Macau : The Las Vegas of Asia

I Quote "The Pastry Princess" on my recent Hong Kong blog post

hi there! I just read your HK entry. I just got back from HK too last week. Love the weather. The first time I went to HK, it was all fastfood for me. We were too scared to try the unfamiliar restos. But this time around, I was able to enjoy the local cuisine. And I had a huge dose of milk tea. Yum! You should have made a side trip to Macau where the pace is much slower and the streets are more colorful. And a lot less polluted :)

We did actually have 2 days to explore Macau very quickly. It was indeed worth the rush. We ventured the city streets really quickly covering the main tourist-y attractions; scouted the famous Macau delicacies and ate ourselves silly before returning to Hong Kong.






I wish we had more time to spend gambling and appreciating the amazing architecture and casinos; *shrug* I guess there's always next time.

For those who have not been introduced to Macau; here's a short summarized version for a bit of information.

Macau/Macao is a small territory on the southern coast of the People's Republic of China. Administered by Portugal until 1999, it was the oldest European colony in China, dating back to the 16th century. The administrative power over Macau was transferred to the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1999, and it is now one of two special administrative regions of the PRC, together with Hong Kong. Besides historical Chinese and Portuguese world-heritage relics, Macau's biggest attraction is its gambling industry and casinos. (Wikepedia)

I especially loved how the locals have successfully portrayed their cultural roots through restoring old colonial buildings, speaking various languages and keeping the Portuguese cuisine very much alive. And of course..what do Portuguese people make best? Egg tarts of course *drool* so very deliciously divine! I love Portuguese eggtarts for its crisp layers of puff pastry which makes these golden little babies so very irresistible! I've been thinking about them for weeks!.. *giggle* had a go at making my own yesterday...yummy yummy; too bad the recipe only made 6 tiny tiny tarts...will make more when weight problems subside a little more *blush* hehee *rubs tummy*

1/4 cup full cream milk
1/4 cup whipping cream
4 tbps castor sugar
3 egg yolks beaten

Heat milk and cream in a heatproof bowl in the microwave for 2-3 minutes. Whisk in sugar till dissolved. Heat in microwave on high for another 1 minute. Add egg yolks in a thin stream; whisking with a balloon whisk as you go along.

1 500gms slab ready-to-use puff pastry

Defrost; Roll out into 3mm thickness, cut with an egg ring/round cookie cutter into 6 large circles and 6 approximately 1 cm smaller circles. Line each muffin tray hole with 2 rounds of pastry stacked on top of each other. Press into the muffin mould, creating a thin base of pastry in the center and thick corners coming up the sides of the mould. Repeat with all 6 and divide filling into each prepared pastry shell. Bake in preheated 170 degree oven for 25-20 minutes; or until custard in the center bloats up and is beginning to turn a golden caramelized brown.

Remove from oven and allow to cool on a wire rack. Expect them to deflate in the center...eat them right away...don't bother storing them; pastry never stays fluffy and puff too long.

*phew~ picture overload on this post! I hope I didn't make anyone lagg out from the page loading *guilty*