Throwback Macau trip Summer 2012

This is really way overdue. But I thought I should still post these up before the upcoming Europe trip's photos start flooding in my iPhoto.

So as you know I went to Hong Kong last August for summer vacation with two of my aunts. While trying to cover as many attractions as possible in such a short period, we still managed to allocate one whole day for Macau. Not that I was interested in gambling at the casinos but because I really wanted to try the famous Portuguese egg tart there.

Ready to depart from Hong Kong-Macau ferry terminal at Sheung Wan. As you can see the ticket itself already costs us a whopping 163 HKD! Not very reasonable.

After an hour or so sleeping inside the ferry (what else can you do?, we finally landed and started queuing at the bus station to board the free shuttle bus to 'The Venetian', one of the most popular casino hotels in Macau.

Oh I forgot to mention, the custom was reallyy reallyyy inefficient that day. Probably also due to the large amount of tourists visiting. It took us more than half an hour to get out of the jetty! Not even kidding.

 

It was pretty gloomy when we arrived that day and I was so worried because most of the tourist attractions are going to be outdoors. It's like nothing we can do there if it rains. Well shouldn't say nothing; last resort on my mind was to spend the rest of the day in the casino, playing roulette like a boss. Literally. But obviously not my kind of thing!

See how overcrowded the casino in The Venetian was. Not overwhelmed by it but really, it was kind of ridiculous.

People, people everywhere.

A rather unglamorous photo of myself but hey, this is the bridge where the Korean drama 'Boys over Flowers' was shot, the exact spot where Jan-di meets Jun-pyo!

My pretty youngest aunt and the gondola.

 

The whole place feels like Genting First World to me, just that it's more grand and the buildings were more ornately built. There were many shopping outlets here as well, say your husband wants to gamble and you don't feel like following, then you can opt for these. There are also many eateries around, mostly very 'atas' and unreasonably priced though. I guess it's more catered for those rich families to splurge around. Or perhaps for people who just won a fortune from the casino and wanted to celebrate.

I guess it's a really great weekend trip for families to just come and chill here, gamble or shop and then enjoy the hotel's facilities. Other than that, I am honestly not quite impressed with this place.

More impressed by this. HAHA :P

Portuguese egg tarts is one of the must-try food in Macau, and also the key reason behind why I visited Macau. Heh. According to our research, besides Lord Stow's Bakery, this Margaret's cafe e Nata is also very authentic and popular among the locals. We happened to walk pass some old building and saw their road sign luckily which directed us into a narrower alley.

When something is really delicious, of course you should expect a long queue outside the shop. Fret not, they are pretty systematic (though the staffs aren't very friendly) and as long as you are patient, it won't be too long before you get to the front of their counter.

 

You shouldn't expect some 5 star service here though. There are limited seats available and it is always full of hungry people. It may seem like a headache to get a place to sit down initially but probably the turnover is fast, my aunts and I managed to find a table to ourselves quite effortlessly.

Deng Deng Deng Deng!! Star of the day

As cliche as it sounds, this fella here was crispy from the outside, yet soft from the inside. It's not too sweet on the whole, which is something I appreciate. Though I am not too sure whether it is the best Portuguese egg tart I had ever tasted, I am still giving it a two thumbs up.

For the drinks, I got myself the papaya milkshake (coughs fyi when I bought it I wasn't thinking about that, if you are thinking about that. lol) and it was really smooth! Just that I got a bit bloated after drinking the whole cup.

And then we walked around the streets where I discovered this beautiful, picturesque stairway.

 

Got feel right?! To me lah Haha. I don't know why this place somehow reminded me of 澳门街/Ou Moon Gai/ 'Returned of the Cuckoo', one of my favourite Hong Kong TVB drama long long ago.

Forced my aunt to take a photo for me, which wasn't that special to be honest, but for some reasons became my fb profile picture for almost half a year. I was either lazy to change or just not gorgeous enough to easily get a new profile picture. lol both T_____T

 

They sell a lot of famous Macau biscuits here too. But I didn't buy any lah, not a fan of biscuits. Plus, I come from Penang island, the place where you can find nice authentic biscuits too. I see no point of me spending on them and still have to carry boxes of easily perishable things back home.

Free samples of Bak Kwa/肉干/ BBQ jerky along the street. So many choices and it's everywhere. If you're thick-face enough to take from every shop I guess you can save your money for tea time. Haha!

On our way in search of the ruins of St. Paul, I just had to stop by one of the street stalls to get this iconic food of Macau- the pork chop bun (猪扒包). I didn't go the 'best' stall for this so I cannot comment much. Not bad lah but, yea you get me.

Wheeeee finally saw it with my very own eyes! Another landmark ticked off from my virtual world map.

 

I was there! And the aunty behind so cute lah she's using a Mc Dull shopper bag! I forgive her for photobombing me ;P

 

There isn't much to do there actually. After taking turns for our model photo shoot with a freaking ruined cathedral (fact), we headed to the famous 义顺牛奶 Yi Shun Milk cafe selling delicious milk related desserts.

Egg and milk pudding served chilled! It's really silky smooth and gooey all over. Love the texture, love the taste. This is the orignial flavour but you can choose from a whole list of variety.

 

Like this one with red bean topping. If you're not a milk/egg lover but would love to try it too, this is not a bad option. At least the red bean paste evens out the whole milky texture. Does it make sense?

After that we just strolled around the city and occasionally walked into casinos.
(For me it's more like enjoying free air conditioner inside haha)

Was fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of the Macau tower before the dusk set in. I forgot the reason why we didn't put it on our to-visit-list. Never mind it's just another tower.

Macau tower reminded me of Amazing Race Asia/Fear Factor's tasks to do sky walk and bungee jump on top of it. And then recently Running Man also went there for their mission. Hmm Macau tower you're quite famous, huh?
 

More casino hotels. I think the age limit to the casinos there is 18. I'm not sure but the securities didn't chase me out. It was a little surprising though, considering the fact I have a petite body size.

We went back Hong Kong around dinner time, but didn't feel like eating at all because well, we had been eating all the time. Plus it was all the eggy and milky stuffs which can be really filling. And that's the end of our Macau day trip! Not going back anytime soon I guess, it's just not very my type of city, frankly speaking.

Anyway, I'm pretty excited now because I have already finished 3 out of 4 module tests which I think I did pretty well. There's just one more week to go before Easter Holiday (which lasts a freaking 4 weeks!) and off I go for my Spring vacation! Can't wait anymore :)