What to do in 6 Hours in Macau

Due to my flight delay, by the time I checked into my hotel in Macau, it was already about 6pm. I needed to do some touristy things to get into the swing of things, so I immediately got a map from the hotel reception and headed off to Senado Square on foot. I only had about 6 hours in Macau because I was leaving for Hong Kong early the next morning, so here’s my itinerary for 6 hours in Macau.

15 minutes from the Riviera Hotel Macau and rushing against the fading evening light, I found myself on Senado Square - the must visit tourist area of Macau. This is a square in the European style (Portugese influence for sure) with buildings on all 4 sides painted yellow. No idea why this is so.

I could not get any good pictures of Senado Square this time round as the place was thronging with people (it being a Saturday evening) and there was a huge screen erected to show the Olympics events live, plus some Olympics exhibition. So it was quite a bother. But never mind that, evading the crowds of people, I looked for a signpost and headed for the St. Paul Ruins.

Ruins of St. Paul - Macau (Please click to enlarge)

This is a must visit for who would believe you’ve been to Macau if you don’t take a picture of the South Gate of the St. Paul Cathedral. Its ruins of course. During the day, you can walk inside and take in the view of the city. The last time I was there I climbed all the way up to the top too. Couldn’t do it this time due to it being closed in the evening.

View of Senado Square area from top of St. Pauls

Then, coming back down the hill, along the nice rustic cobblestones, you will find the narrow road lined with confectionary shops. For this is what Macau is most famous for - their confectionary. There are numerous shops with the biggest and most prevalent being Pastelaria Koi Kei Confectionary. They give out lots of free samples of dried meats and almond biscuits as you walk by so never fear going hungry!

Food of Macau
Clockwise from top: Restaurante Platao (Macanese food), Almond biscuits,
Bacalhau with seafood, Portugese egg tart

Of course, I had to have a Portugese Egg Tart. How can one go to Macau and not eat it? It cost MOP7 (RM3.00) OUCH! I refuse to even pay RM1.50 for one here and I go there and pay double! What to do… tourist mah…

If you are buying gifts, I’d recommend you go to Pastelaria Koi Kei Confectionary or Pastelaria Choi Heong Yeun Confectionary (just down from the ruins). Their packaging is better and the biscuits are individually wrapped so they don’t crush so easily. However, for own consumption, I recommend Pastelaria St. Pauls.

Pastelaria St. Paul’s is a little confectionary shop sandwiched between the big players. I noticed it because there is a woman outside making fresh seaweed pork floss egg rolls. These are delicious and she was nice to offer us some fresh from her griddle. There were freshly made almond biscuits too with bits of proper almonds in them - not ground too fine, but roughly chopped. They are fragrant and delicious! Somehow they tasted better than the ones from the more popular larger confectionaries. Packaging however is less desirable as they are not segregated. So by the time I got home some were crushed. Still, they were tastier which for me is what counts.

Going down the hill, you will start seeing all the shopping stores - Sasa, Bonjour, G2000, clothes, shoes, cosmetics… but I always make sure I stop at one little store just right down the hill, on the corner of Senado Square. This is the Samsonite Factory Outlet. The last time I was there, a friend bought a suit bag which he said served him well, and which cost something like RM180. This time, I was on a lookout for a duffel bag and I found one! Paid RM14X in the end after conversion which is awesome. I wasn’t too fussed about it because for some strange reason, I can’t seem to find duffel bags here in Kuala Lumpur. I have looked in most luggage brands and none have what I want. Samsonite had them, at over RM300. So, RM150 is a steal by any measure. Besides it would be useful for me to carry my shopping from Hong Kong!

Next stop, food! In Macau, you have to try the local style of Portugese food or Macanese food. After making a few enquiries, I ended up at a restaurant near Senado Square called Restaurante Platao. I will be writing more about it on my food blog but suffice to say for now, that it is worth a visit. Restaurante Plato is located in a tiny dark little side lane beside the McDonalds. As you enter the dark little lane, look out for your first right. They should invest in some lighting, but there you have it. Macanese (yes that’s what people from Macau are called!) speciality cuisine is Bacalhau (salted codfish or swordfish) served in a variety of styles. We ordered Bacalhau with seafood which came cooked in creamy white sauce. The taste is piquant and must be tasted to be believed.

Food is expensive though. I think the meal came up to about RM100 for Bacalhau and Half a Spicy Chicken - both house specialties.

Then, it was back to the hotel to dump our purchases (biscuits for family and friends and Samsonite bags) and head back out to the Macau nightlife - Casino! We took the hotel shuttle down to the Ferry Terminal and caught one of the shuttle buses to the MGM Grand Casino. I wanted to visit the Venetian but the stupid bus was on the other side of the highway! I don’t know whey they have to be different from the rest. You can pick any bus to go to any casino you want - its a free ride. By this time it was already about 10pm.

I’m not sure what I was expecting of the MGM Grand Casino (except that it was from Vegas) but I definitely was not expecting THIS!

Walk in and OMG! You are greeted with a space so high it feels like you are in the open air and so large that its like visiting a little town square! My only casino experience is with Genting and I tell you, Genting is NOTHING compared to this.

The casino area which is just further in from the lion is widely spread out and plush and luxurious. Waiters walk around serving you drinks - fruit juices, water, milo, tea… and I had a jolly good time going around gawking at the gamblers and the huge stakes, and enjoying my drinks. Bets start from HKD100 up so you can bet my money was safely kept in my wallet!

At about midnight, we took a cab back to the hotel and toppled into bed - dead to the world. And that is how I spent 6 hours in Macau.

Some notes on Macau based on my observations:-

• Locals hardly speak English. Mandarin or Cantonese is widely spoken. I did not encounter any unpleasent people except my airport taxi driver who sounded disgusted that I couldn’t speak Chinese well enough to tell him the name of the hotel. Just drive already and stop judging people!
• Roadsigns and all signboards are in 2 languages - Portugese and Chinese. This is from the previous Portugese adminitration and was never repealed. Locals however do not read or speak Portugese and they don’t know the road names in Portugese either! Makes for difficulty in getting around but tourist maps are plentiful at the airport or hotels and very informative and user-friendly.
• Due to the above 2 points, always make sure you have the hotel name in Chinese on your person to show to the taxi drivers. Take a card from the reception - its more helpful that way.
• Casinos are present in most of the hotels on the Cotai Strip area. However from previous experience, I found that there isn’t much to eat there at night and stores close early. So if you aren’t a gambler, then stay in the other parts of Macau which in my view is more fun.
• When you arrive at the Ferry Terminal in Macau and need to get to the airport, avoid the touts. One quoted us MOP200 to get to the airport. We declined, and went to queue for a taxi instead. Its hard to find the taxi stand, which is outside the terminal. Head for the sign with the buses on it and you’ll see the sign with a taxi on it. The queue is long but taxis are plentiful and it only cost us MOP50 to get to the airport in 15 minutes!

And that’s it! 6 hours in Macau. Next stop, Hong Kong!

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