We Rate Macau's Almond Cookies — But Do Locals Actually Like Them? | City Bites Macau Edition Ep3 - video Dailymotion

Goldthread

Almond cookies are recommended as a must-buy souvenirs of Macau, a city whose economy heavily relies on tourism. Due to their popularity among travelers, more and more pastry stores here sell these Chinese cookies. But the locals don’t actually eat them that often. So how did they become such an iconic item in Macau? And where can you get the best ones? Here, we search for the answers.  0:00 Are almond cookies a thing in Macau? 2:22 Becoming the city’s iconic food 5:07 Making almond cookies by hand 6:31 Where to find the best pastry store 11:29 A family that sticks together, stays together 12:38 Producer’s thoughts 14:22 Behind the scenes  Restaurant address: Pastelaria Chui Heong Edificio Mang Fat, 12 R. do Gamboa, Macao  Special thanks: Sheila Leong, Content Creator Follow her at @sheilawithcat on Instagram!  This City Bites edition is supported by the Macao Government Tourism Office.   If you liked this video, we have more editions of City Bites featuring other cities in Asia:   This Asian City is Home to the World’s First Fusion Food | City Bites Macau Edition Ep1 https://dai.ly/x8puo05   Macau’s Hidden Gem: Burmese Delicacies in a Local Neighborhood| City Bites Macau Edition Ep2 https://dai.ly/x8q4stv   Follow us on Instagram for behind-the-scenes moments: http://instagram.com/goldthread2  Stay updated on Twitter: http://twitter.com/goldthread2  Join the conversation on Facebook: http://facebook.com/goldthread2  Have story ideas? Send them to us at hello@goldthread2.com   Producer: Yoyo Chow Videographer: Wayne Hon, César del Giudice Editor and Mastering: César del Giudice Narration: Dai Qian Animation: Stella Yoo  #Macau #Cookies #Food

Transcript

00:00 1, 2, 3.

00:01 I'm at Zui Heung Beng Ka

00:04 trying to get the first batch of almond cookies of the day.

00:07 Surprise!

00:16 It's so small.

00:19 It's like the size of my thumb.

00:21 It's like a piece of candy.

00:22 Last time in Macau,

00:24 we had fun trying Burmese Chinese food

00:26 at the Three Lamps neighborhood.

00:28 This is the soul of the cookie.

00:31 In this episode,

00:32 we'll find out how a Southern Chinese cookie

00:34 became the souvenir of Macau.

00:36 But wait,

00:39 is it actually popular with locals?

00:42 Why do you think almond cookies

00:44 can be the signature dish of Macau?

00:47 Oh, shit.

00:48 Oh.

00:50 In 2023,

01:16 Macau's Chinese food souvenir sector

01:18 only took three months to bag $2.7 billion.

01:21 On the shelves of Chinese pastry stores here,

01:25 you can always find a signature snack,

01:27 almond cookies.

01:28 It's a hit among tourists.

01:32 Almond cookies are the most popular.

01:34 Of course,

01:35 because it's a signature dish here.

01:39 However,

01:40 locals here don't seem to like almond cookies

01:43 as much as the tourists.

01:44 I don't eat a lot of almond cookies.

01:46 So kids don't eat them as much.

01:51 But older people

01:53 will probably like them

01:55 because they're nostalgic.

01:56 I buy some when my relatives come to travel.

02:00 I eat some when my friends come to visit.

02:03 What snacks do you eat a lot?

02:04 Potato chips.

02:07 I eat biscuits.

02:09 I don't eat a lot of almond cookies

02:10 because I don't like it when it's too hard.

02:14 We did receive one positive reaction.

02:17 What's this?

02:18 It's a girl.

02:19 She's a girl.

02:20 So why do tourists rave about almond cookies

02:24 when local residents don't seem to care that much?

02:27 To find out,

02:29 we met with Myra,

02:30 the third-generation owner of this pastry store.

02:32 It's one of the most popular Chinese bakeries in Macau.

02:35 On a good day,

02:36 the store sells around 1,000 boxes of almond cookies.

02:40 Here's your change.

02:44 Almond cookies are easy to store

02:48 and the packaging is beautiful.

02:51 It's a great gift for people.

