Trip Report IV

(Last updated: July 20, 2026)

It’s been a long time since our last Macau Trip Report, which happened all the way back to 2014.  I’m technically not even a tourist anymore, having settled in Macau after Covid. But damn it, I wanted to act like one again. So I dusted off the suitcase, hopped on bus number 25 and spent a week paying to sleep in hotels in my own city.

The trip was a celebration of sorts, and also a last supper: one final week of freedom before I returned to work and began the next (hopefully much smoother) chapter of my life.

Along for the ride was the heavy hitter from Qinhuangdao, Jane Wong, who, despite all logic, common sense and prevailing wisdom, somehow still considers me a viable life partner. Yes, I’m just as surprised as the rest of you.

We took the trip from August 11th to 17th, 2024, but I’ve updated the prices for 2026. Apart from the inevitable future increases, most of the information should remain useful for years to come.

Our goal was to try a few new hotels and visit places that either didn’t exist or hadn’t made it onto my radar before Covid. We’ll start with the hotels, move on to the restaurants and finish with the sights.

Enough preamble. Let’s check in.

Riviera Hotel

I’d never had any interest in the Riviera, mainly because of its atrocious location halfway up Barra Hill, facing Macau Tower.

But since one of my own Top 10 Tips is “Don’t Be Afraid of Older Hotels,” and the Riviera is almost 30 years old, I felt compelled to follow my own advice and try it.

The hotel is roughly on par with other older properties we’ve covered, such as the Sintra and Royal.  Check-in took quite a while despite there being only one person ahead of me, simply because only one counter was open. The deposit was $300, after which I was given a room on the second floor that clearly didn’t resemble the one I’d reserved. It looked like the cheapest room in the hotel, even though I’d booked a couple of levels higher.

Never one to turn down an opportunity for room photos, I took a few before gathering my things and returning to reception to ask where the room I had actually reserved was.

The receptionist assured me that it was also a Double Seaview, so I showed him the photos of the white room I’d expected from the Booking.com listing. Fortunately, he said I could have that version if I was willing to wait about 30 minutes, which is exactly what I did.

The difference felt like night and day. The replacement came with a balcony, a much better view of Macau Tower and a considerably more appealing design.

In fairness, the front desk was probably right: both rooms appeared to be the same category and roughly the same size. The second one just had a far better theme and colour scheme.

Bright and spacious, it leans into Portuguese style and wouldn’t look out of place in Alentejo.

There’s plenty of desk space, a comfortable chair beside the window and enough room to move around without bumping into everything.

Even the bathroom gets the Portuguese treatment, with an azulejo-style wall print that shows how much effort went into the design.

More importantly, everything was clean and in good condition. Nothing was broken or visibly worn, which isn’t always something you can say about a hotel approaching 30 years of age.

The minibar was considerably less impressive. It consisted of water for $8, soft drinks for $16, beer, tea, cookies and instant noodles for $18, and a bottle of red wine for $138.

Beyond the room, the Riviera doesn’t offer enough to justify its asking price. Dining options are limited, there aren’t many facilities to speak of, and the steep walk up Barra Hill gets old remarkably quickly.

It cost me $1,100 in 2024, while rates have eased considerably in 2026, dropping to around $750 per night. Even at that price, it’s an easy no. It’s just not where you want to be staying.

Hotel Central

After that failed experiment, we got a lot more central by staying at Hotel Central. Naturally.

When it first opened in 1928, it was one of the most revered hotels in the Portuguese Empire. Towering over San Ma Lo, it remained a defining feature of Macau’s skyline for decades before years of neglect hastened its closure in 2016.

Eight years and MOP 400 million later, Hotel Central returned from the dead. They didn’t just rescue the name and hang up a few old photographs. The rooms, hallways and public spaces were rebuilt around different periods of the hotel’s history.

Its location is a big part of the appeal. Hotel Central sits directly on Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro, better known as San Ma Lo, surrounded by the old streets, traditional shopfronts and restaurants of historic Macau. Step outside and you’re immediately in the middle of the city, right where you need to be, rather than wondering where to catch a taxi or bus.

