are you gonna eat that? » Portuguese

CALGARY: Mimo Portuguese

are you gonna eat that? — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 23:39:56 +0000

There’s no doubt Mimo Restaurant is run by a family that’s proud of what they do. Our server, Carla, is the daughter of the owners and in typical Portuguese fashion, she loves to chat. But that’s how I learned about the restaurant, and the area’s, interesting history.

A quarter century ago, part of what we know [...]

CALGARY: I heart Nando’s

are you gonna eat that? — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 23:25:13 +0000

There really are just three chicken places for most people in Calgary: the dirty bird, the dirty Calgary bird, or the Swiss bird. A grim selection, if you ask me.

Then in the northeast rises Nando’s, a glorious gift from South Africa. The chain was started by a Portuguese man living in South Africa who took [...]

TORONTO: A taste of Little Portugal

are you gonna eat that? — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 20:00:51 +0000

While Ossington Avenue between Queen and Dundas is becoming the new hot strip, Little Portugal still spills over into the area.

In between the shiny new restaurants and stores are thriving mom-and-pop businesses.

Gigi and Kevin took me to Alex Rei dos Leitoes, a churrasqueira, where they get barbecued chicken.

It’s a tiny counter place, with [...]

MACAU: Portuguese tarts

are you gonna eat that? — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 06:14:59 +0000

I think Portugal’s sweetest contribution to China are its custard tarts.

In Chinese cuisine, there are the bright yellow egg tarts (蛋撻), which are said to be influenced by Britain, and then there are Portuguese tarts (葡撻), which are made with a bit of coconut milk and have a brown caramelized top.

The Portuguese tarts [...]

MACAU: The madhouse at Fernando’s

are you gonna eat that? — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 15:00:19 +0000

Fernando’s is an institution in Macau, a former Portuguese colony and now special administrative region of China. Online searches reveal excellent Portuguese food, and sometimes arrogant and inattentive staff proportionate to increasing clientele.

Our visit certainly confirmed the former. And as for the latter, I’d say we got overly attentive service especially from the restaurant’s namesake [...]

MACAU: Fast boat to pork chop bun

are you gonna eat that? — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 18:14:24 +0000

Like Hong Kong, Macau is a former European colony. Portugal controlled the region from the 16th century until it was transferred back to China as a special administrative region in 1999. Macau was China’s first and last European colony.

Just an hour’s ferry ride away from Hong Kong, Macau is an easy getaway to a very [...]