Macau may be Firmly back in China’s orbit, but its Portuguese patina makes it a most unusual Asian destination. ln contrast to nearby Hong Kong its atmosphere is relaxed and laidback, with Mediterranean-style cafes filled with palm-readers, caged birds and pipe-smokers. Highlights include fabulous architecture, narrow cobbled alleys, grand Baroque churches and balconied colonial mansions. Macau is wooing commerce and tourism like never before, and plans are afoot for all kinds of family-oriented shopping malls and theme parks to counter-balance the peninsula’s long-held popularity as a have for gamblers.

October to December (winter)

Strolling along Praia Grande and visiting the-A-Ma Temple Munching on a bowl of caldo verde and a plate of bacalhau at one of the Portuguese restaurants in Taipa village Skywalking around the outer rim of the Macau Tower or Climbing to the of the telecommunications spire Swimming and basking on the ‘blacksand’ of Hac Sa Beach on Coloane

Read Austin Coates’ City of Broken Promises-a fictionalized account of the life of 18 th-century Macanese trader Martha Merop

Listen to a heady mix of opera, musicals, visiting orchestras and other musical events at the annual two-week Macau laternational Music Festival held in October

Watch The Bewitching Braid by Macanese director Cai Yuan Yuan

Eat the Portuguese-inspired porco a Alentejana, atasty casserole of pork and clams, or the Macanese galinha aficana (African chicken), a chicken cooked in coconut, garlic and chillies

Drink vinho verde, a crisp, dry slightly effervescent ‘green’ wine from Portugal that goes down a treat with salty Portuguese food and spicy Macanese dishes

Nei ho ma? (hello, how are you?)

The former Portuguese; the spin of the roulette wheel; great; food; a shopping haven

The Procession of the Passion of Our Lord is a 4000-year-old tradition in which a colourful procession bears a stature of Jesus Christ from Macau’s St Augustine Church to Macau Cathedral; tourism generates more than 40% of Macau’s GDP

Eating-be it Portuguese or Macanese ‘soul’, Chinese dim sum or the special treats available from street stalls and night markets-is one of the most rewarding aspects of a visit to Macau.