By AnYu Cheung

In a modern international tourism city like Macao, it sounds almost unbelievable for a traditional store to survive over a hundred years, where it still offers an opportunity for us to have a remaining taste of the last century.

Macao, a world renowned city for its cultural diversity, has a unique cuisine culture mixing tastes from distinct areas along centuries. As the city develops and changes, restaurants are now increasingly looking at tourists as major customers, trying new ideas and strategies all the time. While the number of commercialized local restaurants is increasingly growing, there are however some very characteristic traditional dishes and snacks, which are still surviving, if not totally forgotten.

Among a large variety of cuisine styles, Alua (???), meaning butter cake in Chinese,perhaps is one of the most unfamiliar snacks in Macao. It is neither easily found in travel guides, nor well known by local citizens. Interestingly, the item can be found in a foreign trading company, instead of a restaurant or a snack bar.

Many people probably have walked past this shop, which has a red iron door and a big glass window, emitting a kind of a mysterious sense, but they may not know that there are three types of snacks available inside, which are stored in a glass cabinet, though of limited amount.

The shop owner is an Indian. Born in Macao, he is capable of speaking fluent Cantonese. He claims his shop is a hundred years old. The product we see today is made by local Portuguese, and the recipe has been improved over the years.

Originated from India and is usually associated with the celebration of New Year, Alua is one of the products exported from the country and is stored in cans. It is made from flour, rock candy, butter, almond and coconut milk. With a smell of gentle sweet, the taste is soft and easy. Consuming would not do any good for health, otherwise it is a delicious snack and worth trying.

The name of the store is Mossa And Companhia Lda., address, Rua Central 45, at the corner of Teatro de Pedro V.

In recent years, changes around Macao are big. It is sometimes a precious enjoyment that perhaps, we can stop for a while, and have a romantic taste of a remote past.