We initially booked the Grand Deluxe, the third most expensive room category, which cost $1,280 per night. Fast-forward to 2026 and it now goes for $1,480 during the summer months.

That’s $500 or $600 more than the cheaper rooms, but in my opinion, it’s well worth the upgrade.

The room is freaking gorgeous. The furniture is immaculate, from the cane-backed chairs and marble-topped cabinet to the sofa dividing the bed from the sitting area. Old photographs fill the illuminated shelves, with a pour-over coffee station tucked beneath them.

My favourite feature is the wall separating the bedroom from the bathroom. Made from tall sea-green wooden panels filled with textured glass, it looks like something taken from a grand Macau home in the 1940s. It provides privacy without blocking the light, and the glimpse of the clawfoot bathtub behind it is almost ridiculously beautiful.

The bathroom is every bit as good, with natural stone, bronze fittings, a walk-in rain shower and that wonderful tub. Even the hexagonal floor tiles and old-fashioned taps look right.

That’s what Hotel Central gets so right. This isn’t a modern hotel with a few vintage photographs hung on the walls. It doesn’t simply remind you of the past; it makes you feel as though you’re staying in it. Close those green glass doors, turn on the bedside lamp, and for a little while you’re no longer in present-day Macau. You’re back in the 1940s, and I can’t think of another hotel in the city capable of doing that.

For our final two nights, we went all the way to the top category: the Prestigious Room with Balcony, which cost $3,200 on Friday and $3,400 on Saturday.

Rich walnut panelling, leather cushions, cane-backed chairs and historic photography continue the heritage theme, while the separate lounge provides enough room to actually relax rather than simply sleep.

Unlike many luxury rooms, which can feel sterile, this one has warmth. It’s the sort of place where you don’t mind spending an afternoon doing absolutely nothing.

The bathroom is spectacular, with a freestanding bathtub beside the window, brass fixtures, marble walls and a spacious walk-in rain shower. 

But the terrace is what makes the room genuinely special. Large enough to function as another living room, it comes furnished with sofas, armchairs and coffee tables overlooking the old city. This isn’t somewhere you step outside for a quick photograph; it’s somewhere you’d happily spend an hour with a coffee in the morning or a drink after dark.

Is it worth nearly three times the price of the Grand Deluxe? That’s a much tougher question. The Grand Deluxe already captures almost everything that makes Hotel Central special. Unless you really value the outdoor space or are celebrating something, I’d save the money and book that instead.

No matter which room you choose, Hotel Central doesn’t skimp on the freebies. There’s coffee, tea, snacks, complimentary drinks in the fridge and even a bottle of red wine, all replenished daily.

Breakfast costs an additional $100 per person and comes as either a Western or Asian set. We ordered both because… journalism.

The Western breakfast covers the usual favourites, while the Asian set is a much more local affair, with congee, dim sum, noodles and several smaller dishes.

Both are beautifully presented and surprisingly filling. I naturally went for the Asian breakfast, while Jane chose the Western, which pretty much sums up our relationship perfectly.

Hotel Central is now my favourite hotel in Macau. The location is unbeatable, the rooms have more personality than anything in Cotai, and the restoration doesn’t merely pay tribute to the past—it brings it back to life. Vintage hotels won’t appeal to everyone, and that’s fine. Stay somewhere else if you must, but no one can walk through this place and deny that it’s exceptionally good.

Restaurants

Instead of limiting this section to restaurants we visited during the trip, I’m expanding it into a list of my favourites in 2026. These aren’t recommendations based on one great meal in 2017 or something a friend told me. I’ve eaten at every restaurant here within the past year, and in most cases more than once.

Portuguese

Fernando – Fernando’s cult following among Hong Kong visitors is highly deserved.
O Santos – A Taipa Village institution where Santos Pinto has been serving hearty southern Portuguese fare since 1989.
Military Club – Its history alone makes it worth visiting. The food now gives you a second reason.

Dom Galo – The sister restaurant to the original Galo, carrying on Jorge Mota’s Portuguese culinary legacy.
Amora – One of Macau’s newest Portuguese restaurants and already among its most exciting.
António – Opened by legendary local chef António Coelho in 1990, it remains a top-notch option in Taipa Village.

