As the first and last European colony in China, Macau has had more than 400 years to develop its unique culinary culture. It's a tradition that extends way beyond the spots familiar to the casual visitor.
Even Macau native and private kitchen chef, Maria C.J. Couto often finds something new in her city. 'I went to a new market today and found these great fresh grouper that I would never be able to find at my usual market,' she says.
Couto opens her home to serve multicourse dinners at her own dining table, serving one party each night. Her apartment, just a few minutes by taxi from the ferry terminal, is filled with family pictures and ornaments that reflect Couto's Portuguese-Chinese heritage.
Eating at Maria's is like visiting a Macanese aunt and having her feed you. As soon as you step into the apartment, you're enveloped by the scent of tomatoes and onions slowly caramelising in the oven beside a fresh, whole fish, or the rich spiciness of garlic, shrimp paste and parsley on grilled prawns, all coming out of her diminutive kitchen. The food served each night depends on what Couto finds at the markets that day. A typical meal will cost 200-300 patacas per head. The number of courses will depend on the size of the party, so no two visits will be the same.
What won't change, however, is her love of cooking for others: 'If I see that eating my food makes you happy, I'm happy.'
While Couto proudly waves the Macanese flag, a surprising number of restaurants in Macau serving this type of food - a mix of Portuguese and Chinese cuisines - identify themselves as Portuguese. Most of these restaurants fuse Portuguese ingredients, such as bacalhau (cod), with southern Chinese sweet-savoury flavours, by such methods as adding sugar to a dish with olives.