Staged from now until December 26, the Crunch and Munch Fair in Macao – Fiesta for Five food festival will highlight the gastronomic elements from the five Chinese UNESCO Creative Cities of Gastronomy.
The five cities are Chengdu, Shunde, Yangzhou, Huai’an and Macau. The festival is being held at the Cotai Strip Park, which is otherwise known as Le Jardin.
A total of 106 booths are set up, combining gastronomy, culture and creativity, entertainment and tourism, presenting the charm and style of the “City of Gastronomy”.
These booths are divided into cities, and showcase highlighted food items from all these cities, such as Lai Tang Ruan and Fuqi Feipian from Chengdu; Jun’an Steamed Pork and Rice-less Congee from Shunde; Yangzhou Fried Rice and Niupi Candy from Yangzhou; as well as Kangong Meatballs and Hairy Crab from Huai’an.
Each evening will see a culinary exhibition by chefs representing the five Creative Cities of Gastronomy. The dishes they make will be offered to the audience for free-of-charge tasting, so that they will be able to savor highlighted food items filled with the characteristics of the five cities.
The festival will also incorporate live entertainment and presentations.
From 6pm to 6:30pm every evening, the festival will see tourism pitching presentations by representatives from the five cities. Meanwhile, arts shows will also be staged for members of the audience to get a glimpse of the cultures of the five cities.
As the host city, Macau will highlight its role in Chinese-lusophone connectivity by presenting goods and foods with either, or both Chinese and lusophone characteristics, such as canned sardines and packed bacalhau.
In addition a local vegetarian diner is also participating in the food festival, offering participants a wider range of choice.
China is the country with the greatest number of cities of gastronomy. The earliest listing was achieved in 2010 when the magical food offering in Chengdu delicacies was celebrated by UNESCO.
In 2014, the natural recipes in Shunde were highlighted, making it to the map. Macau is the third Chinese city to achieve the inscription, which happened in 2017. Two years later, Yangzhou obtained the accolade, before Huai’an received the honor in 2021. AL
