet at The Parisian Macao (USD 93)
Macau Egg Tarts
If there is one thing that everyone must eat in Macau, it must be one of the city’s iconic egg tarts. And not just any egg tart. It’s common knowledge that the best egg tarts in Macau come from Lord Stow’s bakery.
Like any good egg tart, the ones from Lord Stow’s come in an incredibly flakey shell and is filled with sweet, custardy sunshine that puts a smile on everyone’s face. They are similar to the pasteis de nata that you can find in Lisbon, but perhaps slightly sweeter (and cheaper since you’re not paying in Euros).
The best place to enjoy these beauties is in their natural habitat, of course. You can find the original Lord Stow’s Bakery in Coloane. Grabbing a coffee and a few egg tarts for breakfast before taking a stroll through lovely Coloane is our idea of the perfect start to a day in Macau.
There are also branches in the Venetian Casino in Taipa and one in Taipa Village. Expect long (but fast-moving lines) at all of them.
Lord Stow’s
Original bakery: 1 Rua da Tassara, Coloane Island
Also: Rue Do Cunha, Taipa Village
Venetian Casino
Fernando’s
Beloved Fernando’s has been a household name in Macau since 1986 for serving the best Portuguese food in Macau. The best way to really enjoy Fernando’s is to put aside the best part of the day. Come here for a slow meal the way they do in the Mediterranean.
We like Fernando’s as much for its fantastic food as for its atmosphere. It always feels like you’re having Sunday lunch at a friend’s house.
There is a lovely garden where you can enjoy a jug (or two) of sangria while you wait for a table.
You can’t go wrong with the crispy skin suckling pig, clams, roasted chicken or fish. A simple salad of tomatoes and herbs from their own garden is always dynamite and best enjoyed with olive oil and vinegar. They also have the largest, flour-dusted Portuguese buns we’ve ever had.
They don’t take reservations, so come and walk down the beach or have a few cold ones in the garden until your table is ready.
You can’t say that you’ve been to Macau if you haven’t eaten at Fernando’s.
Fernando’s
9 Praia de Hac Sa, Coloane
Open: 12:00-21:30 (last orders)
Cha Gordo
To tuck into the best Macanese food all in one go, Chá Gordo is hard to beat. Chá Gordo is a traditional, family-style Macanese high tea, and translates to Fat Tea. Often consisting of 30 or more dishes, Chá Gordo was traditionally enjoyed by wealthy Macanese on religious holidays such as Easter or weddings. Chá Gordo will quite possibly be the most delicious (and fattening) afternoon tea you’ll ever have.
The Manor at St Regis on the Cotai Strip hosts an indulgent Chá Gordo every Saturday.
On the day we went, we could choose one main meal (African Chicken, Macanese Prawns or Capela) in addition to the buffet spread. There is also a free flow of tea, coffee or juice.
The buffet has everything from steamed dumplings to fried codfish bacalhau to sawdust cookies and egg tarts. The best thing is that no one judges you for going back for seconds, or thirds…or fourths…or…
At 148 MOP (about USD20), you don’t need to win the jackpot to enjoy this unique and luxurious experience in Macau.
The Manor
1st Floor, The St Regis Hotel, Cotai Strip, Taipa
Pork Chop Bun
Sometimes the best things in life are plain and simple. The Macau pork chop bun is one of these things.
Picture a large, bone-in pork chop marinated in soy sauce, five-spice, sugar, salt and pepper, then fried to golden perfection before being served on a warm, buttered Portuguese bun.
These pork chop buns are quite similar to a Portuguese bifana (beef bun). The juicy pork chop tucked in the warm, crunchy bun makes the perfect bite on the go.
You can find pork chop buns all over Macau, but those who know will tell you that the best is to be found at Sei Kee Cafe in Taipa. Also grab a coffee or milk tea brewed in a clay pot which Sei Kee is famous for, while you’re here.
Sei Kee is always busy with locals and tourists, which is always a good sign.
Sei Kee Cafe
1 Largo dos Bombeiros, Taipa Village
A Petisquera
Rustic A Petisqueira in Taipa is another excellent choice for Portuguese food in Macau. They only do two servings per night, so reservations are essential. We always walk in during the morning and tell them that we’ll come back for dinner at 7.
The food and atmosphere are straight out of Portugal without the prices of Europe.
It’s best to order a few dishes to share between the table. The octopus salad, clams, seafood rice, and grilled chicken are highly recommended.
