Macao's Cuisine is a Curious Blend

William Schwalbe, escritor que na década de 1980 residia em Hong Kong, assina o artigo com o título "Macao's Cuisine is a Curious Blend" publicado na edição de 1 de Março de 1987 do jornal The New York Times.

O enfoque é na cozinha macaense e a reportagem é feita tendo por base o restaurante Pinóquio (Pinocchio) na Taipa (fundado na década 1970). Aborda-se também a gastronomia portuguesa (bacalhau, caldeirada, etc...) incluindo os vinhos (verde, rosé, porto, etc...). O artigo inclui ainda um pequeno guia de visita para os turistas estrangeiros referindo dois hotéis, o Oriental e o Hyatt.

On Taipa Island, down a dusty alley in Taipa Village, is Cozinha Pinocchio, a restaurant that has a cultish following among residents of Macao - Chinese, Portuguese and Macanese - and among the weekend gamblers and pleasure seekers who spill over to Macao from Hong Kong, like jackpot coins from a slot machine.

Taipa Island, once known for building junks and manufacturing firecrackers, is part of the territory of Macao and is connected to the Macao peninsula by a 1.6-mile bridge. A larger island, called Coloane, is connected to Taipa by a 1.4-mile causeway.

Pinocchio serves a synthesis of Portuguese and Macanese cooking, and Macanese cuisine itself is an outgrowth of the improbable mixture of cultures that have been thrown together in the territory.

After Macao's establishment as a Portuguese colony in 1557, the produce and wealth of Africa, Burma, China, Europe, India, Japan, Malaysia, South America and Thailand passed through the city in an elaborate trading chain. Macao is now a fairly sleepy city of 420,000 crowded onto six square miles and is eclipsed as a trading center by its relatively young neighbor Hong Kong, which China ceded to England in 1841. But even though Macao's decline as a world trading center began in the mid-17th century, many of the countries that traded through the city left an impression on the architecture, cultural identity and cuisine.

Macao is still administered by Portugal, and much Macanese food is Portuguese, although less salty and more flavorful. Spices and foodstuffs introduced to Macao's cuisine from Portugal's former colonies include saffron and chillies from Goa, kidney beans, peanuts and tomatoes from Brazil, nutmeg, cinnamon and white pepper from Malacca and piri-piri peppers used in African chicken, Macao's signature dish. They come from Angola and Mozambique.

Wines, sardines and sausages are imported from Portugal. The food also makes ample use of ginger and soy sauce and other products of China. Local produce provides the staples: chicken, pork, prawns, vegetables, quail and pigeon.

Since 95 percent of Macao is Cantonese (almost 90 percent of Pinocchio's customers are Chinese), the food is usually served Chinese style, with each dish placed in the center of the table for everyone to share. Still, two people can have a varied meal since many items are offered individually (order one prawn, for example, for each person). The menu, incidentally, is in English, Chinese and Portuguese, the three languages spoken in Macao.

Back-opened hot prawns (about $4.50 each; prices have been converted to United States dollars) are, perhaps, the most admired dish at Pinocchio. The prawns are the size of small lobsters. The meat is springy, moist and swollen with garlic. The prawns are harvested locally, from the Pearl River estuary, beside which Macao sits. (Macao is at the mouth of the Pearl River on the South China coast, about 40 miles southwest of Hong Kong and 87 miles south of Canton.) The water is brackish; the prawns thus have a flavor associated with seafood yet the subtlety of freshwater fish. Also worth trying are smaller hot prawns with garlic and salt (about $7.20 for enough for four people).

Roast quail is 85 cents apiece. The skin looks like well-polished rosewood, and they are sweet, with every pore, cartilage and ligament surrounded by garlic. Sardines (65 cents each), imported from Portugal, are about six inches long; they are charcoal grilled and served on lettuce. Squeeze plenty of lemon on both quails and sardines.

