Macau is one of the few places in Guangdong and the Pearl River Delta where you can try Burmese food. Run by Burmese Chinese who moved to the city decades ago, most of these family-owned restaurants are located in the neighborhood surrounding a plaza known as ‘the Three Lamps.’ Behind each restaurant is a touching story about a family migrating to a foreign land.
0:00 ‘Three Lamps’ or ‘Four Lamps’?
1:45 Settling down in a foreign land
3:50 Must-try Burmese noodle dishes
6:45 Unique finds — Pork brain and dessert
9:05 Stay or move on?
10:04 Producer’s thoughts
0:00 ‘Three Lamps’ or ‘Four Lamps’?
1:45 Settling down in a foreign land
3:50 Must-try Burmese noodle dishes
6:45 Unique finds — Pork brain and dessert
9:05 Stay or move on?
10:04 Producer’s thoughts
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00 I'm a little scared because it's my first time eating it.
00:02 You have to try it.
00:03 Last time in Macau,
00:05 we dived into the history of Macanese cuisine.
00:07 It's the happiest thing to see
00:10 when my kids take me home.
00:13 In this episode,
00:14 we're learning about the Burmese-Chinese community in Macau
00:17 and the dishes they're proud of.
00:19 Burmese cuisine is not very popular in the world.
00:24 But it's still a place that can be seen in Macau.
00:27 Welcome to City Bites.
00:29 Macau edition.
00:30 We're here in a neighborhood around Rotunda de Carlos de Maya,
00:51 a circular plaza.
00:52 There are five streets connected to this roundabout.
00:57 Locals call this area "Three Lamps"
00:59 due to this iconic lamppost.
01:01 There are four lamps.
01:03 Why are there three lamps?
01:04 Because when you look down from each street,
01:08 there's a lamp that's covered by a pillar.
01:11 Meet Yep Wing Wah.
01:17 He's Burmese-Chinese,
01:18 but moved to Macau over 40 years ago.
01:21 Having spent half of his life in the Three Lamps area,
01:24 he's an expert on the neighborhood.
01:26 The Three Lamps is very famous.
01:28 I've been here with my wife, Jie Ting Fung.
01:31 These two small shops are also run by Burmese-Chinese.
01:33 If you go further down, you'll see the street market.
01:36 Yep is among the thousands of immigrants
01:41 who settled here decades ago.
01:42 In the early 1970s,
01:46 over 10,000 ethnic Chinese moved to Macau
01:49 from Southeast Asian countries like Myanmar,
01:52 Cambodia and Vietnam
01:53 to escape from anti-Chinese sentiment in the region.
01:57 The majority of them were Burmese-Chinese.
01:59 They formed communities in a few places in Macau.
02:02 The Three Lamps area was one of them.
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02:46 Today, Three Lamps is known among locals
02:49 for being a hub for the Southeast Asian community.
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03:09 Out of everything here,
03:21 the Burmese restaurants are the most well-known.
03:24 Yep invited us to try some classic dishes
03:28 at his restaurant.
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04:43 The soup is very tangy, quite peppery.
04:53 I can imagine that if you eat this in the morning,
04:56 it can wake you up.
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05:54 - So I would say this is like elevated version of Indomie
06:10 because they mix it in a basket.
06:11 It's not like you mix it at home,
06:13 you only have a little bowl.
06:14 Since the restaurant, they use fresh ingredients to make it.
06:17 (gentle music)
06:20 - In the Three Lamps neighborhood,
06:23 there used to be dozens of Burmese restaurants like Yip's,
06:26 but half of them decided not to continue anymore.
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06:33 At the remaining Burmese restaurants,
06:42 you can find some unique dishes.
06:44 For example, pork brain and offal noodles.
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07:43 - I think the pork brain is actually better than I expected.
07:49 It's actually softer than tofu.
07:52 The pork brain absorbs all the soup,
07:54 so I can imagine that it would be a great combination
07:58 to add when you eat a hot pot.
07:59 - If you've got a sweet tooth,
08:06 there's also Burmese faluda.
08:07 Paul, the owner of the restaurant,
08:10 took over the business from his mother.
08:12 Its Burmese-style desserts and snacks
08:16 are quite popular among younger customers.
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08:54 - So this dessert is like a drink.
08:56 It's like strawberry milkshake,
08:58 and when you drink it, there are different textures.
09:01 - Over the years, the Burmese-Chinese community
09:07 in the Three Lamps area has become smaller,
09:09 as some moved out,
09:10 blending in with the rest of the city's population.
09:13 But Yip decided to stick around.
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09:41 (speaking in foreign language)
09:45 - Hi, everyone.
10:05 Three Lamps area is very special,
10:07 'cause even though it's like a hub
10:08 for the Southeast Asian community,
10:11 it's also part of locals' day-to-day lives.
10:13 So it's not like this area is separated from the local.
10:16 It's not like it's a comfort zone
10:18 for the Southeast Asian community.
10:20 I guess a huge reason for that is because of the culture,
10:23 'cause even though they are born in Southeast Asia,
10:26 many of them are still Chinese diaspora.
10:28 So I guess they still share that identity
10:32 or like culture as a Chinese person
10:34 with the local community.
10:36 So tell me, in your home country,
10:38 is there any area that is similar to the Three Lamps area?
10:41 And in the next episode, we are going to get snacky,
10:45 'cause we are going to try some almond cookies.
10:47 - Up next, we'll find out if locals
10:51 are actually fans of the almond cookies
10:54 that almost every tourist picks up
10:56 as a souvenir of Macau.
10:58 Stay tuned.
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