A Petisqueira
15 Rua de São Joao, Taipa
Tel: +853 2882 5354
Tuesday to Sunday
12:30 pm to 2:30 pm and 6:45 pm to 10:00 pm
Dim Sum
You can’t come to southern China and not have its signature dish. Dim Sum originated in Guangdong province just across the border and must be the absolute breakfast/brunch of champions.
Dim Sum or Yum Cha as it’s known in this part of China, translates to morning tea, and the best way to think of it is breakfast tapas.
As with everything else in Macau, Dim Sum can be as plain and simple or extravagant as you choose. A solid choice for Dim Sum is the popular Tim Ho Wan. The original Tim Ho Wan Dim Sum house in Hong Kong has earned a Michelin star for its cheap yet delicious food.
The must-orders on the menu are baked BBQ Pork buns, pan-fried turnip cake and steamed sponge cake, but everything on the menu is sure to hit the spot.
One of my favourites is the glutinous rice wrapped and steamed in a lotus leaf. Seriously, just point at anything on the menu, and you’ll be happy.
Mango Mochi
Cheung Chau Ping Kee, a little dessert shop in Taipa village, sells sweet, juicy chunks of fruit wrapped in chewy mochi. The combination of textures and tastes may sound strange, but it works!
The most famous one (and deservedly so), stuffed with half a mango, is truly delicious. Other fillings include durian, strawberry, banana or cantaloupe.
Cheung Chau Ping Kee
Rua de Horta e Sousa No.4, Taipa
(just off Rua do Cunha)
Daily from 09:00 – 21:00
Almond Cookies
You’ll find Macau’s famous almond cookies for sale all over town, especially around the St Paul’s ruins and Senado Square.
Macau-styled almond cookies are sweet and a tad bit salty, and the main ingredients are almond and mung bean flour. The best way to describe the texture when biting into an almond cookie is almost like very, very fine sand. Very delicious sand.
For the best and most famous almond cookie in Macau, head over to the Michelin star Fong Kei bakery in Taipa. It’s easy to find; just look for the long line of people!
Pastelaria Fong Kei
14 Rua do Cunha, Taipa
Curry Fish Balls
Curry fish balls are popular street food in Hong Kong, Macau and southern China. Fish-flavoured flour balls are skewered onto bamboo sticks and boiled in a yellow coconut curry. Other than fish and shrimp balls, they also have sausages.
Hou Mei Mei (translation = Very Delicious) does fantastic fishballs with the perfect spice-to-flavour ratio. The fishballs pair perfectly with Ho Mei Mei’s own sugar cane juice. Hou Mei Mei is strictly take-out, so get in on the go or find a bench nearby.
Hou Mei Mei
49 Rua Direita Carlos Eugénio, Taipa
High Tea at Nagomi
All the luxury hotels and casinos offer their version of high tea and it’s an extravagant affair, as to be expected. If petite edible works of art and pinkies in the air are not your idea of the perfect afternoon, then the high tea at Nagomi is perhaps what you’re looking for.
Nagomi, located in the Okura Hotel, offers a Japanese themed high tea buffet (yes, you read that right HIGH TEA BUFFET!!) on the weekends and it’s fantastic.
Savoury dishes such as gyoza or chicken teriyaki are served at your table, while the buffet is a free-for-all event. The spread has a beautiful selection of sandwiches, sliders, cakes, cookies, desserts, fruit…and perhaps the best of all – a matcha green tea chocolate fountain!
For a luxurious food experience that won’t break the bank, Nagomi comes highly recommended.
Nagomi
Hotel Okura Macau, Galaxy Casino G/F, G119
Price: MOP 188 (about USD 24)
Book your Nagomi High Tea now!
Bonus: Ice cream
If you still have space left after all this eating, head over to Lemoncello for the best ice cream in Macau. Known for its exotic flavours such as ginger, Yakult, salted caramel, sesame or pink guava, it also has regular stuff like vanilla for your boring guys out there.
Lemoncello
Original branch: Senado Square
Also: Venetian
And that’s where you go when looking for the best food in Macau! Bon appetite!
Let us know in the comments below what your favourite food in Macau is.
Like food? Hungry? Both?
Also, check out our Foodlover’s Guides to Nanjing and Chengdu in China, and Ubud and Amed in Bali.
Let us know in the comments below what your favourite food in Macau is.
