Macanese cuisine is cooked with many ingredients that recall the unique history of Macau and its Portuguese maritime culture.

During the 16th and In 17th Centuries, Portugal energetically established a sea route to the East, paving the way for merchants

engaged in the spice trade in Africa, India, and the coast of Malacca, bringing, in turn, these spices and food cultures to Macau. In addition, many Portuguese married local Chinese in Macau and inhabitants from the above-mentioned regions.

Thus, different foreign and Chinese ingredients plus cooking styles were gradually incorporated into traditional Portuguese dishes cooked by Macanese families over the past centuries. Based on Portuguese cuisine, these spices and ingredients from Africa, Southeast Asia, and India - including curry, coconut milk, cloves, and cinnamon are combined using Chinese culinary skills in a wonderful potpourri of tastes and aromas, giving birth to the uniquely delicious Macanese cuisine of today. Macanese Gastronomy was inscribed on the Macau Intangible Cultural Heritage List in 2012.