The last time we went to Macau, we came home several pounds heavier thanks to the "Deanna & Alex" culinary tour. We literally spent most of the day going from one place to the next, sampling a wide variety of Macanese cuisine. And all of them were delicious. With the memory of all that mouth watering dishes still strong in our minds, we decided to go on another foodie holiday.
Ryan was super excited about going on a ferry ride and even more excited about staying in a hotel. Our little boy has this thing about hotels, he absolutely loves them. Once when Shad asked him why he likes to stay at hotels, he said "because I get to sleep with you and Mama, I can draw on lots of paper and order room service." He loves hotels so much that two weeks ago as Shad was leaving to go to the airport on his way to Melbourne, Ryan gave him a kiss and said "Daddy don't forget ... (I thought he was going to say "buy me a toy") ... to order room service!"
This time since we were staying at the Venetian Resort, we took the Cotai Strip Ferry which docks very close to the hotel. The ferry left Hong Kong at 7.30pm and by 9pm we were already in the hotel room. Even on a Wednesday night, the place was bustling with people. The ads weren't lying, this entertainment/retail outlet/hotel/casino complex is humungous. Walking from the check-in area to the room itself took at least 10 minutes, and without a map we would probably have gotten lost.
High rollers on the way to the Venetian
A "mini" Venice
When we got to the room, we had a nice surprise because Shad had gotten us a room upgrade while checking in. The suite was extremely spacious, over 2,000+ sq ft of floor space. Unfortunately, the layout and design were terrible. We've stayed in many smaller hotel rooms which looked a hundred times more appealing.
A giant box of a room
We made "someone" very happy by having room service dinner that night
Ryan and Yee Chai in a food coma
The next morning we took a leisurely stroll through the historic centre. Thankfully since it was a weekday, we didn't have to contend with too many overbearing, pushy Chinese tourists so we took our time and stopped at the main attractions along the way up to the ruins of the Church of St Paul.
New meets old - Starbucks housed in one of the old heritage buldings
Big sis and little sis (vice versa when looking at height!)
Mia boleh!
These ancient craft shops still exist in Macau
Infront of the facade of the Church of St Paul
Our resident photographer and his willing model
View of the old city from the top of the Church of St Paul
See that green building? Mia and I spent a good half hour waiting in the small air-conditioned pharmacy "pretending" to look for something to buy while we waited for the others
After two hours of walking around in the scorching heat, we were all ready to head back to the hotel to chill out. Although I did suggest going to the famous "chi pah pow" (pork chop bun) stall to grab a snack first, unfortunately it was loudly vetoed by both Shad and Tania, and of course all Ryan wanted to do was to go back to the hotel and order room service!
Family pic Take 1...
Bollywood wannabes. Think the pole can pass off as a coconut tree??
Excited passengers with our Vegas imported gondolier
Our gondolier serenading us under the bridge. Ryan and Mia were most impressed, both kept turning around to stare at him!
We revisited Litoral for dinner that night and the food was still as good as the time we were there with Dee and Alex. The African chicken and the clam stew were both divine. Sorry no pictures here as we were all too busy digging into the food and forgot to take out the camera. Later that night, Tania and I left Shad on babysitting duties and went out to have a look around the Venetian casino as well as the Crown Hotel and Hard Rock Hotel which were just opposite the road. Both Tania and I thought that the Crown was a much nicer hotel, what it lacked in size it made up in style and atmosphere.
Frescoes at the Venetian
The Venetian at night
We spent the next morning relaxing in the pool before going to Fernando's for lunch. Fortunately since it was a Friday, we didn't have to wait in line for a table when we got there. And again, the food was excellent, just like we remembered it to be. Even after that enormous lunch, I still insisted that we had to stop by the famous Lord Stow's Bakery so that Tania (who loves this version of egg tarts) could taste some "real" Portugese egg tarts.
Daddy and his babies
Flying high
The oh so popular Fernando's Restaurant. Don't be fooled by its looks, on weekends there is a long long line of people waiting for a table even before it opens its doors.
And here's why. Those clams were amazing!
One very satisfied customer
Lord Stow's bakery - the man who invented the Portugese egg tart
Our poor baby cried all the way home as soon as he found out we had to leave the hotel (and I mean ALL the way home, even after the ferry arrived in Hong Kong!)
WOW ... that room is huge! Very odd location of beds though.
ReplyDeleteAwww ... poor thing cried all the way home. Hope he didn't scream too.