Macanese

Nga Tim
 – A fixture of Coloane Village, known for its lively outdoor tables and prime position beside the Chapel of St Francis Xavier.
Cozinha Aida – 
Run by the children of Aida de Jesus, AKA the Godmother of Macanese cuisine.

Chinese

Huaiyang Garden – 
One of the very few restaurants in Macau dedicated to the refined cuisine of China’s Huaiyang region.
Le Chinois
 – The flagship Cantonese restaurant at Sofitel Macau at Ponte 16, overlooking Macau’s Inner Harbour from the 18th floor.
Long Wa – 
One of Macau’s oldest surviving tea houses, serving generations of locals since the 1960s.
Tai Long Fong – 
A traditional Cantonese tea house well known for its dim sum and daily Chinese opera performances.

Italian

Antica
 – Serving Italian cuisine in NAPE since 2003, Antica has outlasted almost every Italian restaurant that came after it.
Aurora
 – Altira Macau’s signature Italian restaurant, where the handmade pasta is excellent and the view across the peninsula is even better.

International

Aji
 – Located inside MGM Cotai, Aji blends Japanese technique with global influences under Michelin-starred Chef Pan Sihui.
Aria by Chef D – 
An intimate, family-run restaurant that opened in 2023 as Macau’s first destination for South African cooking.
Chiang Rai
 – One of the few restaurants in Macau dedicated to authentic northern Thai cuisine.
Justindia
 – Founded by Chef Justin Paul, whose career includes leading Macau’s Michelin-starred Golden Peacock for eight consecutive years.

La Santé
 – One of Macau’s most exciting recent French openings, featuring a monthly set menu for $600.
SW Steakhouse – 
Wynn Palace’s signature steakhouse and the benchmark for premium beef in Macau.
Naughty Nuri’s
 – Go for the ribs. Stay for the ribs. Then order another rack of ribs.
Zuicho
 – An intimate Japanese restaurant specializing in seasonal kaiseki and omakase.

Hidden Gem #1 – St. Dominic’s Market Food Court

Macau isn’t short of expensive restaurants, so here’s something for anyone who would rather eat well without turning lunch into a financial decision.

Hidden above St. Dominic’s Market, only a few minutes from Senado Square, this old school food court is packed with small independent stalls serving noodles, rice dishes, curries and local favourites at extremely reasonable prices.

Some language difficulties are possible, but they shouldn’t put anyone off. Several stalls have English menus with photographs, and even when the translations are a little adventurous, pointing at what you want usually gets the job done.

We ate at Ping Kei, where most of the noodle dishes cost around $50. The Beef and Vegetable Fried Noodles came as a crisp nest topped with sliced beef, Chinese greens and plenty of glossy gravy. The sauce gradually softened the noodles underneath while leaving the edges crunchy, giving the dish a nice contrast in texture.

The Salt and Pepper Pork Chop Noodles were the heavier of the two, with thin stir-fried noodles, bean sprouts and a generous pile of pork scattered with spring onions and chilli. Less saucy but more strongly seasoned, it was heavier than the beef noodles but just as good.

For visitors looking for a cheap local meal near the Historic Centre, St. Dominic’s Market Food Court is one of the easiest recommendations in this report.

Hidden Gem #2 – Cafe Bon Bon’s Lemon Tarts

Everyone knows Lord Stow’s egg tarts. Far fewer people know about the $48 lemon tarts at Café Bon Bon.

Hidden away near Kiang Wu Hospital, Café Bon Bon is still building out its menu and coffee options. That’s fine, because the lemon tart alone is reason enough to visit. The filling gets the balance exactly right: bright and sharply citrusy without tipping into sourness, with a smooth, almost custard-like richness. One should be enough. It probably won’t be.

Macau has no shortage of excellent desserts, but if you’ve had your fill of egg tarts and want something different, Café Bon Bon makes a persuasive case for switching citrus.

Sights

Let’s begin our sightseeing excursion with newer activities in Cotai.

ZipCity

One of the more unusual places to emerge during the Covid years is Lisboeta Macau, a resort sitting beside Grand Lisboa Palace that’s aimed much more at families than gamblers. Instead of another casino, you’ll find attractions like ZipCity, Beebeeland, a skydiving simulator, cinemas and a collection of smaller entertainment venues. It’s a very different direction for Macau, and one that probably makes more sense for visitors travelling with children than the average casino tourist.

