Macau's casinos are hoping to boost profits by attracting diners, but luring gamblers away from the tables is proving an uphill battle

"The food and beverage sector used to be a peripheral activity at Macau's casinos, but with the city aiming to become a world-class tourist destination, the new casinos are striving to make dining an attraction that goes hand in hand with the gambling experience. However, they're facing an uphill battle. Las Vegas casinos may offer some of the best dining in the US, but food tourism is still a new concept in Macau. The former Portuguese colony is reputed to have the world's oldest fusion cuisine. Macanese dishes combine Portuguese ingredients with spices and cooking methods from China, India, Malaysia, Brazil and Portuguese colonies in Africa, and the plethora of restaurants offering such fare has the casinos searching for new ways to tempt punters' tastebuds."

Still my Macau

"We wander aimlessly through a maze of twisting, cobbled back streets with tiny bakeries and mom and pop candy stores where naughty schoolchildren are spending their lunchbox money. Here are real people getting on with their day-to-day life, friendly and helpful too, and totally unconcerned about what the tycoons are up to over on the other side of the island. No tourists here. No casinos, either. But we do find a charming little Portuguese restaurant, O Porto Interior, where photographs of celebrities adorn the walls, including an autographed picture of a young-looking Audrey Hepburn. The waitress, a woman in her 40s whose name is Rosalina, joins us. ``Yes, she really came here, but she was old already,'' Rosalina says. ``She had the photograph with her, and signed it for my boss.'' After a delightful meal, we set off exploring again. The Inner Port area is packed with living history. This used to be the hub for sea trade in Macau, and Chinese shophouses offer a mind-boggling array of goods, from ships chains with links as thick as a man's neck, to dried meat and traditional Chinese medicines."