Step through the arched entrance of Macau’s Red Market and you’re greeted by a heady fusion of aromas. Bright, citrusy accents dance with rich, earthy pungencies; warm, sweet notes mingle with fermented bouquets. Your senses are beguiled by shapes and textures, colours and cultures: baskets brim with knobbly roots, wrinkled dried pods, twisted bundles of bark and mysterious sachets. The air hums with scents that carry stories of far-off places and time-honoured flavours.
Macau’s deeply rooted relationship with herbs and spices was born primarily of the sea. For over 450 years, its cuisine has been shaped by the vagaries of global maritime trade – a legacy of Portuguese exploration that linked Asia, Africa and Europe through a parallel exploration of flavour.
That journey comes full circle at the 2025 International Cities of Gastronomy Fest Macao, which takes spices and herbs as its theme. Aromas that once travelled oceans now bubble up from local kitchens, telling stories through bay leaf-laced stews, saffron-kissed rice and coconut milk curries that blur borders.
Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, director of the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO), notes that Macanese cuisine – which in 2021 was added to Unesco’s National List of Representative Elements of Intangible Cultural Heritage for China – blends spices and herbs from both East and West.
“This year’s theme celebrates Macau’s rich history as a vibrant trading hub, bridging the cultures of East and West,” she says. “As an important hub along the Maritime Silk Road, the city became a melting pot of flavours, traditions and influences, shaping Macanese cuisine’s unique flavours. By focusing on these ingredients, we [wish to] highlight the evolution of Macau’s gastronomic heritage and its harmonious, inclusive identity, aligning with Unesco’s values of cultural diversity. The idea also echoes Macau’s designation as one of the 2025 Cultural Cities of East Asia, and the Macao SAR Government’s theme, “East-West Encounter, Asia in Harmony”.
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