Have you ever tried Macanese food? If the answer is no, you should! Macanese is, by definition, Macau’s traditional food, an exotic result of Portuguese and Chinese food combined. It is known as the first fusion cuisine ever. With a history dating back to the 16th century, 2012 marks the year Macanese gastronomy was inscribed as an immaterial heritage element of Macau by UNESCO.
Crispy chicken in chilli and peanut sauce, Chinese mince stew topped with a fried egg, shrimp dumplings in the shape of goldfish… Macau's unusual blend of cultures finds its most satisfying expression in its food.
Institute for Tourism Studies(IFT) and Confraria da Gastronomia Macaense organised “Macanese Cuisine Cooking Demonstration Workshop by Chef Florita Alves” and invited the experienced Chef Florita Alves from the Association to demonstrate classical Macanese gourmet to local food and beverage professionals.
To help hospitality and food and beverage professionals understand more about Macanese cuisine, IFT hosted the Macanese Cuisine Cooking Demonstration Workshop on 21 December 2011.
To facilitate the promotion and development of Macanese cuisine, IFT had participated in the filming of "Macau, an Oriental Passion", produced by the Portuguese Television.
A Macanese Food Promotion will be hosted jointly by the Macao Institute for Tourism Studies (IFTM) and the Associação dos Macaenses (ADM) from 21 to 25 February 2022 to promote Macao’s gastronomic culture.
IFTM has been appointed as one of Macao’s protection units for national intangible cultural heritage. The announcement was made in September by the General Office of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the People’s Republic of China. At that time, it released the Fifth National List of Protection Units of Representative Elements of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Perhaps because she is neither a native of Macau nor Portuguese, Annabel Jackson, one of the leading voices in the study of Macanese cuisine, can say things like this: “it’s a very honest cuisine, but maybe it isn’t a great cuisine”
It has already become clear that the choice of Macau as a member city of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in Gastronomy refers to all of Macau’s gastronomy.
Coming up with the recipes for Macanese Cooking – A Journey Across Generations was difficult for journalist Cecília Jorge, as cooks each have their own versions With few historical records of the food served since the Portuguese arrived in Macau, some of the recipes lack measurements – make them to your own tastes