Macanese Christmas Desserts
When young remembered the church’s midnight mass that must attend on Christmas Eve; neatly well dressed, sharing a lively, but peaceful two hours gathering. Immediately after the ceremony arrived at my cousin’s home start off our family Christmas parties; same time exchange gifts, eat and drink well, most of all having fun with all cousins and relatives, getting busy till four o’clock in the morning.
After entering the spacious home, would anxiously start looking at all the food prepared on the table; Especially the desserts, which liked it so much. There are not too many savoury items, most of which are fried snacks or sweets, which all cooked by my auntie and other relatives. Surely turkey would be the spotlight, endulging the festive seasons in more indispensable ways. Most adults filled up the glass with Sangria, the sweetest Portuguese wine of all, all kids were so anxious and patiently waiting for their names to receive their Christmas gifts.
After the Macau’s handover took place, most family members have gradually migrated to Portugal and other European countries. It has been a long time not spending such special family atmospheric sceneries. Nowadays, native Macanese desserts could rarely be seen outside street shops. Thurs every Christmas, I always craving similar desserts and snacks types, bring them home and share all these memories with my mother.
Some exceptional restaurant owners keep their recipes offering Macanese gastronomy experiences; Apart from A Lorcha, A Vencedor, Riquexo, APOMAC, etc. Litoral Restaurant was one of the most traditional restaurant founded over 100 years of age offering the most authentic dishes in town. Worth a try and experiment the ambience and authentic tastes, sure to check it out in Barra and Taipa Village, worth dine around.
Christmas is coming up in seven days time, here to share the our most favorite seasonal special snacks and desserts; review our childhood memories together.
Fried snacks
Im keen on fried snacks and sweet pastries; the most unforgettable ones include: Fried Cheese Toast (Tosta de Queijo); Chilicote, Chilicote-Folhas, Deep Fried Curry Meat Rolls Minchi Pastry (Empadas “Chilicote”); A must have Salt Cod Fritters (Bolinhos de Bacalhau) and Beef Rolls (Croquettes) are essential christmas snack items.
Supper hot food
Stir-fried rice noodles with prawns and barbecued pork and sour ginger (Lacassá); Macanese Fried Rice (Arroz Macanese); Portuguese chicken (Galinha à Portuguesa) are must-eat items for Supper; On the side, Christmas Turkey is always indispensable item of all.
Lovingly desserts
For desserts, there we are: Pudim Molotof, Portuguese Coconut Almond Cake (Bolo de Menino), favorite Bicho Bicho, Coconut Sugar Egg Lollies. Finally mum’s favorite item Turtle (Empada de Peixe) definitely a must-eat dessert. The tortoise (shape like, in Cantonese) is a fish batch stuffed with cod meat, with a bit of spicy curry, and olives, sandwiches with thick pastries. It is salty and sweet, sweet and salty, and has a rich taste.
Holiday Fruit Cake (Bolo de Frutas Secas), a must-buy Christmas cake every year; purchased from a local Portuguese dessert chef, and enjoy the festive atmosphere with your family.
I believed many people have heard of Alua (Alua); a must-have food for Christmas. This butter cake was originally an Arab food, and was introduced to Macau via India. The ingredients include flour, butter, apricots and olive nuts, rock sugar, coconut milk and milk; the main ingredients are flour, fermented, boiled cakes, frozen, and cut into pieces. The production process takes a full eight hours. It changes from a watery shape to a paste, gradually turned into a cake shape after cooling. Approximately take about three days to make. It is prepared and set into a small piece, which feels like a Chinese rice cake. The taste is soft and delicious.
