Egg Tarts

I got this problem with my friends from Hong Kong.  Don't get me wrong!  I like my friends from Hong Kong! But there's this one issue that we just cannot agree upon. I am inflexible on the subject. They are inflexible too.

I'll just come out and say it.  Macau egg tarts are better than Hong Kong egg tarts.

Macau Egg Tarts are delicious.

HK ones are just meh...compared to Macau ones.

Sure, I like HK egg tarts.  I suppose they taste good.  And to be honest, I consciously go out of the way to find good ones when in HK.  But Macau egg tarts are just straight-up f--king awesome.


In Macau, I showed my parents and Jim around during our day trip.  It was more or less like my last visit to Macau, minus the gambling.  I focused on eating and sampling snack food. 

Our last day in Hong Kong included typical commoner Cantonese fare: wonton, barbecued meats, white bread with condensed milk (???) and the like.  I pigged out because it would be the last time I have Canto food for a few months, if not an entire year.

Wo bu shuo Guangdong hua! Part 5

After going back to Hong Kong from Macau, I had early dinner at a low-key local place. I was very hungry.

Wonton and San Mig. Fills you up very fast.

View in the restaurant

The last thing I did in HK was to check out the laser light show from Kowloon that overlooks Hong Kong. 

Had to hit the sack early for an early flight to Fukuoka, Japan the next morning.  But back at the Chungking Mansions, I didn't get much sleep at all.

Maybe it was me getting used to the comfy bed in Macau.  Maybe I was too excited about going to Japan. But, there was a couple next to my guest house room that were making a lot of squeaky noises on their squeaky bed.  That kept me up.

Well, that pretty much sums up my journey throughout Guangzhou, HK and Macau.  I love the Cantonese-speaking areas of China.  Hong Kong is one of my favorite cities the world over.  The places and adventures I've had in these places were awesome.  The food was even better!  I look forward to my next visit to this area of the world.

Next up...JAPAN!

Gamblor! Macau! Part II

Well, Gamblor caught up with me again.  Went to another guys poker night last Thursday.  This time my colleague from the Foreign Nationals school didn't clean me out.  Time did.  I bled chips the whole night, except for winning a few really big pots which inevitably bled too.

And speaking about gambling, during my second day in Macau, I decided to go to the Venetian Casino Hotel.  Apparently it's a carbon copy of its Vegas counterpart.

All in all, I really enjoyed my little side-trip to Macau.  It is such an interesting place.  For an island that caters to all sorts of vice, it was very pretty and a lot of fun.  One day, I shall return to there (hopefully with some of my friends from Wuhan or Vancity).  Maybe then I can actually win at the tables.  And if not, at least I'll be in an interesting venue with them that I can explore some more (and eat delicious food)!

The super posh lobby of the Venetian

It had a faux-Venice shopping area that had a faux- river running through it. No faux-Rialto Bridge though.

Walking around Senado Square, which dons both Portuguese and Chinese characteristics.

My hotel room

Gamblor! Macau!

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, I used to work at Sage Bistro on the UBC Vancouver campus.  Okay, maybe I was working there last year at this time, but I feel like I've been away from that place for an eternity.  During holidays, I sometimes hit up River Rock or Grand Villa casinos for some late-night blackjack with my friends.  Most of the time I used my Sage tips.  Lucky for me, I was in the green before I left for China. You know what gamblers say, "You don't have a gambling problem if you're winning."

Well, I got a little glimpse of the high-rollers.  No, not in Vegas.  That place will soon be small beans as compared to where I went...MACAU!!!

Casino Lisboa

Paul at the Ruins of St. Paul's Cathedral

My casino of choice.  Wynn's.  Okay, okay...I lost $60 there. But holy s--t did I go out in style.

Macau preparing for the Lunar New Year celebrations. Would've liked to see what it was like, but I was in Kobe's Chinatown at the time in Japan.

Macau is a pretty cool island. I have to say that it's a place of pretty serious gamblers.  They love their Baccarat here, and I saw Chinese throw down money like it was nothing.  I was actually hard-pressed to find a blackjack table at some casinos. As for the entertainment, well that's a work in progress.  Vegas is still a lot more fun away from the tables, but probably not for much longer after the next string of casinos begin to pop up.  And they will pop up soon.  The construction next to the Venetian Hotel Casino is without compare. The last time I saw that many construction sites was before the 2010 Vancouver Games.

But what Macau does have that Vegas does not is a deep Portuguese colonial history.  Okay, yeah I think that colonialism generally mucks stuff up.  But after you taste Macauan cuisine, you'd be glad that they've had a lasting effect here...at least in the cuisine.  The first dinner I had was HK style fried rice topped with a Portuguese seafood stew.  Words cannot describe how delicious it was.

Walking around Senado Square, vendors hand out samples of snack foods.  Personally, I liked the jerky meats.  I didn't buy any since they give you so much meat, and I didn't want to carry it around.  But I harsh freeloaded off the freebies.

...and not to mention THESE...

...Ah yes, the famed Macau egg tart.  Far superior to the Hong Kong ones IMO (sorry to all my HK friends, but you gotta admit, Macau egg tarts are so flavorful, piping hot, and just a perfect snack)!

After the tables in Wynn's, I went to the bar at the Casino Lisboa to have a double Johnny Walker Blue Label (yes I splurged on my drink...so what?)with a touch of spring water to celebrate my losses. The free burlesque show at the bar was a nice touch.

More on my adventures in Macau soon!