Senado Square

The all-mosaic Senado square is the heart of Macau. Step onto tiled floors and you’ll find yourself at the intersection of Asia and Europe. The square overlooks the former Portuguese senate-building from which it derives its name. While the wave pattern of the tiles will have you admiring the floor, don’t miss the Portuguese architecture of the many buildings around the square. With their many-hued wooden windows and pillared porches, they look like something out of an oil painting.

Within the by-lanes leading out of the square, China makes her presence felt. Walk through the alleys that branch out, and discover shrines graced with red lanterns, hidden local restaurants with names one can’t pronounce, and many open-air markets.

Follow your nose and you will find the food streets where samples are handed out to lure you into buying a box or two. Try the jerky glazed with honey―while the Chinese like their meats, the Portuguese like them sweet. Munch on the bite-sized almond cookies where the Portuguese sweet-tooth re-surfaces. Today the biscuits accompany Chinese tea. Or enjoy the melt-in-the-mouth egg rolls wrapped in sea-weed because the colonials loved their eggs, while the Chinese need sea-food.