I wouldn’t recommend staying here, though. The location is simply too isolated compared with Cotai’s major resorts, and you’ll spend a lot of time travelling back and forth. As an afternoon diversion, however, it’s worth a look.

The first attraction we tried was ZipCity.

At $388 per person, it’s certainly not cheap, but curiosity got the better of us. We also deliberately booked the night session, figuring the lights of Cotai would make for a much better experience than flying over construction sites in broad daylight.

After a short safety briefing, you’re fitted into a harness and taken to the launch platform high above the resort. Standing there looking down, it’s hard not to wonder whether this was really such a good idea.

Then…you’re gone.

The ride itself is fun. But it’s also over remarkably quickly.

The whole thing lasts well under a minute, and before you’ve really had time to process what just happened, you’re already slowing to a stop at the other end. That’s been one of the most common criticisms online as well. Visitors consistently praise the staff, the professionalism and the nighttime views, but many also feel the experience is simply too short for the price. Others mention that the onboard video focuses almost entirely on your face rather than the scenery, making the souvenir footage less impressive than they expected.

That’s pretty much where I landed too.

I’m glad I tried it but wouldn’t pay $388 to do it again.

If you’ve never ridden a zipline before, it’s a fun way to spend forty or fifty seconds soaring above Cotai. Just go in knowing that the anticipation lasts longer than the ride itself.

Beebeeland

The other major attraction inside Lisboeta is Beebeeland, which combines a modern arcade with a large indoor playground aimed primarily at younger children. It’s exactly the sort of place parents hope to find after a few days of dragging the kids through casinos and shopping malls.

The arcade itself is fairly standard, with everything from claw machines and racing games to basketball and rhythm games. Games generally cost between 6 and 15 tokens, depending on what you choose, so it’s easy enough to spend an hour wandering around without completely emptying your wallet.

The bigger attraction is the playground.  For $100 on weekdays (or $130 on weekends), one child and one adult receive two hours inside. Additional hours cost $50 for children and $30 for adults, while extra adults pay $50.

The playground itself is clean, colourful and surprisingly large, with climbing frames, slides, ball pits and obstacle courses that should keep most younger children busy for a couple of hours.  Online reviews are similarly positive, with parents consistently praising how clean the facilities are, how much there is for children to do, and how reasonable the admission price is compared with other indoor play centres.

Even if you don’t have children, Lisboeta is slowly becoming something of an activity hub rather than simply another hotel.

There’s GoAirborne Indoor Skydiving, where visitors experience simulated freefall inside a giant vertical wind tunnel. Reviews are overwhelmingly positive, particularly for families and first-timers, although almost everyone agrees it isn’t cheap. The instructors receive consistent praise, and many visitors recommend paying extra for the optional high-flight upgrade if you’re already committing to the experience.

More recently, Lisboeta has also added FunFun Kart, Macau’s first indoor electric go-kart circuit. The Italian-built karts reach speeds of up to 60 km/h on the adult track, with a separate children’s circuit available as well. Early reviews suggest it’s professionally run, safe and a fun addition to Macau’s growing list of family attractions.

Lisboeta probably isn’t worth crossing most of Macau for, but if you’re already in Cotai, particularly with children, it’s becoming one of the better places to fill an afternoon without ever setting foot in a casino.

teamLab SuperNature

One attraction that genuinely caught me off guard was teamLab SuperNature at The Venetian. I was fully expecting another overpriced, overhyped Cotai Strip cash grab. Instead, I found one of Macau’s best attractions.

The permanent digital art exhibition is imaginative, immersive and surprisingly fun, whether you’re a couple taking photos, a family with young children or simply someone looking for something different to do beyond the casinos.

We spent close to two hours wandering through room after room of lights, mirrors, flowers and interactive displays, and honestly could have stayed longer. It’s one of the easiest recommendations on the entire Cotai Strip.

Full review: teamLab SuperNature

The Illuminarium

Another stop was The Illuminarium at Wynn Palace, home to two immersive experiences: Space and Wild.