African chicken is chicken spiced with peppers and then charcoal grilled. Coconut is sometimes used as a marinade. But it is not served at Pinocchio. For African chicken, try Grill Fortaleza at the Pousada de Sao Tiago . Pinocchio does serve Portuguese chicken ($2.60), which has potatoes and is prepared with curry, coconut, tomatoes, olives and saffron.

Another specialty at Pinocchio is curried crab (about $10 for three people). The crab comes from local waters, is heaped with onions and makes for messy eating.

Pinocchio's cod stew (codfish caldeirada Portuguese style; $2.80) is salty and tough, a chewy layered mixture of cod slabs and vegetables popular with Macao Portuguese - but not with most Chinese. The cod is imported from Norway. Equally popular with the Portuguese are codfish cakes and caldo verde, a vegetable and potato soup.

Roast pigeon ($5.80 each) comes laid out smartly on a plate, cut into sections and with the head separate. This is the Chinese style of presentation, but the pigeons taste different from Cantonese roast pigeon. Pinocchio's are rich but not gamey and, as with quail, garlic is used in preparation; lemon should be squeezed on top.

Hot rolls (which sometimes have to be requested) are free. They are delicious, yeasty and sweet. And the Portuguese fried rice ($1.15 for a heaping plate) is a tawny red from tomatoes fried with it. It is usually ordered at the end of the meal.

Most of the restaurant, which seats around 200, is a roofed courtyard. At the front is a brick wall; to the back is the kitchen; on one flank is a little house with an office upstairs, and on the other is a small wing. Both the house and wing have a small dining room. These two indoor eating spaces are air-conditioned in summer and protected from the wind in winter; the extra charge for sitting in them is 10 percent of the cost of the meal.

Most regular customers like the more raucous, slapdash, open feel of the central part of the restaurant. Red plastic lampshades dangle against the slope of the corrugated metal ceiling, which is held up by thin green girders. A tent-shaped skylight cut into the ceiling runs the length of the courtyard.

Several fans are scattered about: hanging fans, fans attached to the wall and, when it it hot, fans standing on the earthy red, tiled floor. Stacked below a marble counter are cans of soda. Goldfish swim around tanks on both sides. The walls are brick with mint-green plaster above. Some plants in dragon pots are placed beside the entrance but are overshadowed by a mulberry tree that grows just inside.

There are two table sizes, long ones for large groups or combinations of small groups and square ones for two to four people. The tables lend themselves to a good deal of improvisation in seating. There are no tablecloths, but there are cloth napkins. Towels and finger bowls are passed around after the messier dishes have been consumed.

The din in the central part of the restaurant is a combination of loud talk, clanging silverware and three raucous birds in cages suspended above the entrance. If the afternoon grows hotter, shirts come off and rubber flip-flops are kicked under the table. Stripping down, in hot weather, is encouraged.

Unless it is very cold, Sunday lunch is the most hectic time with the restaurant reaching a high degree of noise and activity, but not, amazingly, total confusion. Lines of people waiting throng around the tables nearest the door, waiters hurtle by with great dripping dishes, food is passed over heads, and the sound of slurping and clinking glasses is intense.

A bottle of vinho verde is the usual companion to a meal at Pinocchio or any Macanese meal. These young, slightly sparkling Portuguese wines are easy to drink and are not too heavy. The wine list is long, and diners who need advice are usually escorted by waiters to the glass-front refrigerator for help in choosing. Casal Garcia and Quinta da Aveleda as well as Mateus rose are $4.60 a bottle.

Also ubiquitous in Macao is port. A glass of Offley 20-year-old port is $1.15. White Ferreira port (50 cents) is particularly tasty. A snifter of cognac is $1.05; powerful espresso 75 cents.

A taxi from Macao's ferry pier to Taipa Village takes 20 minutes at most. The fare is about $2.20, and there is a 65-cent surcharge for the trip to the island (there should be no extra charge for the return - but often there is). The alley, Rua do Sol, is easy to miss. Look for the small Pinocchio sign, on Rua do Cunha, with green lettering on a weathered white background.

If you have questions or need help ordering, ask any of the permanent staff, all of whom wear name tags.

