Rua do Cunha

Rua do Cunha runs a couple of hundred metres through the middle of Taipa village, pedestrianised and lined end to end with bakeries, snack shops and restaurants selling almond cookies, pork jerky, ginger sweets and egg rolls, most of them handing out samples to anyone walking past. Portuguese and Macanese restaurants open onto the lanes off it. It is the main eating street outside the peninsula and gets very busy.

Background

The street is 136 metres long and runs through the town centre of Taipa, known as Vila da Taipa. It takes its name from Pedro Alexandrino da Cunha, a captain in the Portuguese navy who became the 81st Governor of Macau. He reached Macau in 1850 and died of cholera 37 days later, among the first people in Macau to die of the disease. Besides almond cakes and phoenix egg rolls, the souvenir shops sell coconut flakes, cherikoff and peanut candy. Among its Portuguese restaurants are O Galo and O Santos, which has been in business since 1989.

Source: Wikipedia, "Rua do Cunha"

The main sights

• The sample culture - shops handing out tastings the length of the street.
• The almond cookies - the biscuits pressed and baked in the shopfronts.
• The side lanes - Portuguese and Macanese restaurants opening off the street.
• The village setting - the old core of Taipa around the street.

When to go

October to December is dry and cool. Weekends and holidays are extremely crowded. Evenings are when the restaurants fill.

Things to know

It is packed at weekends and holidays to the point of being unpleasant. Shops sell largely the same range at similar prices. Restaurants nearby need booking at busy times.

Nearby

The Taipa Houses are nearby, and Pou Tai Un Monastery is north.

Key facts