While Space left me wanting much more, Wild was genuinely impressive, using the venue’s enormous screens to create one of the most convincing wildlife experiences I’ve seen outside an actual safari.

The full breakdown is linked below, but if you’re short on time, skip Space and head straight into Wild.

Full review: Wynn Palace Illuminarium

Studio City Water Park

Studio City Water Park is one of the few Cotai attractions capable of filling an entire afternoon. This is no glorified hotel pool, but a proper indoor-and-outdoor water park with enough variety for young children, cautious adults and people who actively enjoy being dropped through trapdoors.

The attractions range from wave pools and gentle rapids to a surfing simulator, climbing wall, dive pool and some genuinely intimidating slides. The indoor section also contains Macau’s only 300-metre water roller coaster, allowing the park to operate throughout the year.

It’s best experienced with at least one other person, as several rides require two passengers. Weekdays are also preferable; queues for the most popular attractions can reach 20 minutes on weekends and public holidays.

As of 2026, admission ranges from $498 to $580 for adults and $288 to $320 for children between one and 1.19 metres tall. Children below one metre enter free.

It isn’t cheap, but Studio City Water Park is easily one of Macau’s best family attractions. Bring a few friends, avoid peak periods and allow at least three or four hours to experience it properly.

Full review: Studio City Water Park 

Go Karts

Macau’s karting track has been around forever, but if we’re being honest, it has never become a major tourist attraction.

Part of the problem is the location. Getting there requires a deliberate trip out to Coloane, and once you arrive, you’re paying $180 for about 15 minutes on the track.

It’s fun, but not enough fun to justify the journey for most tourists.

The bigger issue is that Macau simply offers too many better uses of your time. Between Macau Tower, ZipCity, the casinos, the food scene and the historic centre, karting struggles to compete for a visitor’s limited schedule.

I enjoyed giving it a try, but after finally doing it myself, I understand why it never really became one of Macau’s must-do attractions.

The rest of the sights take place on the old Peninsula.

Bungee Jumping

The Macau Tower Bungee Jump debuted on December 17, 2006, when AJ Hackett himself jumped from the 233-metre platform and set a Guinness World Record for the highest bungee jump from a building. Nearly 20 years later, it remains the tower’s headline attraction and one of the most famous things to do in Macau.  This isn’t some little fairground drop, either. You’re jumping from the 61st floor, high enough to spend several uncomfortable minutes reconsidering every decision that brought you there.

Bungee jumping is not something I’ve ever wanted to do, but hey, the Maven’s got to Maven sometimes and this website needs CONTENT. So on my birthday, I thought, what the hell? I’m going up and seeing what this Tower Jump is all about.  Jane considered it for a few days before deciding that she would do it too, preferably together. Unfortunately, we exceeded the 130-kilogram combined weight limit for tandem jumps, so we had to go separately.

A solo jump currently costs $3,088, while the photo and video package runs around $700. That package absolutely MUST be bought. Booking ahead is strongly recommended, especially on weekends, so we reserved three days in advance and arranged to tempt fate sometime between 4 and 5 pm.

Check-in was straightforward. You sign a waiver, provide some personal information and place every bag and loose item in a locker. After being weighed and fitted with a harness, you’re given one crucial instruction concerning a cord attached to your left leg.

Following the jump, you remain suspended head-first while bouncing back towards the tower. Near the top of the second rebound, you’re supposed to reach towards your left foot, find the cord and pull it. Doing so rotates you into a seated position for the final descent to the ground.  A little tip: don’t look near your foot. Reach much farther up your calf. At least, that’s where I eventually found it.

Fear.

From the moment I stepped out of the elevator on the 61st floor, I was feeling it large. Jane remained completely unaffected, but my anxiety arrived early and stayed late as I contemplated having to do something I genuinely did not want to do.

Throughout the process, the staff cracked jokes about dying and offered increasingly detailed opinions on the shape, composition and general character of the afterlife. They explained that they weren’t permitted to jump themselves because, if something happened to them, nobody would be left to supervise everyone else.

Suffice to say, they weren’t doing much to alleviate my anxiety.

Then, just like that, it was my turn.

