Spread the love

MACAO’S effervescent Palmira Pena is preparing to cook up a storm as an invited chef for the upcoming Taste of Macao Food Month in Sydney.

Beginning with a spectacular carnival-style launch on Sunday and Monday, October 14 and 15, the gastronomy event will be highlighted by tasty speciallycreated Macanese dishes in what will be billed the only restaurant in Australia to serve the Portuguese-inspired fusion cuisine.

Palmira was invited by the House of Tong Restaurant to prepare the dishes as well as conduct cooking demonstrations at the launch within the North Ryde RSL.

From Switzerland where she studied to ever-bustling Tokyo where she furthered her career in the hospitality industry, Palmira was born to be a chef. And her grassroots have always been in Macao, her birthplace and much-loved home to her family, where “I learned all the cooking skills from my father since I was a kid”.

Her father is renowned Macao restaurant owner Manuel Pena, who, born in Portugal, arrived in Macao in the 1980s and started his traditional Portuguese restaurant O Manel in Macao’s Taipa Village in 1992.

To the beat of the drums, traditional Chinese lion dancers will take centre stage at the launch of Macao Food Month carnival on the Sunday and Monday, from 11am till 5pm. Guests to the FREE family-friendly event at the North Ryde RSL will also be treated to Virtual Reality vision of Macao, cooking demonstrations and, for those out to test their racing skills, a Macau Grand Prix simulator.

The playing of Chinese musical instruments along with traditional face changing, Chinese calligraphy and papercutting, and face painting and balloon twisting will keep families entertained over the two days. On each day, tasty Macanese canapes, prepared by Palmira and the crew of the House of Tong Restaurant will be served – FREE.

Macao Food Month will continue inside the club’s resident House Tong Restaurant, which will feature a range of Macanese dishes on the menu until mid-November.

Macanese cuisine is considered one of the world’s earliest forms of fusion food, dating back five centuries . . . Portuguese inspired with spices collected along the maritime route between Portugal and China and produce grown in China.

A former Portuguese enclave of 650,000 residents, Macao was designated by UNESCO as a Creative City for Gastronomy and is celebrating everything food throughout 2018.

Diners to the restaurant during the month will be in the running to win a trip for two to Macao, including return air tickets, flying Xiamen Airlines, and accommodation, valued at $6000. Other prizes include a $3000 Gucci G-Frame Watch from Shum’s Watches and Jewellery, a Sleep Mart Mattress, valued at $1050, and 10 House of Tong dining vouchers, each valued at $100.