The area surrounding Three Lamps comes alive at night as Macau’s street food mecca

Text by Rebecca Lo
Translation by Jess Lit
Photography by Gary Mak

Ask Any Macanese where he goes for great street food and the answer would inevitably be the Three Lamps district. Named after Macau governor José Carlos da Maia (1914 to 1916), Rotunda de Carlos da Maia has been a neighbourhood hub for decades. Originally, the area evolved organically as residents near Kun Iam Temple began moving into farm pastures to the west. Over time, buildings were modernised and people relocated. Nevertheless, the three globe lights that give Rotunda de Carlos da Maia its nickname still shine brightly.

“My grandmother used to have a house near Three Lamps,” recalls Tam King, a Macanese living in Hong Kong. “Back in the ’60s, I went there a lot for holidays. We would stroll over to the rotunda after dinner to relax, while the kids rode their bikes. At that time, there were lots of dai pai dongs and makeshift stands. A bowl of noodles would cost 20 or 30 cents!”

Today, temporary stands operated by industrious entrepreneurs still dot many of the streets radiating outwards from the rotunda. A popular foodie’s paradise is Rua de Fernão Mendes Pinto, west of Three Lamps. The many street stalls come alive at dusk, to cater to residents who want to pick up roast meat, fruit and vegetables for their evening meal, or who hanker for a quick noodle or spot of Chinese herbal tea. Many are temporary extensions of permanent shops, such as Loja de Sopa de Fitas e Café Cheong on Rua de Tome Prés 11-B. In the early evening, the large bamboo baskets filled with thickly sliced turnip cake and jumbo pork buns beckon famished office workers from the curb. Inside the shop, staff are deftly hand stuffing dim sum and dumplings.

“Three Lamps developed during the 1920s and 1930s alongside Red Market,” says architect and urban planner Nuno Soares, a Macau resident. “Today, it is Macau’s outdoor shopping mall. Every type of product and service is available there. During the 1970s, there was an influx of Burmese Chinese and then Southeast Asians who opened shops and restaurants near their home.”

One popular spot is Nga Heong Noodles, founded by Yip Wing Wah in 1978. Two of his three shops are situated east of the rotunda on Rua de Fernão Mendes Pinto. Yip’s Burmese specialties include fish soup, coconut chicken noodles and black bean drink. “We are the first to offer black bean drink in Macau,” Yip says proudly. “Cantonese people don’t use black bean in sweets.”

A Burmese of Chinese descent, Yip immigrated from Burma to Macau in 1976 to seek a better life and livelihood. He settled in the Three Lamps district due to the large population of Burmese living there at the time. As Yip ran a noodle shop in Burma, he decided to do the same in his new hometown.

“Burmese style noodles are very springy and of a certain thickness,” he explains. “We make the soup base ourselves; it is spicy and savoury, though adjusted to local tastes. Burmese food combines the ingredients found in nearby countries such as India, Malaysia, China and Thailand, and our cuisine reflects a blend of all those cultures.”

Yip has seen the neighbourhood change dramatically over the past 30 years. “There used to be about 16 Burmese noodle shops eight years ago; now there are only a handful,” he says. “Our first customers were Burmese who lived in the area. After the handover, we became much busier and now have lots of tourists from mainland China, Hong Kong and other countries.”

Another old-timer is Wan Hoi of Leitaria Sam Leong on Rua da Restauracão. His family business has been in the same shop for 80 years. Before selling ginger milk puddings, Wan’s family reared cows when green fields dominated the Three Lamps district. “I would get up early, milk the cows, and then use the milk to make the puddings,” Wan remembers.

Today, Wan is still efficiently multi-tasking. Gliding from the cash register to the open kitchen where he uses a large stainless steel steamer and pyramid-shaped cover to create a dozen puddings at once, he serves some of the city’s best desserts. He is happy to confine his business to the Three Lamps district and eke out a modest living. When he sells out his daily quota of 100 to 200 bowls of pudding, he closes shop and goes home.

“Three Lamps district has a very local feel,” says Soares. “In many ways, it is the heart of Macau. Since the handover, there have been efforts to beautify the area. There has been a lot of demolition and restoration. The only constant is the three lamps.”