Top Summer Shopping Destinations – Singapore? Shanghai? Hong Kong? Macau (3)

Where to shop in Macau?

New Yaohan Department Store

is the only large department store in Macau, with cosmetics and men’s and women’s fashion on the basement level up to the 5th floor. A stroll through it lets you soak in the local fashion culture; interestingly, the most worthwhile part of the entire department store is the supermarket on the 7th floor, where you can find all kinds of imported Italian pasta and sauces. Also, the pastries and cakes at Lau Pa Sat Bakery are delicious and highly recommended.

Macau Venetian Shopping

Not only does it offer accommodation and gambling, but at Macau’s Venetian Resort, you can also go on a major shopping spree at its “Grand Canal Shoppes.” It features a wide range of well-known brands such as Coach, Furla, Nine West, EQ:IQ, Mango, Max & Co., Miss Sixty, Sisley, 5cm, Agnes' b, Armani Exchange, CK, Esprit, Diesel, French Connection, G2000… You won’t be able to cover it all in less than half a day. If you get tired from shopping, there are also several restaurants and cafés where you can take a break.

New Road Commercial Area

New Road, also known as “Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro,” was once Macau’s main shopping street. Not only are the buildings classic and elegant, but even the signs, plaques, and the patterned tiles on the ground in front of the General Post Office exude an air of refinement.

This area is home to many tonic and herbal medicine shops as well as jewelry stores, but what really interests tourists are the few traditional pastry shops, such as “Eng Kee Cake Shop.” It is the oldest cake shop in Macau and, despite strong competition from chain stores like Koi Kei and Greeky, this one-of-a-kind Eng Kee has managed to stand out thanks to over 80 years of collective memories among local residents and the owner’s uncompromising commitment to quality. For instance, Macau’s traditional fried rice crackers, which are rarely found elsewhere due to their elaborate process and high-quality ingredients, have been preserved and even elevated by Eng Kee. The shop offers as many as six flavors of almond cookies, and the owner frequently travels the world in search of new ingredients to develop even more delicious treats.

Additionally, the dried seafood shops located near the end of New Road are the most famous place in Macau to buy dried fish. You’ll find every shop front adorned with various sizes of salted fish, and as you walk by, the strong aroma of cured fish fills the air. Macau’s dried fish is known for its premium quality and wide selection, and it’s widely recognized by foodies as the best dried fish producing area in all of Asia.

Sé Street

Adjacent to the Ruins of St. Paul’s is “Antique Street” Sé Street, which extends all the way to Flower Market Street. The whole street is lined with antique shops, whose goods mainly come from China. The shop owners refurbish and rework the items before putting them up for sale as new pieces.

Among these antique shops are also several pastry and cake shops, among which “Greeky Cake Shop’s” peanut candy is one of Macau’s representative souvenirs. It originally started as a street cart selling peanut candy and ginger candy. Unexpectedly, after opening its first store in 1997 and adopting a corporate business model, it flourished and now has nine branches in Macau. Three of them are located on this very street — its popularity is easy to imagine.

Sé Plaza Street

From Senado Square to Sé Plaza Street, the entire stretch is packed with shoe stores, sportswear shops, clothing boutiques, and daily cosmetics and pharmaceutical shops. It’s always bustling with shoppers. Brands like Levi’s, Mirabell, Bossini, Giordano, Bauhaus, Hang Ten, Esprit, edc, and The 80/20 are all very popular among the general public. On the whole, prices here are about 10–20% lower than in Taiwan, allowing you to shop to your heart’s content without breaking the bank.