Egg tart #3 and Macanese elections

While Sam recovered from hiking on Coloane and Susan went to Fisherman's Wharf for exploring/shopping, I spent Saturday afternoon exploring more of the Three Lampposts district. The place is a huge street market (think NYC Chinatown but even more crowded), with everything from fresh fruits/vegetables and roast meats to little pet turtles and all sorts of clothes. There's even this one stall where they boil eggs/pieces of meat/various unidentifiable animal parts in dark brown vinegar...you can smell it a block away!

The three-branched lamppost for which the area is named

The dark red pagoda-like roof marks the edge of the alley that leads into the street market section of Three Lampposts. The vinegar-cooking stall is the first one to the right, across from the yellow building.

I got mostly healthy groceries - bean sprouts (豆 牙), tublers (空 心 菜), celery, and even a chunk of watermelon (西 瓜) - but as I was leaving, I spotted a small bakery where an elderly woman was popping these out of small metal molds:

Egg tart #3!

Since they were so clearly fresh, I couldn't resist purchasing a couple to try. No only were they cheaper than the ones in the chain bakeries (about 3 MOP each), they were also quite delicious, with a satisfying medium-thick crust, and a melt-in-your-mouth custard that was extra amazing for being warm.

Last night, instead of going to see the fireworks (Italy vs. the Philippines), I went out for dessert with Sam, Henry, Joseph, and Sandry. Sandry guided us to a small shop near the Three Lampposts district that basically served mango in all sorts of forms: mango soup, mango mochi, etc. Even the walls were painted a golden yellow. I ended up getting this big bowl of mango chunks with black herbal jelly, small tapioca beads, and a scoop of ice cream on top, while the others shared a variety of items like this mound of shaved ice with chunks of various fruits:

Joseph and Sandry with dessert part 1

I didn't end up going to church today because I was coughing/sneezing and didn't want to get anyone else sick (especially since there are so many young kids!), but it was just as well because today was election day. Pui Ching Middle School, right around the corner from our apartment, was a polling place, aka all the traffic along Hosta e Costa was even more crazy than usual.

I'm still not quite sure how elections work here because most of the ELC student workers and GAs said they weren't voting, but as far as I can tell, there were about 20 different parties vying for spots in the legislative assembly, each representing a different constituency (e.g. civil servants, casino workers, etc.). The campaigning is also pretty intense, with posters in prominent public places, trucks driving around with all sorts of songs/videos playing, and workers on every street corner handing out flyers/fans/water bottles.

Some of the election campaign boards in Senado

One of the campaign trucks blaring by

I have no idea which parties won, having no TV and thus no immediate access to Macanese news...I'm just glad that we don't have to cover our ears at the bus station anymore =P Now, time to cook dinner and finish my lesson plans for tomorrow!