'France' Comes to Town
By Priscila Hong

Have you ever dreamt of visiting a foreign country without being out of town? If so, what would that country be? Would it be France or Japan? The Macau Tower has made your dream come true by granting you a fantasy tour to France till the end of February, and to Japan probably in mid-March.

"Rendez-vous at Macau Tower for a French Christmas 2004," which literally means an appointment at the Macau Tower, is the theme of French Marché (market). Held inside Macau Tower's Convention & Entertainment Center, this French event began on Dec. 10 to celebrate the 5th Handover Anniversary of Macau SAR and to promote the "Year of France in China" campaign, which is a French cultural extravaganza.

Let's begin our walk to the French Market. The moment you step on the escalator, you can see two huge towers right next to you. One is our landmark - the Macau Tower, while the other is France's Eiffel Tower. At this moment, you probably could smell some gingerbread and chocolate; for the Macau Tower, with a height of 9.15m, is made of gingerbread, while the 7.625-meter Eiffel Tower is of chocolate. Leaving off the escalator, you would find yourself standing on a cobble-stoned street, with the French styled night club - Moulin Rouge on your right and the unique French coffee shop - Le Café on your left. If you are hungry, you can go to La Boulangerie/Patisserie which offers 20 types of freshly baked pastries and fruit tarts, or La Creperie, which offers nine types of crepes (sweet and savory). If you want to be more French-like, the specialist in French cooking - Tam Io Wai suggested, "You must visit Le Bistrot where you can savor French wine, and Bar Fruit de Mer, where you can try famous French oysters - Belon."

Now, though your French trip is almost over, you do have an authentic miniature French culture experience, as everything you've had comes from the hands or supervision of Tam, a Chinese chef who was purposely employed for this event as he has specialized in French cooking for more than eight years. As Chu Wai Yin, a customer expressed, "The crepe is fantastic, it's just like what I've had in France." Another tourist, Hauw Wing Yan even described, "I thought I was in France."

Though your visit to "France" in the Macau Tower ended on Feb. 28, you can probably start a tour of "Japan" after Mar. 15.

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