02:54 It's delicious and easy to carry.

02:57 In the early 1900s,

03:00 people bought their souvenirs from Macau

03:01 and bought crabs

03:03 and other food that's hard to store.

03:06 Back in the 1960s,

03:07 tourism started to become the backbone of Macau's economy.

03:11 Since the city is located at the intersection

03:14 of the Pearl River Delta and the South China Sea,

03:16 there were abundant seafood choices

03:19 that tourists would love to bring home.

03:21 At that time,

03:22 Chinese pastry stores were already selling almond cookies,

03:26 but they weren't a big hit yet.

03:28 Almond cookies are a local food.

03:33 Many people from the Central Mountain region

03:37 immigrated to Macau.

03:38 My grandfather, my grandmother,

03:41 and I started to develop our own food.

03:44 The most traditional way to eat almond cookies

03:48 is to eat it with meat and egg yolks.

03:49 In the 1970s and 80s,

03:55 tax-free wine and cigarettes were the go-to souvenirs.

03:58 In 2008,

04:00 the number of visitors to Macau exceeded 20 million

04:03 and has been growing ever since.

04:05 Most of the travelers are from Chinese mainland and Hong Kong.

04:10 It was around the same time that pastry shops,

04:12 especially the big ones,

04:13 leveled up their product lines and marketing efforts.

04:16 One of the biggest food souvenir brands,

04:22 Goi Gei Bakery,

04:23 featured renowned food critic Choi Lan in their ad.

04:27 The cake is delicious.

04:28 They even sponsored a TV drama consisting of 32 episodes.

04:33 The plot took reference from how its owner

04:35 built his business empire.

04:37 It aired in Hong Kong as well as Malaysia,

04:40 the US, and beyond.

04:41 The pastry store's strategy paid off.

04:44 I just wanted to make a name for myself.

04:46 My relatives and friends are all quite famous.

04:50 I knew a little about pastry when I was young.

04:53 My mom's family is from Hong Kong.

04:55 My colleagues invited me to eat here,

04:57 so I came to buy some food.

04:59 To keep up with the huge demands from tourists,

05:03 big souvenir brands set up factories to scale up production.

05:07 The Mara store keeps making their almond cookies

05:10 the traditional way.

05:13 (speaking in foreign language)

05:18 (speaking in foreign language)

05:22 (speaking in foreign language)

05:25 (speaking in foreign language)

05:29 (speaking in foreign language)

05:33 (speaking in foreign language)

05:39 (speaking in foreign language)

05:58 (speaking in foreign language)

06:02 (speaking in foreign language)

06:15 (light music)

06:21 (light music)

06:23 Hi everyone, now I'm at Joi Heong Bang Ka

06:33 trying to get the first batch of almond cookies of the day.

06:35 We arrive at around 11 a.m.,

06:37 which is basically when the stores open,

06:40 and you can see there are already queues around me.

06:42 You have to get a ticket to buy one,

06:45 and my ticket number is 75.

06:47 There are 75 people ahead of me,

06:49 and after I get this almond cookie,

06:51 I will meet my friends,

06:52 then we'll go around to buy almond cookies

06:54 from different brands.

06:55 We're gonna try them and tell you guys

06:57 what we think about them.

06:58 (siren blaring)

07:00 Hello.

07:01 (upbeat music)

07:04 (speaking in foreign language)

07:07 (siren blaring)

07:11 (speaking in foreign language)

07:16 Thank you.

07:17 (speaking in foreign language)

07:21 (upbeat music)

07:40 (speaking in foreign language)

07:45 (speaking in foreign language)

07:49 - Surprise.

08:05 (laughing)

08:07 Wow, it's so small.

08:10 It's like the size of my thumb.

08:12 It's like a piece of candy.

08:15 (speaking in foreign language)

08:19 It's super cute,

08:26 but I think compared to almond cookies

08:29 that is like huge regular size,

08:31 maybe it's a little bit too hard.

08:33 Okay.

08:33 (speaking in foreign language)

08:37 (speaking in foreign language)

08:41 (gasping)

08:51 - It's very nutty.

09:01 It smells very nutty too.

09:02 I don't think it's super crumbly,

09:05 but it's more crumbly than the mini one.

