After finishing my trip to Singapore, I transited through Macau on the way back. Macau is a very interesting place, and arguably the only place in China where gambling is legal. Of course, it can’t just be casinos; there has to be somewhere to stay, somewhere to eat, and somewhere to spend your winnings. As a result, every casino in Macau is incredibly massive. The casino floor itself isn’t that big, but each one is part of a huge commercial complex that includes hotels, dining, shopping malls, theaters, spas, and entertainment facilities like fountains and cable cars.
These commercial complexes are almost entirely indoors. The casino sections operate 24 hours a day, and while other venues may close late at night, the public areas remain brightly lit—rumored to make gamblers lose track of time. Thanks to substantial financial backing, this place boasts numerous internationally renowned hotels and high-end restaurants, though this also makes travel costs relatively high.
Sands Cotai Central, The Venetian
I stayed at Sands Cotai Central this time. Right outside the airport, there are free shuttle buses to various hotels, commonly known as “Fortune Buses.” They run frequently and are in great condition. Although Sands Cotai Central is right next to the airport, the drive still takes about 15 minutes. Not only are there free shuttles to the airport and ferry terminals, but there are also free buses connecting different hotels under the same ownership, as well as between different hotels in the same area. If you know the routes well enough, you won’t need to pay for transportation at all.
This is the entrance to the casino inside, located right next to the lobby, ensuring you see it every time you return to the hotel.
Sands Cotai Central, along with The Venetian and The Parisian across the street, are all owned by Sands Group. They are all interconnected and absolutely gigantic—walking around them is genuinely exhausting. It’s especially desperate when you’re starving and can’t find a restaurant no matter how hard you look… Because this area is so vast, they gave me a map upon check-in, marking the locations of the hotel elevators and restaurants…
The hotels here include The St. Regis, Conrad, Holiday Inn, and Sheraton within Sands Cotai Central, and across the street are the Four Seasons, The Venetian, and The Parisian. Every hotel here is massive, generally featuring around 1,000 to 2,000 rooms. Compared to domestic hotels, which typically have 300 to 400 rooms, these are truly enormous.
The Grand Canal Shoppes inside The Venetian forms a loop, so if you walk along the canal, you’ll never reach the end… You must cross a bridge to get to the center, and once you go downstairs from the middle, you’re right in the casino~~~
The ceiling above the casino is resplendent with gold.
The public area of the complex; this section mainly consists of conference rooms, with banquet halls and exhibition halls further ahead.
Royal Spice Indian Restaurant
Speaking of which, Macau has many Michelin-starred restaurants, but Cantonese cuisine is extremely expensive. Surprisingly, I discovered that the closest option to me was a one-Michelin-star Indian restaurant right inside The Venetian. It’s also the only Michelin-starred Indian restaurant in Asia. The prices are reasonable, and online reviews are positive, so I decided to go without hesitation.
After asking an Indian security guard for directions, I finally found Royal Spice Indian Restaurant. It actually belongs to The Venetian Hotel. You can also sign up for a Sands Lifestyle membership card in advance; the registration desk is inside the casino. Members get discounts on dining and can earn points.
There was no queue at the door, and after a brief wait, we were seated. The service was excellent, and we ordered pan-seared scallops, lamb shank curry, and naan bread.
Before the meal, we were served crispy crackers with three kinds of dipping sauces. The crackers were incredibly crisp, and surprisingly, every sauce was delicious.
Pan-seared scallops, cooked in butter with spices. The ingredients were top-notch, resulting in excellent flavor and texture.
This dish was quite generous in portion. The meat was tender, and the curry flavor was superb. Dipping the naan into the curry, bite after bite, I simply couldn’t stop eating.
Three pieces of naan bread—I tried my best and managed to finish two… I really couldn’t eat anymore…
Rua do Cunha
The next morning, I took a walk around the neighborhood looking for breakfast. Unfortunately, none of the malls open early; whether it was City of Dreams or MGM, almost no dining outlets were open. There were pitifully few restaurants serving breakfast. After walking around for a while, I was starving and had to head back to the Starbucks at The Venetian. Unexpectedly, the entrance to The Venetian was hard to find, and I ended up walking 3km on an empty stomach… Still, the architecture is quite beautiful.
After breakfast, I headed to the nearby Rua do Cunha. It’s very convenient to get there from The Venetian; just cross a footbridge, and the path down features an automatic moving walkway. However, thinking about it, Rua do Cunha is only a 100-meter-long commercial street, so there isn’t much to see. The shops are mostly chain stores. But after tasting the egg tarts from Lord Stow’s Bakery, I have to admit they are much tastier than Margaret’s Café e Nata…
Although egg tarts weren’t invented in Macau, they are a signature local snack. Distinct from Hong Kong-style egg tarts, Macau has its unique Portuguese-style egg tart. In 1989, Briton Andrew Stow brought the Portuguese tart to Macau. By adapting it with an English custard filling and reducing the sugar content, it became a famous Macanese snack. In 1989, Andrew opened Lord Stow’s Bakery at No. 1 Rua do Tassara in Coloane, making it the originator of Macau’s Portuguese egg tarts.
In summary, Macau is a perfect destination for a weekend getaway filled with strolling and eating. Although it lacks the vibrant street life of Hong Kong and has fewer affordable, tasty local eateries, it gathers numerous Michelin-starred restaurants in such a small area. Additionally, the exchange rate is even better than the Hong Kong dollar, making it a solid choice for shopping. There are also many international performances, such as The House of Dancing Water, which is definitely worth seeing. In such a heavily invested resort destination, almost everyone can find something that interests them—it certainly won’t disappoint.
Photos in this post taken with SONY A5100 + 16-50 f3.5-5.6, post-processed in Lightroom.
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