History
During the Discovery Ages, European sailors, namely the Portuguese due to the settlement in Macau since 1512, had to adapt in a new country far from Portugal, with new materials like the wood to work with to build vessels.
The lorcha is a type of sailing vessel having a Chinese junk rig on a Portuguese style hull. Because of its hull structure, the vessel is faster and can carry more cargo than the normal Chinese junk.
A miniature of the lorcha displayed in Macau Museum
The advantage of a junk rig was in its ease of handling and resulting ability to be sailed with a minimal crew, together with its relatively low cost of construction.
Owing to its simplicity, it was also easier to repair.
A junk (left) and a lorcha (right) near Sambu Island, Indonesia (1936)
To preserve all these unique characteristics of the Discovery Ages inherited in the lorcha, the Restaurant "A Lorcha" was constructed and beautifully decorated resembling like you are in fact in the vessel of lorcha and in Macau most popular street known as "San Ma Lou" or "Av. Almeida Ribeiro" in Portuguese.
All of this is possible because the owner Mr. Adriano Neves, a blue-eyes macanese and Macau native, believes that dining is a pleasurable experience that goes beyond eating. He believes that along with good food, the music, the decoration, the ambiance surrounding are also part of the dining experience and "A Locha" was built to provide its customers an unforgettable dining experience.
Unique atmosphere & decoration in the interior of "A Lorcha"
The dishes prepared, like the vessel lorcha, consist of secular know-how of Portuguese Cuisine learned from the overseas cultural exchanges cooked with fresh daily ingredients bought in local markets in Macau.
The result can only be splendid dishes of more than 500 years of Portuguese Cuisine ready to savor as demonstrated in the photo below.
Some of the extraordinary dishes served in "A Lorcha"
For reservations, please call (853) 2831 3195 or email alorcha@macau.ctm.net
