Macao

Food and Shopping in Macao
Macao has a developed catering sector with unique appeal. With only 23.5 square kilometers in area and a population of just 450,000, Macao has 300 restaurants and numerous sea food hot pot restaurants, snack bars and food stalls. The Chinese and Western food served in restaurants have distinctive local flavor. In particular, Macao is renowned for its authentic Portuguese food and Portuguese food of Macao style.

　Both Cantonese food and food of other cuisine in China are served in the Chinese restaurants in Macao. The elder people and businessmen are used to going to Chinese restaurants for breakfast where they meet or talk about business over Cantonese dim sum. Younger people prefer Western style breakfast including milk, tea and hamburg which is more in keeping with the fast tempo of life.

　The Western restaurants in Macao serve Portuguese food and Portuguese food of Macao style. The latter is cooked with local ingredients but in Portuguese style. When the Portuguese first arrived in Macao, there was no supply of Portuguese food ingredients, so the Portuguese cooks had to make do with local ingredients, using coconut juice instead of milk and Cantonese sausages instead of Portuguese sausages. Later, essence of the Indian, Malaysian and Cantonese cuisine was absorbed. Over the years, it has evolved into the unique Macao style of Portuguese cooking as we know in Macao today, a favorite food for those who visit Macao.

　Shopping is convenient in Macao. With the exception of the Yaohan Shopping Center near the port, there aren't many large shopping places in Macao. But small shops abound in Macao including franchised stores whose prices are generally lower than those on the mainland. These shops are frequented by local residents and Portuguese. The franchised stores and brand name stores in the downtown area are favorite shopping places for tourists and local young professionals with higher income. The popular shopping items for tourists in Macao include jewelry and gold ornaments, Chinese antiques, pottery and porcelain, household electric appliances, watches, knitwear, Chinese medicinal herb, fresh and dry seafood ingredients, etc.

　Macao is a free port and generally no tariff is collected on import. High tariff rate, however, is imposed on individual import items. Still, it is much lower than that of the neighboring regions. As Macao has limited market capacity, the commodity marketing structure in the city is relatively simple, consisting of general distributor, sub-distributor, wholesaler and retailer. Some Hong Kong based companies have sales stores or franchised stores in Macao, thus reducing sales links and costs. There is a rich supply of inexpensive but quality goods in Macao.

　To meet customers' needs, the new generation of entrepreneurs in Macao have abandoned the traditional family style operations and adopted modern business practices. As a result, many supermarkets, franchised stores and chain stores have been opened in Macao in recent years.