Bloody Mary of Macau

As research for this post, I was shouted drinks by the St Regis Macao. It's a tough job etc.

We're all familiar with the Bloody Mary. It's a cocktail containing vodka, tomato juice and various combinations of spices or and/or sauces.

French barman Fernand Petiot claimed to have invented it at Harry's New York Bar in Paris in 1921, though that has been disputed.

What seems clear, however, is that Petiot refined the Bloody Mary into its modern form in 1934, in his stint as a barman at the King Cole Bar at New York City's St Regis Hotel (a bar which still exists today).

Since then the St Regis has taken a particular pride in the drink, with each of its hotels around the world creating its own version.

This man in the bar of the St Regis Macao whipped up the local variant for me:

And here it is close up, the Maria Do Leste - a Bloody Mary inspired by the former Portuguese colony which is now China's casino hub:

There was quite a bit going on, on that tray. Firstly, the tray itself, which resembled the wavy cobblestoned squares of Macau's historic Old City.

Secondly, there were food items associated with the region's Portuguese heritage, including a warm lobster egg tart and a slice of chouriço.

Thirdly, the spices (both inside and outside the drink) include pink peppercorns from Brazil, piri piri from Africa, cinnamon and paprika from India, black vinegar and black peppercorns from China, and sea salt.

If you're wondering what the connection might be between these geographically diverse ingredients, it's this: they were all from places where Portugal had colonies, and thus drifted into Macau's local cuisine via trade.

Although that tray did seem a bit busy, I enjoyed the invitation to add the vodka, Tabasco sauce, lime juice, sea salt and pink peppercorns to the level of my own liking (OK, I did add all the vodka).

I enjoy a bit of local innovation in hotel cocktail menus. A couple of years ago I was staying at the the famous Raffles in Singapore, home of the Singapore Sling, when it launched a new set of cocktails commemorating key moments in the hotel's long history.

If you're heading to Macau, I recommend the Maria Do Leste to you. Cheers! Or even À nossa!

You can find the St Regis Macao at Estrada Do Istmo S/N, Cotai, Macau.

My Favourite Place in Macau

I travelled to Macau courtesy of the Macao Government Tourism Office and Cathay Pacific.

I've just spent four days in Macau, the former Portuguese territory which returned to Chinese rule in 1999, along the same lines that Hong Kong had two years before that.

You wouldn't think four days would be long enough in a new place to adopt a favourite spot. But I did, on my first afternoon there.

For the first two days I was based in the Old City, the oldest part of the territory on the Macau Peninsula. After that I moved to the conjoined islands of Taipa and Coloane, with the casino zone of Cotai between them.

On my first afternoon I had some free time, so I wandered around the heart of the Old City. This area, with its key landmarks of the Monte Fort, the ruins of St Paul's and Senado Square, is packed with tourists. That's understandable, as it's a very scenic district.

To the immediate southwest, however, the tourists largely vanish. That's probably because the terrain suddenly becomes quite steep. But my Lonely Planet guide said there was an interesting building up there, the Sir Robert Ho Tung Library; so I started trudging upward.

Sir Robert was a gent from Hong Kong who once lived in this attractive house, then left it to Macau to be used as a library.

It was indeed a beautiful building, inside and out. But what truly caught my eye was the square it faced: Largo de Santo Agostinho, or St Augustine's Square. It was a lovely little space, serene on this sunny Monday afternoon.

It was so serene, in fact, that one occupant of the benches against St Augustine's Church was dozing, her head supported by her backpack:

There was a little kiosk at one end of the square, that sold odds and ends such as instant coffee and sweets. And off to one side there was a thoughtful amenity for canine locals, a dog WC:

Beyond this facility, beneath apartments, I could see a cafe named Bless. It seemed an apt name for a cafe facing a church.

I sat inside for a little while, and had a very creditable cheese and avocado sandwich, which this industrious guy put together for me:

But it was the square itself I couldn't help returning to. Later in the week, I grabbed another hour to head up that steep slope to the Largo de Santo Agostinho, and sat writing postcards which the kiosk girl sold me from a dusty curling pile of neglected stock.

No one sends postcards anymore I suppose. But somehow this square, with its generous shaded seating, its seemingly unprofitable kiosk and its sleepy vibe felt like a holdover from a more peaceful age.

This is the direction I left the Largo, to return to the noisier world down the hill:

I don't know if I'll ever return to Macau, but I bet I'll dream about that square.