Taipa Village, Macao

It’s just a short hop on the taxi from The Venetian to the village center of Taipa. We asked the driver to drop us off at the Rua de Regedor, the main street leading towards the Taipa Market. The whole street was lined with small restaurants and a McDo outlet. We did not feel like eating another generic hamburger so we opted to search for a more authentic but cheap Chinese restaurant.

It was scorching hot. There wasn’t much shade in the area, I think the space here had been fully utilized by the hotel casinos which continue to sprout like mushrooms in this island --- every few feet away, there’s always a new construction going on.

We found a nice family-run restaurant at the end of Rua de Regedor, had a nice wonton noodle soup washed down with a steaming hot dark green tea. I think this is the diet secret of the Chinese, the reason why they are so thin but healthy is they eat all noodles and vegetables and always drinks green tea! We had our best meal so far during our stay both in Macao and Hongkong. Judging from how bustling the place is, the restaurant must be popular with local residents. They always say that the best way to find the best restaurant is to go where the locals eat.

While walking towards Rua de Negociantes, we found Largo de Camoes and Pak Tai Temple, it is dedicated to the guardian of peace and order. The temple was small and very unpretentious. When we went in, someone must have prayed before we came in as we can still see the whiffs of incense burning in the main altar.

We really did not have much time to spend in the village center as we were only whiling away our time till we can check in at our hotel. But we still have one more stop, the 19^th century built Tin Hau Temple just near the Largo Governador Tamagnini Barbosa (ang haba ng name! hahaha). We saw some students still in their school uniforms passing by and lighting incense. Inside, there were some people already praying and burning incense, for such a small temple it really was busy!

Towards the entrance to the street, there’s a shop renting out bicycles. It must be nice to go around on a bike in the village with its quiet, cobblestoned streets and little shops. The village is really squeaky clean and well-kept.

Even with the construction boom in the distance and the presence of modern McDo, the village was able to retain its old-world charisma and appeal. I would have wanted to stay longer and explore the place further……well, hopefully I can visit again in the future.