I took baby steps onto the platform like I was learning to walk all over again. They told me to move as close to the edge as possible, while every instinct in my body screamed at me to do the opposite. I even asked whether anyone was still holding me. That’s how freaked out I was.

Once you get pushed off the platform, the only emotion is pure fear. You can see the ground below and you’re falling towards it fast, head-first.  The rebound looks vicious when you watch other people do it, but it felt nothing like I expected. There was no pain, no violent snap and no sensation of my vertebrae rearranging themselves. One moment I was plunging towards the ground; the next I had changed direction and was flying back towards the tower.

I missed the cord on the first rebound and only found it on the next one. The moment I pulled it, I rotated upright and found myself sitting comfortably, being lowered gently back to sanity.

On the way down, I was genuinely astonished that I had done it—and, more importantly, that I wasn’t dead. Reaching the ground felt like a rousing reaffirmation of life and all the benefits of continuing to live it.

The staff removed my harness and asked whether I wanted to go again. At the time, I offered a tepid limp lukewarm “maybe.”

Now I think I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

If throwing yourself head-first from the tower sounds unnecessarily aggressive, AJ Hackett offers several less deranged alternatives. SkyWalk takes you around the outside edge of the 233-metre platform while attached to an overhead safety system. SkyJump begins from the same height but provides a controlled, feet-first descent rather than the freefall and rebounds of the Bungee.  At the other extreme, Tower Climb takes you up the mast to the tower’s highest point, 338 metres above the ground. In other words, there are several different ways to crap your pants up there.

Current official prices are $3,088 for a solo Bungee Jump, $5,488 for a tandem jump, $2,188 for SkyJump, $788 for SkyWalk and $2,688 for Tower Climb.

The woman who went before us had chosen the less terrifying feet-first SkyJump. We ran into her again later on the 61st floor and, within about five minutes, she and Jane were exchanging WeChat details and chatting as though they’d known each other all their lives.

That’s something I love about Chinese people. Two complete strangers can start talking and, just like that, they’ve made plans to meet again on the other side of the country. She apparently works for the government in Hunan, so if we ever make it there, we already have someone lined up to show us around.

Walking tour

One thing Macau desperately lacks is walking tours. Maybe it’s because AirBnb is illegal, but whatever the reason, their absence is baffling. Few cities have so many UNESCO heritage sites packed into such a compact area, yet many visitors never venture beyond the Ruins of St. Paul’s. Put Macau in Europe and I guarantee the first ten stops on the heritage route towards Senado Square would be swamped every day. That some of them receive so little foot traffic isn’t exactly illegal, but it’s still criminal.

During the summer, a series of guided tours attempts to introduce visitors to more of the Historic Centre. Better yet, they’re effectively free. Each tour costs $50, but participants receive a $50 dining voucher at the end that can be redeemed at several local restaurants.

The advertised itinerary looked promising, offering stories from Macau’s history alongside visits to Hotel Central, the Ruins of St. Paul’s, St. Anthony’s Church, the Street of Happiness and several other heritage landmarks. The route we actually followed was rather different. We began at Sam Kai Vui Kun Temple, visited the rooftop terrace at Hotel Central, walked through the Street of Happiness and eventually finished on Rua das Estalagens.

Unfortunately, the tour never came close to living up to its potential. The guide’s English simply wasn’t strong enough to sustain the commentary. Walking tours live or die by their storytelling, and when the explanations rarely extended beyond a few disconnected sentences, the whole experience became a slog. I learned almost nothing and spent much of the time thinking I should have led the tour myself.

Honestly, if you’re ever in town, a Meet-and-Greet with me is definitely the way to go.

The afternoon finished with a 3D milk-tea workshop on the second floor of the Chinese Products Company on Avenida de Cinco de Outubro. It was undeniably touristy, but since it was included, why not? A remarkably pretty instructor demonstrated how to create cute foam animals that sat neatly on top of the drink.

Then it was my turn.  What emerged was Exhibit #429 explaining why I never passed art class in school. Humma mama, fright night. If anyone needs Halloween-themed milk-tea figures, I’ve got you covered.

