Is Macau in danger of losing its soul? by Jennifer welker

Is Macau in danger of losing its soul?
Comment by Jennifer Welker MACAU - On November 5, one of Macau's most celebrated Portuguese coffee shops - Cafe Ou Mun - will close its doors. Why? The rent is simply too high. The cafe's owner, Fernando Marques will focus instead on growing his bakery, and continue to sell his famous Portuguese bread throughout Macau. Cafe Ou Mun ("Ou Mun" is the Cantonese word for "Macau") is the second casualty in recent months to close because of rents going through the roof in downtown Macau, near the Senado Square along Travessa de S. Domingos. Its neighbour, CaffeChocola, was forced to close its doors due to rent hikes and before that, another famous Portuguese cafe - O Barril - which was open for years had to close as well. Fortunately, this little lane off Senado Square is still home to a popular Portuguese eatery, Platao; an Italian restaurant known as Caffe Tuscana, a more recent Portuguese restaurant known as Boa Mesa and a lovely French place called La Bonne Heure. Sebastian Pompele, owner of La Bonne Heure is worried. "I was really sad to see CafeChocola go, and now Cafe Ou Mun," Pompele said. "We really hope to stay on, but the rents are getting really high. I had to close my other restaurant on Praia Grande for the same reason." ---- We want to know what you think. Is Macau at risk of losing its home-grown restaurants? And will this affect the soul of this city?

Please write with your views to jennifer.welker@redantmediagroup.com

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