
It was time for a little refreshment on one of the backyard stalls in Macau after that walk in Camoes Garden and Old Protestant Cemetery. We Sipped on some soy drink on a low chair and then buying some almond cookies and other goodies at the nearby pastileria. It was freshly cooked and packed so we bought a few boxes for ourselves. Going through a street corner, we waited for a few minuted when a Portuguese male in his 50’s donning a dark blue chef uniform over his heavy build. “Guys! Here’s Chef Antonio. We’ll join him do some shopping”

I haven’t heard about Antonio Coelho before, but he is said to be a celebrity chef here in Macau. He is known for his unique touch on Portuguese Cuisine at his restaurant in Taipa, Antonio Restaurante. We’ll be dropping by his restaurant in the evening. For now, we’ll tag along he buys ingredients he’ll be using for tonight’s dinner.

We tailed along Antonio like a crazy paparazzi. We were inspecting his choices, trying to decipher (to no avail) his conversations with the vendors at the market place. We were inside the Red Market, one of Macau’s well known wet market. I tread carefully along the tiled wet floors to avoid slipping.

For a wet market, it’s not as foul or dirty like some of the Wet Markets I’ve seen. The place has been named such because of the red brick walls that make up this three story market. The structure was built in 1936 and is considered as an architectural heritage. We didn’t make it to the upper floors but I like what I’ve seen in the place.

A Market Place is a good venue to go shoot some interesting people shots, whether candid or not. So while Antonio was picking up lots of seafood ingredients like shells, clams and lots of prawns, I was busy looking around for some interesting subjects to shoot with my Olympus PEN E-PL1 as well.

We bid good bye to Antonio but we’ll be seeing him again tonight. I’m excited to see what he’ll bring to the table with all the ingredients he bought. Something to look forward to for the evening.

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Don’t miss Backpack Photography’s Explore Lake Sebu Photo Tour. A Journey into the T’boli culture and Lake Sebu’s natural wonders. Join us on August 21-23, 2010. Check Backpackphotography.net for full details and registration.

Ferdz Decena is an award-winning travel photographer, writer and blogger. His works has found print in publications such as Singapore Airlines’s Silver Kris, Philippine Airlines’ Mabuhay, Cebu Pacific’s Smile and Seair InFlight. He has also lent his expertise to various organizations like the Oceana Philippines, Lopez Group Foundation, Save the Children and World Vision, contributing quality images for their marketing materials.