In the end, I can’t say I learned much from the walking tour itself, but I also can’t complain too loudly. Between the workshop and the $50 dining voucher, the entire afternoon was effectively free. Niu Ji appeared on the list of participating restaurants, so I chose it without a second thought.

MacauSoul

No Trip Report can be complete without making mention of MacauSoul. If you have even the slightest interest in wine, you absolutely have to go there when in town.

David and Jacky Higgins opened it in 2008 as a retirement project, creating one of Macau’s first independent wine bars outside the hotels. The wine list is exclusively Portuguese, the jazz is always right, and everything—from the furniture and glasses to the homemade bread, hummus and chilli sauce—feels like an extension of the two people who built it.

The prices are absurdly reasonable, especially given the quality of the wine, cheese and cured meats. If you don’t know Portuguese wine, don’t worry. Tell David what you normally drink and let him take over. He’ll probably introduce you to something better for less money.

Reservations are essential because seating is limited. Bring cash because they don’t accept cards, and check the opening hours before making the trip. David and Jacky still run the place themselves, so the bar stays closed when they’re out of town.

I first walked through those doors on August 14, 2012, and wrote about it in our second Trip Report. This visit marked my 12-year anniversary, which we commemorated with this photograph.

Years ago, I wrote that I’d be heartbroken when the big doors finally closed. More than a decade later, they are still open, David is still pouring the wine, Jacky is still making the food, and MacauSoul has never left me wanting (except those nights when they actually close on time.)

If this place ever shutters for good, I don’t know how much longer I’ll stay in Macau.

Chinnery Exhibition

One highlight of the trip was a temporary exhibition at the Macao Museum of Art celebrating the 250th anniversary of George Chinnery (1774–1852). Running from May to September 2024, Focus: Integration of Art between China and the West in the 18th–19th Centuries brought together around 300 paintings, sketches and watercolours from the Macao Museum of Art, the Guangdong Museum and the Hong Kong Museum of Art.

If you’ve spent any time walking around Macau, you’ve almost certainly come across Chinnery’s name. The British artist arrived in Macau in 1825 and spent the final twenty-seven years of his life here, producing what has become one of the most important visual records of nineteenth-century Macau, Canton and Hong Kong.  He’s buried in the Old Protestant Cemetery, just a short walk from the Camões Garden.

What struck me most wasn’t the technical quality of the paintings, impressive though they are, but their historical value.

Chinnery captured a Macau that’s now almost impossible to imagine: fishing villages, sampans, narrow streets and colonial buildings long before casinos and land reclamation reshaped the city.

One of his most remarkable drawings depicts the Church of Mater Dei, part of St. Paul’s College, just three months before the fire of 1835 reduced the complex to the famous Ruins of St. Paul’s we see today.

Without that sketch, we’d have only a limited idea of what the original church looked like.

The exhibition also explored Chinnery’s influence on Chinese artists, particularly Lam Qua, widely regarded as the first Chinese portrait painter to exhibit in the West.

Together with dozens of so-called “China Trade” paintings, the exhibition showed how artistic ideas flowed in both directions during the nineteenth century, as Chinese and Western painters learned from one another.

I’m no art critic, but I found the exhibition fascinating. It also made me curious about the man who preserved so much of it.

As it turns out, Chinnery was every bit as colourful as the people he painted. For starters, he was spectacularly ugly. Harriet Low, the young American diarist who sat for him, called him “one of the ugliest men in existence,” although others remembered a face rescued by expressive, good-natured eyes. 

But once Chinnery started talking, apparently none of that mattered. He was witty, charming and a brilliant storyteller—the man everyone wanted at the dinner table and on the guest list. Women liked him, society liked him, and Chinnery clearly liked both.

His romantic life was about as organized as his finances. During his years in India, he fathered at least two illegitimate sons with an unidentified Indian woman, and possibly several more children besides. One modern critic summed him up rather brilliantly as “the famous painter, the penniless fornicator.”

He married Marianne Vigne in Dublin in 1799, then left for India without her three years later. She eventually followed, but the marriage quickly collapsed. Chinnery later joked that Marianne had been ugly 30 years earlier and wondered what, “in the name of the Graces,” she must look like now—which was a bold position for a man described by many as one of the ugliest human beings alive.