A word of caution: There is a restaurant named Pinocchio in Hong Kong. It has copied the menu and even the logo of the original, but it is not connected with the Macao restaurant.

Pinocchio is open from noon to 10 P.M. every day but Monday unless the Monday is a public holiday, in which case the restaurant is open. Reservations are usually necessary and are essential on weekends and holidays. Closing time is strictly observed. Last orders are taken at 9:45, and at the stroke of 10 the lights go out and the bill appears on the table. Hong Kong dollars and

Macao patacas are accepted. Diner's Club and Federal are the only credit cards accepted. There is no service charge; a tip of about 10 percent is appropriate.

Cozinha Pinocchio is at 4 Rua do Sol on Taipa Island. For reservations, call 27128 or 27328. 

PLANNING A VISIT TO MACAO 

Getting There One can get to Macao by water from Hong Kong (or overland at the end of a China trip). There is no air transport. The two most pleasant modes of travel are the jetfoil and the high-speed ferry. The regular ferry is slow, taking almost three hours, and the hydrofoils tend to induce sea sickness.

It is important, especially on weekends, to buy tickets for both directions well in advance. And remember to bring your passport.

Far East Hydrofoil Company, which operates jetfoils (8593333; 8153043 in Hong Kong), has departures from Hong Kong every half hour from 7 A.M. to 1:30 A.M. and every half hour from 7 A.M. to 2 A.M. from Macao. First-class tickets for the 50-minute trip range from $8.50 to $13.20 ($7.30 to $11.80 regular class), depending on direction of travel, day of week and time of day.

First-class seating is on the upper deck and is slightly more spacious; coffee, juice and newspapers are free, and first-class passengers disembark first.

Jetfoil tickets can be bought in the basement of the Macao Ferry Terminal in Shun Tak Center (Sheung Wan stop on the subway) from Ticketmate booths in certain subway stations including Wan Chai, Causeway Bay and Tsim Sha Tsui or by Telecharge (8593288 in Hong Kong).

Tickets for the high-speed ferries (8152789; 8152299 in Hong Kong) can be bought in the basement of the Macao Ferry Terminal or at booths in subway stations but not by Telecharge.

There is an outdoor deck on the ferries, for use by passengers traveling VIP class ($9 to Macao and $7 from) and first class ($7.70 and $5.75), which is especially enjoyable on sunny days. There are five sailings daily from Hong Kong and six from Macao. The trip takes about an hour and a half. Where to Stay The best place is Pousada de Sao Tiago (telephone 78111); its 23 rooms are built into the 17th-century Barra Fortress. Rooms are elegantly furnished, and there is a small pool. Standard rooms are $77 for two, deluxe rooms with balcony $90; suites are $109 to $205. A 20 percent discount is given Sunday to Thursday. For reservations in Hong Kong call 261288.

The above rates and the following ones do not include 5 percent tax or 10 percent service charge.

The Oriental Hotel (567888), part of the Mandarin Oriental chain, has comfortable rooms, first-rate service, a pool, sauna, gymnasium, squash courts, tennis courts and a casino. Rooms range from $64 to $103, single or double occupancy; suites are $177 to $538. All suites and $103 rooms have balconies. For reservations, call 212-752-9710 in New York.

The Hyatt Regency (27000) on Taipa Island has a large free-form pool, a health club and tennis and squash courts, but members crowd the facilities on weekends, rooms are small and the service not particularly good. Rooms range from $64 to $90, single or double occupancy; suites are $180 to $641. On weekends some rooms are offered at $55 a night for two and include breakfast, a welcome drink and admission to a discotheque. For reservations, call 800-228-9000 in the continental United States. Walking Tour An interesting walk on Taipa Island is to a 1920's house that has been turned into a museum. Continue past Rua do Sol to the far end of Rua do Cunha, then turn left, following signs to Casa Museu (telephone 27088). It is open from 9 A.M. to 1 P.M. and from 3 P.M. to 5 P.M. Closed Monday.

The easiest place to catch a taxi is at the end of Rua do Cunha nearest Cozinha Pinocchio.