August 9-17
For culinary excitement outside of Macau’s usual comfort zone of egg tarts and African chicken, head to the 9th South East Asian Food Festival, which ends on August 17. Sample a variety of Southeast Asian tastes from Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Myanmar at the various outdoor booths and special promotions. Kicking off with a few days of performances, the festival takes place throughout at the Rotunda de Carlos Maia. Cultural shows will run from 8pm to 9:30pm August 9 to 15; while the food festival itself will be open on August 16 and 17 from 4pm to 10pm. Admission is free. Phone +853 2833 3614 for details.
August 16-30
What with Macau’s historical buildings and flashing casinos, its culture seems to leap from the traditional to the ultra-modern with very little connection. Beginning on August 16, however, in Creative Macau’s (G/F, Macao Cultural Centre Building, Av. Xian Xing Hai S/N NAPE, +853 2875 3282) gallery, local specialists in advertising, architecture, design and crafts will display visual representations of Macau’s transition from the traditional to the contemporary urban in an attempt to create dialogue between the two. Free admission, visit www.creativemacau.org.mo for details.
Until August 24
August 24 is the last day to catch the 2008 Macau Annual Art Exhibition at the Tap Seac Gallery (Av. do Conselheiro Ferreira de Almeida, No 95, +853 28 366 866). In its 19th year, this exhibition aims to demonstrate Macau’s creative diversity as well as harmony through local works of varying media, including Western and Chinese painting, calligraphy, photography, sculpture, installation and poster design. The 108 item exhibit is open from 10am-7pm daily, and admission is free.
August 29-31
It will be anarchy in the Macao Cultural Centre (Av. Xian Xing Hai S/N NAPE, +853 2870 0699) when Theatre Licedei, Russia’s first clowning school, perform their internationally recognized The Family. Having played to full houses at the 2005 Avignon Festival and the 2006 Edinburgh Festival, The Family’s dialogue-free amalgamation of clownery, pantomime, variety show, flying rubber chickens and tragic farce. The show, involving a family – a pregnant mother, a drunkard father and four not-so-nice children – with whitened faces, spiky hair and curiously grave domestic issues presents itself as a “tribute to contemporary and traditional clowns”
with “no social context”. Performances
begin at 8pm August 29 and 30, and at 3pm on Sunday August 31. Tickets cost MOP$140. Visit www.macauticket.com or call 2380 5083
August 30
As part of his De Show Reel 2008 concert tour, Cantopop balladeer Aaron Kwok will spend a night with Macau in the Venetian Macao-Resort-Hotel with the songs, elaborate choreography and decadent wardrobe for which he is internationally known. Particularly notable is the stage
that rotates 360 degrees and upside-down. In his decade-long career Kwok has racked up more than 100 music awards and 200 live performances around the world. The concert begins at 7:30pm. Tickets cost MOP$1,200, MOP$680, MOP$480 and MOP$280. Visit www.venetianmacaotickets.com to book.

In the past 11 years, the Macao Youth Symphony Orchestra has performed all over the world. On August 30, the symphony will return to its roots for its 11th anniversary concert at the Macao Cultural Centre (Av. Xian Xing Hai S/N NAPE, +853 2870 0699). The concert will be conducted by maestro Veiga Jardim and the violin soloist and concert master will be Ma Pou Mang. The performance begins at 8pm, and tickets cost MOP$80. Visit www.macauticket.com or call 2380 5083 to book.
Until August 31
Take a break and watch the Portuguese folk-dance and lion dance performances hosted by the Macau Government Tourist Office. These Cultural City shows highlighting Macau’s cultural heritage and Historic Centre landmarks, last around 20 minutes each and can be easily incorporated into a stroll around old Macau. Lion dances take place on Saturdays at 3pm in Barra Square, next to the A-Ma Temple, and at 4pm at the Ruins of St Paul’s. The Portuguese folk dances are on Sunday mornings at 10:30am at St Paul’s and at 11:30am at Barra Square. Admission is free. Visit www.macautourism.gov.mo or phone +853 2833 3000 for details.

MegabitesMacau
A mere MOP$25 taxi ride from the bright lights of the Cotai Strip, Taipa Village provides cozy, traditional dining alternatives for visitors looking to fill their stomachs before a performance or simply to escape the casino atmosphere. Galo (Rua do Cunha, No 45 R/C, Taipa, +853 2882 7423) is one particularly homey restaurant, whose interior of frilly curtains, Portuguese knick-knacks and endless stock of Tabasco sauce offers visitors a different kind of kitsch from the usual themed hyperbole of Macau’s casino culture. Though the 20-year-old restaurant serves food loyal to its Portuguese heritage, its menu (literally a 2cm thick three-ring binder) is also incredibly friendly to outsiders, with English, Portuguese and Chinese captions as well as photographs of every dish. Starters include tomato salad (MOP$30), served with olives and onions, and Portuguese sausage (MOP$30), a link of chorizo fried with olives. Apart from the standard African chicken (MOP$55, with fries), more uncommon entrees include king prawns with cream sauce and curry (seasonal pricing, usually around MOP$100 per prawn), roast chicken with lemon sauce (MOP$130 full/MOP$70 half) and grilled veal on a skewer (MOP$65), a half-metre kebab with veal, onion and tomato, served dangling from a hook and topped with half an orange. For dessert, try the Macanese serradura, a chilled cream layered with ground biscuit flakes (MOP$20).