October 2016 saw W & I's first trip to Macau. We managed to get plane tickets to Hong Kong off Jetstar for a really good deal at SGD$180, but it was for 8 days! So we figured out why not just head to Macau for night, or maybe have a gamble or two? ;)
Upon arriving at Hong Kong International Airport, we made a beeline to the ticketing kiosks for ferries to Macau. Remember to not exit the customs and airport, but to follow the signs that read "Mainland/Macau Ferries".
Then, you'll see counters for both CotaiJet and TurboJet. It really depends on which area you're heading to in order to decide which ferry to take. We decided to go ahead with CotaiJet since we were heading to the Taipa area of Macau.
We reached Hong Kong International Airport slightly before 2pm, and we missed the ferry to Taipa for it was at 2:15pm. We got our tickets for the 4:15pm ferry. The ferry ticketing counter personnel told us that we would get free upgrade from Cotai Class (HKD$254) to Cotai First Class (HKD$392) because it was W's birthday month! What a pleasant surprise :) But we also thought it was because there were abundant space in the ferry hence they were able to do this upgrade for us.
Waiting, waiting for our ferry for 2 hours. Meanwhile, we chilled at Pacific Coffee with some honey latte and lemon tart.
We finally got to board our ferry!
Yay, plush first class seats at the second level of the ferry. It's definitely more spacious and comfortable at the top. Free WIFI was also provided for the CotaiJet first class area.
And of course, a little treat box for all first class ticket holders.
Watched
When we reached, this was what greeted us...goodbye, First Class experience...
The scene at Taipa Temporary Ferry Terminal. We started looking out for the shuttle bus to bring us to our hotel - Sheraton Grand Macao Hotel.
After some searching, asking and unnecessary crossing of roads, we finally found our shuttle bus to go to Sheraton! The shuttle buses will bring you to a group of hotels, so do look out for the hotel logos on the bus.
About 15 minutes into the ride, we arrived at Sheraton Grand Macao Hotel. This was the ceiling at the huge hotel lobby. The hotel is filled with lots and lots of Chinese and Indians... We paid about SGD$170 for one night in this hotel and booked it through Agoda.com.
We got a deluxe room at the Earth Tower. The hotel has 2 main towers, Sky and Earth.
Pretty comfy, for just one night.
Mandatory shot at all hotel rooms. We were really tired from the flight and ferry ride, the bed looked really comfy and we were so tempted to sleep in for the rest of the night.
Managed to get our lazy asses out and hey, look! It's broad daylight out here at Grand Canal Shoppes at Venetian Macau! I was honestly slightly taken aback by the brightness of this area. It was as if we were trapped in a realm of prolonged daylight and the shops there didn't close even after 12am.
So bright, can take #OOTD...hehehe. Finally bringing out my new BAPE x mita x Reebok Insta Pump Fury out for a walk!
We had planned to walk to the Old Taipa Village for our dinner on the first night.
Instructions to walk to Old Taipa Village:
From Sheraton Grand Macao, simply walk to the Venetian’s West Lobby and walk towards Galaxy (you’ll see it on the horizon). Before you cross the street, you will see and escalator on your right. Take it. There is a moving walkway / travellator system that takes you directly to the Old Taipa Village. It's only 5 to 10 minutes walk from the West Lobby. Go up the steps of stairs and you've reached!
Signages are really your best friend.
Realllyyyyy loooooong travellator to save your lazy ass from all that walking ;)
See these steps? Go down and....
Welcome to Old Taipa Village!
First stop: Gelatina Mok Yi Kei 莫義記 for their durian ice cream. We tried the Mao Shan Wang ice cream. It was about MOP$60. They have a lower priced version, which is the D24 ice cream. Samples are available too. I suggest to just eat the samples of all kinds of ice cream (coconut, taro, etc.) and leave because we definitely won't pay SGD$10 for that next time. The ice cream was creamy and thick, it was like eating real durian flesh. However, maybe they stored it for too long in the freezer as the ice cream was quite iced up.
Gelatina Mok Yi Kei 莫義記
9A Rua do Cunha, Taipa, Macau
Next up, we came across Pastelaria Fong Kei. It is a famous traditional Chinese bakery, popular for their almond cookies and wife biscuits. Apparently they are included in the Michelin Guide Macau and Hong Kong 2016. We bought some almond biscuits and Chinese pinwheel biscuits for my parents to try. Not really a fan of these biscuits myself as I don't like the taste of almonds in pastries/desserts and they are very dry to the taste.
A nice shot taken by W! The service could really have been better. The uncle (not pictured here) at the cashier was basically giving us the -_- face throughout our purchase beause we didn't know what to buy. Lolol.
Pastelaria Fong Kei
14 Rua do Cunha, Taipa, Macau
Finally it was dinner time at Seng Cheong Restaurant! Read much about its crab porridge on the Internet before we went.
After looking through the menu, it seems like there's only the crab porridge to order...and some misc veggie dishes.
Waiting, waiting...
Here we have the famous crab porridge! We ordered the small portion for MOP$180. It turned out to be a really huge bowl, thank goodness we didn't order the large one. However, there was only a small little crab (or maybe half of it?) inside the huge bowl of porridge...
Porridge is definitely not enough for the 2 of us, so we had a dish of broccoli and scallops. Yums, a true comfy Chinese dish that never fails!
W being all nice and sweet to deshell some little crabby for me. Can you even see the crab though? That's how small it is...
Was it worth all that hype, coming down here just to have the crab porridge? Well, me and W say no... We were both joking that it's all the rage because that's prolly one of the very few dinner options people have at Old Taipa Village. Most of the other options were just street food...
Seng Cheong Restaurant, 城昌饭店
30 Rua do Cunha, Taipa, Macau
Koi Kei Bakery is everywhere in both Macau and Hong Kong. So no fear of not buying...can even buy it in Singapore.
Starbucks at Macau.
Pretty wall at Starbuckssss!
Walking around Taipa Vilage, armed with nothing but a camera...
Love these neon lights.
Me and my mafia boss.
The infamous Venetian Hotel from afar.
The newer hotel, Galaxy Macau, is so pretty!
Sinning in Sin City.
Walked back from Taipa Village to Sheraton following the same route. The walk back always seems to be faster. The thing about Macau is that the ratio of men : women is much higher. Men, men are everywhere. We even had a thought that there couldb be a brothel nearby because these men were all walking back towards the city solo, and it was already near midnight by then. Safety caution, to always travel in a group! Macau is sin city afterall..
The closest photo to get of the casino at Venetian Hotel since no photos were allowed inside! That's where we spent our night away playing baccarat, till 4am in the morning! HAHAHA and losing SGD$45 each... Well well, guess luck's not on our side in Macau! Anyway, be careful of China people lurking behind you while in the casino, especially when after midnight. They will try to befriend you and tell you they can help you win, or to lend you money. It got really annoying at some point of time and spoilt the mood. Guess it's not called Sin City for nothing, eh?
x
