Gelatin Musang Mok Yee Kei: Love or loathe durian ice cream, you be the judge.Credit: Kerry van der Jagt
Just how good is Macau's street food? So good that the 2016 edition of the Michelin Guide to Hong Kong and Macau has been expanded to include it as a new category – and Macau scores not one, but 12 recommendations covering everything from egg tarts to almond pastries. Getting to Macau is easy – just an hour's ferry ride from Hong Kong – but finding some of these establishments is a little trickier. Should you wish to accept the Macau Michelin Mission, download the appropriate maps at viamichelin.com.
LEMONCELLO – GELATO
Maybe it's the heat, maybe it's the humidity, but grabbing a gelato at LemonCello before wandering around Senado Square in Macau's World-Heritage-listed historic centre is as good as it gets. Choose from more than 30 flavours, all freshly made and zinging with fruit, including banana hazelnut, rose tea, ginger, mojito, pink guava and watermelon. The original lemoncello is perfect for settling the tummy after a big Macanese meal. Don't be shy to ask for samples. MOP$30 ($5) for a cup, MOP$35 ($5.75) for a single cone. 11 Travessa da Se, Macau. See lemoncello.com.mo
Egg tarts with an English twist at Lord Stow's Bakery.Credit: Kerry van der Jagt
SOPA DE FITAS VING KEI – BEAN CURD
Established in the 1960s, Sopa de Fitas Ving Kei is a hole-in-the-wall eatery specialising in bean curd (tofu). Most famous for its chilled bean curd dessert they also serve steaming, made-to-order noodle soups. The menu is sticky-taped to the walls, so unless you can read Cantonese you'll need to resort to the old "point and look pathetic" technique. Hand over some cash (the kind lady behind the counter will count the required amount from your outstretched palm), pull up a stool and wait for the boiling broth to arrive. MOP$20 ($3) to MOP$50 ($8). 47 Rua da Tercena, Macau
LORD STOW'S BAKERY – EGG TARTS
Made-to-order tofu noodle soup at Sopa de Fitas Ving Kei.Credit: Kerry van der Jagt
While Macau's cuisine is a blend of Portuguese, Chinese and Macanese, it was an Englishman, Andrew Stow, who introduced the egg tart. Dubbed "Lord Stow" by the local Portuguese, Stow experimented with the Portuguese version, but made it creamier and less sweet. Join the queue at the original bakery at Coloane (just 15 minutes from the centre of Macau) where Stow's sister Eileen carries on the lord's legacy. Still warm from the oven, with a flaky pastry and silky custard filling, the six-pack is definitely what you'll need. MOP$9 ($1.50) each or MOP$50 ($8) for six pieces. 1 Rua do Tassara, Coloane. See lordstow.com
GELATIN MUSANG MOK YEE KEI – DURIAN ICE CREAM
While some say durian fruit smells like dirty socks, others worship at the altar of this much maligned fruit. Using premium Musang King and D24 durians from Malaysia (yes, there are as many varieties as sock types), Mok Yee Kei blends the stinky flesh with ice cream to produce a sweet and creamy dessert. With a history in dessert-making going back more than 80 years, the family-run business also sells other sweet treats such as serradura (sawdust pudding) and mango pomelo sago. Look for the queue snaking along the pedestrian mall. MOP$38 ($6) for a small tub. 9 Rua do Cunha, Taipa village
YI SHUN – STEAMED MILK PUDDING
How can two ingredients – fresh milk and sugar – taste this good? Whether it's the full cream milk, breed of cow or the temperature and time of the steaming, Yi Shun makes the best chilled pudding in town. Having just moved from their original site on Av. De Almeida Ribeiro into shiny new premises off Senado Square, Yi Shun is famous for two varieties – original and red bean. Look for the black and white cow above the entrance. MOP$30 ($5) per bowl. 1 Rua Leste Do Mercado de sao Domingos
FONG KEI PASTELARIA
Perhaps the most famous bakery in Macau, having served up biscuits and pastries to sweet-tooths since 1906. The key ingredient (stop reading now if you're worried about your waistline) is pork lard. Everything is baked fresh daily in the small kitchen behind the counter and while the almond biscuits are the signature sweet, go for the coconut cookies if you prefer something less crumbly. MOP$20 ($3) for eight coconut cookies. 14 Rua do Cunha, Taipa village
Kerry van der Jagt was a guest of the Macao Government Tourism Office, Cathay Pacific and The Parisian Macao
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