Macau's famed sauna prawns on 'I-Witness'

 

Most Filipinos think of game-fixing when they hear "lutong Macau." Howie Severino and his documentary team only think of great food.

While visitors go to this tiny territory in south China mostly to gamble, Howie went there to eat.

 

"Lutong Macau" is the fourth and last installment in I-Witness' succulent series of food episodes for December. Howie discovers that like the Philippines, Macau is a crossroads of east and west, its cuisine enriched by European colonizers. But the bedrock is still mouth-watering Chinese food with fresh seafood, like live prawns cooked slithering over hot coals on the dining table, Macau's famous "sauna prawns."

 

Along the way, Howie and team meet a colorful cast of characters mirroring the diversity of Macau: the showy Portugese chef who pops open champagne bottles with a samurai sword, the tea master who demonstrates the hallowed rituals for drinking the world's most common beverage, the owner of a quaint corner dimsum eatery where Asian movie stars go to snack. 

 

Howie and his team eventually end up with fellow Pinoys, homesick for Christmas spirit, hungry for native comfort food. The visitors find it in the only Pinoy restaurant in town, run by a Cebuano who wants Filipino cuisine to conquer the world, one stomach at a time.

 

This Christmas eve, join Howie Severino in his gastronomic journey, discovering Macau’s history through its sumptuous cuisine in “Lutong Macau.” December 24, 2012, 11:30 pm, in I-Witness.