By 1825, Chinnery had become the leading portrait painter in British India and was still somehow broke. He earned plenty, spent more and eventually accumulated enough debt to make leaving the country seem like a reasonable financial strategy. He told people that his trip to Macau was temporary and for his health. He also admitted that he was escaping his wife. Both explanations were probably true.  Whenever Chinnery heard that Marianne might follow him to Macau, he reportedly disappeared into Canton, where foreign women were forbidden to live. He called that rule “an admirable arrangement.” Marianne never made it to Macau, which presumably improved his health considerably.

Chinnery arrived at the age of 51 and stayed on the China coast for the rest of his life. Macau became both his refuge and his exile: far enough from his creditors, his wife and most of the problems he had created for himself.

His eating habits soon became part of the legend. Chinnery drank no alcohol, sticking mostly to tea, often cold, but apparently ate like a man preparing for several winters. Friends assumed his stomach must have been destroyed. When he died in 1852, probably from a stroke, an autopsy found it in remarkably good condition.

That was Chinnery. Hideously ugly but irresistible company. Brilliant with a paintbrush and hopeless with money. Completely sober but capable of eating half of Macau. He may have come here to escape his debts and his wife, but he also spent nearly three decades documenting the city better than anyone before him.

Macau gave Chinnery sanctuary, a place to hide. In return, he gave the city something far more valuable: its memory.

Macau Museum photo exhibition

From Chinnery’s Macau, we move to the version captured on film.

One thing you can almost guarantee when visiting Macau is that somewhere in the city, someone will be holding an exhibition of historical photography. I’m fairly certain every one of my Trip Reports has included one, and this time the Macau Museum did the honours.

The exhibition brought together photographs spanning more than a century, with many of the older images paired with modern views of the same locations. The contrasts were remarkable: quiet shorelines became major roads, farmland disappeared beneath apartment blocks, and once-dominant landmarks were gradually swallowed by the city around them. 

The first comparison shows the narrow road leading towards Green Island in the late nineteenth century and the same route in 2024.

Continue straight beyond the bridge today and you eventually reach the University of Saint Joseph, where I studied for a year.  The landscape has been swallowed by roads and apartment towers, but the route itself is still there.

Coloane Village in the late 19th Century was even more recognisable. The present-day roundabout and hospital can already be picked out, along with at least three buildings that remain standing. One of them, with a small window above the door, now sits directly across from my house. I pass it all the time without thinking about just how long it has been there.  The last I saw of anyone living in there, it was housing migrant workers in what looked like abhorrent conditions.

Back then, Coloane was still unmistakably a fishing village. St. Francis Xavier Church stands among the low buildings, boats fill the water and almost nothing exists on the hills beyond.

Move in closer and the churchyard looks just as unfamiliar. No Nga Tim, no restaurant opposite and no hordes of tourists taking selfies in the square.  Just the church, the monument and a remarkable amount of vegetation.

San Ma Lo in 1950 tells a different story. Hotel Central towers over everything around it, exactly as it was designed to do.  Looking at this photograph, it’s no wonder it was once the tallest hotel in the Portuguese Empire.

Another photograph shows a magnificent old building standing on San Ma Lo in 1972. Today, in its place, we have a concrete filing cabinet with a Pizza Hut sign stuck to the front. 

Progress, apparently.

Looking at those old photographs beside their modern counterparts felt like an appropriate way to finish the trip. I started the week wanting to play tourist in my own city. By the end of it, Macau felt both completely familiar and surprisingly new.

Not everything worked. The Riviera was an easy no, the walking tour was a wasted opportunity, and ZipCity ended almost as soon as it began. But then there was Hotel Central, Chinnery, MacauSoul, teamLab SuperNature and the small matter of throwing myself head-first from Macau Tower.

More than anything, the week reminded me why I’m still here. Macau can be frustrating, expensive and strangely careless with the things that make it special, but there is nowhere else quite like it. You just have to look beyond the casinos, and occasionally pay to sleep a short bus ride from your own house.

Our last Macau Trip Report was published in 2014. Whatever happens in the next chapter, I promise I won’t wait another ten years to write the next one.