Macao offers a menu of delight

Originally traveling to work in Macao as a pharmacist, Andrew Stow shifted his career interest to the food industry, opening up Lord Stow's Bakery in the late 1980s. With an experimental spirit, Stow cooked his special egg tarts with the creatively, crispy scorched top.

However, the brown top－now a signature flavor－was not well-received as most people believed it was burnt. Stow's wife persuaded her husband to give away the tarts for free. The endeavor met with an overwhelmingly positive response, laying the foundation for the bakery franchise's expansion overseas to Japan and the Philippines.

"Audrey told us that she'll never change the egg-tart recipe, as she wants the flavor created by her father to be tasted by future generations. Her love and devotion to her father instills the snack with a touching warmth, making the story more meaningful," says Xu.

Aside from its alluring taste, food sometimes possesses power thanks to the legendary stories behind certain dishes. This is reflected in the tale of Leong Kam Hon, a former shipbuilder whose life was altered after a workplace accident which nearly cost him his arm in the 1990s.