09:07 (speaking in foreign language)

09:11 - So when you eat almond cookie,

09:16 remember to prepare water or tea.

09:19 'Cause almond cookie is like very dusty,

09:21 so it's like there is some mud in your mouth.

09:25 I don't know how to describe it.

09:27 (speaking in foreign language)

09:32 (speaking in foreign language)

09:36 - So compared to the one we tried just now,

09:56 I think this is the most crumbly.

09:58 And when you bite into it, it just melt in your mouth.

10:01 So it won't have that like very muddy feeling.

10:04 You won't feel like it stay in your mouth

10:06 and you can't swallow it.

10:08 Okay.

10:09 Now, Jermaine.

10:10 (speaking in foreign language)

10:14 (speaking in foreign language)

10:18 (speaking in foreign language)

10:22 (speaking in foreign language)

10:26 (speaking in foreign language)

10:31 (speaking in foreign language)

10:35 (speaking in foreign language)

10:42 (speaking in foreign language)

10:52 (upbeat music)

10:54 - So although this one is made by machine,

11:03 but it's actually not as hard or compacted as we expect.

11:08 It's actually still quite crumbly.

11:10 (speaking in foreign language)

11:14 Water time.

11:16 (upbeat music)

11:20 (upbeat music)

11:22 (speaking in foreign language)

11:34 (speaking in foreign language)

11:38 (upbeat music)

11:51 (speaking in foreign language)

11:59 (speaking in foreign language)

12:03 (speaking in foreign language)

12:07 (speaking in foreign language)

12:11 (speaking in foreign language)

12:15 - Hi everyone.

12:39 So after trying many almond cookies

12:41 from different brands in Macau,

12:43 I have come up with a list of criteria

12:45 you guys can consider next time

12:47 when you're buying almond cookies.

12:48 The first item we should consider is

12:51 how easily can the cookies crumbles?

12:54 Maybe you prefer it harder.

12:56 The second one is almond.

12:57 Do you like big almond?

12:59 Do you like many almond?

13:00 Do you like the nutty aroma?

13:02 The third element we should consider is the powder.

13:06 Because in my opinion,

13:08 the finer the powder is,

13:09 the more likely it's gonna melt in your mouth.

13:11 I'm not sure if you're gonna like that.

13:13 Many people will think they need to consider

13:15 how sweet the cookie is,

13:16 but I think they're more or less the same.

13:18 And this episode is actually the last episode

13:22 of City Bite Macau edition.

13:23 And when we are coming up with the story ideas,

13:26 we want to make sure that we can bring you guys

13:28 to see a side of Macau you have never seen before.

13:31 So we have talked to different locals in Macau

13:34 to make sure the topic we cover are down to earth,

13:36 are relevant.

13:37 And I hope you guys think we have achieved that.

13:40 'Cause to me, personally, I think we did.

13:43 And in the second episode, for example,

13:45 we went to freelance area and tried Burmese food.

13:48 And I have never thought I can try Burmese food in Macau.

13:52 And also, growing up in Hong Kong,

13:54 listening to those almond cookies jingle,

13:57 I really thought that almond cookies

13:59 did a big thing in Macau.

14:00 So it's a whole new experience for me

14:03 to produce this edition.

14:04 And I hope it's also a whole new experience for you

14:07 to learn more about Macau.

14:08 Tell me in the comments below

14:10 what's your favorite Chinese pastry.

14:13 And Girlfriend has been filming City Bite

14:15 in different cities in Asia.

14:17 And hopefully, I can see you in the next one.

14:20 And that's it for now.

14:21 (speaking in foreign language)

14:26 (door slams)

14:27 (speaking in foreign language)

14:31 (lips smacking)

14:38 - Sorry.

14:44 - Oh.

14:49 So.

14:54 (speaking in foreign language)

14:58 - I'm so.

15:03 (speaking in foreign language)

15:14 (upbeat music)

15:16 (speaking in foreign language)

15:27 (upbeat music)

15:33 (upbeat music)

15:36 (upbeat music)

15:38 (upbeat music)

15:41 [BLANK_AUDIO]

We Rate Macau's Almond Cookies — But Do Locals Actually Like Them? | City Bites Macau Edition Ep3

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