Street Life

Zoning in on the Red Market in Macau

Text Ed Peters Photography Gary Mak Illustration Annehalogirl

Sooner or later, some bright spark with an eye for the main chance is going to get a hold of Red Market – an exceptional blend of the cultural and the commercial – and turn it into something like London’s Covent Garden or Pier 39 in San Francisco.

A heroic example of the art deco architectural movement, standing like a colossus at the top of Avenida de Horta e Costa, the three-level mart that’s stuffed with every sort of fish, meat, vegetable and assorted foodstuffs hums all day with traders and shoppers – a hub that forms an essential part of thousands of lives.

Designed by Julio Alberto Bastos Conde de Senna Fernandes and built in 1936, the market is embellished with a watchtower in each corner, and with a (sadly defunct) clock tower at its centre. As the only art deco structure in the city still in day-today use, it’s a social centre unlike any other, and exploring in and around this charismatic market pays ample dividends.

One of the most charming spots in the area, up a tiled stairway just to the east of Red Market, is a sanctuary for anyone who’s ever shuddered at the bland anonymity of fast food joints. Loong Hwa (Chinese Dragon) is a bright and airy hall, its walls flanked with booths and the rest of the room strewn with an array of tables and chairs which adhere to no particular style. Sacks of tea are piled in the corners, the dim sum waiters ease their way back and forth, and Ho Ming-tak – who ensures the whole operation runs with a breezy efficiency – surveys the scene with a gentle smile. “We see all sorts coming here,” he says. “Regulars of course, tourists excited to see an old-style dim sum joint, market workers popping in for a snack and a cup of tea – everybody’s welcome.” There’s an underlying question of why Ho doesn’t smarten the place up and bring it into the 21st century: but that would be to rob Loong Hwa of its essential charm.

Family businesses are the rule rather than the exception in this part of town, and more or less next door to Loong Hwa, Vo Heng Glass Trading has been going strong for 40 years. “We can frame a picture in 24 hours – the workshop is right here,” says Mrs Lo, who oversees her stock of frames and paintings from a tiny counter that’s laden with merchandise.

If there’s a prime contender for the title of ‘The Old Curiosity Shop in Macau’, it’s Kai Heng Fat (Lucky Progress), which sits across from Red Market opposite the rank of flower stalls.

Describing Kai Heng Fat as a homeware store doesn’t begin to encapsulate its multifarious offerings, which range from workaday kitchen items to prettily glazed pots and vases, all tumbled together on creaking shelves lining cramped aisles. The proprietor, Mr Lam, makes up for a minimalist English vocabulary with bursts of enthusiasm, cawing “Number one, number one” as he darts about the premises, now pulling out a recently delivered electric thermos, then dusting off a china statue of a minor deity. The abacus on the counter is a reassuring sign that little has changed here over the years.

On the other side of Avenida do Almirante Lacerda, a small park occupies what was once Rua dos Estaleiros or Shipyard Street. Prior to reclamation work in the area Red Market used to be a lot closer to the sea, and where now locals sit and gossip on benches and give the cluster of exercise machines an occasional work-out, shipwrights and carpenters used to hammer together the junks that made up Macau’s fishing fleet. Estaleiros now has a different function – one of the smaller ‘lungs’ in a relatively crowded city where folk can come and take a break from the hustle and bustle.

A few metres from the park, Wong Hang San’s trade is of the once-in-a-lifetime variety, as Weng Heng Furniture specialises in elaborately carved family altars, or sheng tan. “The smaller ones are about MOP2,000, while a really big one costs as much as MOP9,000,” says Mr Wong. “Most are made out of elm – and for most of my customers, they’re the most important item in their home.”

Uno, just down from the junction with Rua da Ribeiro do Patane, marks the furthermost outpost of the Three Lamps district, which stretches away to the west, and is Macau’s mecca for inexpensive fashion items. A rail of

MOP10 items in Uno’s doorway is indicative of what’s inside – bargain threads galore, a strict trying-on policy, a few gems among the more routine stuff, designer labels from designers you’ve never heard of, and an outside chance of squeezing the price down a tad after a brief haggle when you front up to the cashier. No doubt about it, shopping sure is fun here.

Finally, finding Lei Sang Tong – an ultra traditional yu fong or apothecary – is simply a matter of following your nose, as it is packed with richly aromatic herbal ingredients that are the staple of Chinese medicine. No wonder the shop’s name translates as ‘Beneficial Life’.