Shadowing Practice: Is this the strangest city in Asia? - Learn English Speaking with Video

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There's a hackneyed phrase in travel content that's trotted out almost invariably

when a city or landscape or food is even slightly unusual.

Whenever there is a flicker of contrast or contradiction, this lazy cliché is sure to be just a few words away.

Shiny and new and amongst faded and historical?

There it is.

Bigger and brighter than everything around it?

Oh, look, there it is again.

Local ingredient paired with outside influence?

Praise yourself, here it comes.

But here's the real kicker.

The use of this phrase is almost never justified.

no instances where I could reasonably use this expression.

But here, Standing amongst Catholic churches and glittering casinos,

Eating Chinese chicken flavored with African spices and hearing Cantonese and Portuguese in harmony,

I feel justified telling you that Macau really does defy description.

Normally we focus on airports in this sector simply because they are the most common point of entry for most destinations.

And while Macau does have an airport, and a very good one at that, it's mainly focused on regional connections.

So for us international visitors, the easiest way to get to Macau is actually to fly

to Hong Kong simply due to the number of international flights there, and then take one of these incredible things.

This incredible machine is a jet catamaran gas turbine engines which zip you along at 45 knots.

The result is a fast, quiet, smooth ride that will get you from Hong Kong to Macau in about an hour.

When I lived in Hong Kong, the hydrofoil was the only game in town.

Since then, an extraordinary feat of engineering has been achieved.

One can now drive from Hong Kong to Macau.

The Hong Kong Zhuhai -Macau Bridge is a 55 -kilometer bridge and tunnel system.

It is both the longest sea crossing and the longest open sea fixed link in the world.

And while driving over with your own vehicle is nearly impossible due to permits and fees,

45 minutes for only 10 US dollars.

And for the bougie amongst you, there is a helicopter service every 30 minutes from Hong Kong,

but it will set you back over 500 US dollars for the 15 minute one -way flight.

So whether you arrive in Macau on a bus, airplane, hydrofoil or helicopter, you bougie thing, One of the first things you'll notice is how compact Macau is.

Just 46 square kilometers.

That's smaller than some airports we cover on this show.

So getting around is relatively straightforward, as long as you bear one or two things in mind.

The Macau LRT serves the Taipa and Kotae areas.

Good for gambling, less useful for sightseeing, as it doesn't reach the historic center or the main ferry terminal.

In fact, we didn't come across it once during our stay, so make of that what you will.

Macau's buses do cover a lot of the city, but they can be a little bit confusing.

directly to the place that they say on the front of the bus

Signs are rarely in English and drivers mainly speak Cantonese.

But that being said, they are a good way of getting around if you have a little bit of time.

Be sure you know exactly where you're going and you have the exact change for your journey.

Taxis are a cheap and convenient way to get around Macau and there are taxi ranks all over the city.

You can, of course, attempt to hail one on the street, but Based on our experience,

you might have to wait a while and you'll have to wait even longer during peak periods or during bad weather.

Bear in mind that very few Macau taxis seem to have seat belts in the back seat.

And also, as of December 2025, All ride sharing apps, Grab, Get, Uber, Lyft, all banned in Macau.

So don't think you can depend on those.

You know what I'm going to say, don't you?

The best way to experience Macau is on your feet.

And actually, it's more applicable here than in a lot of the places we visit because it really is a compact city.

Once you get maybe by public transport to the region that you want to explore, Get out and explore.

There's lots of tight alleyways and steep hills.

Public transport can't get you to anyway.

So the best way to experience this strange and wonderful city is on foot.

And if you are going to experience this city, the towering Altira is a good bet.

Close to the action with one hell of a view.

Whenever I'm traveling, this is the bit I always dread.

Trying to order food or participate in a conversation, all while holding up my phone like I'm filming evidence rather than ordering dinner.

But now, there's a solution.

These are the Leon Hey2 AR translation glasses specifically designed for travel and real -world conversation.

But it's not just the translation that's clever, it's where it happens.

subtitles appear right in your line of sight

so you no longer have to look at your phone and you can stay present.

from French to Cantonese and over 100 language pairs and the words appear almost instantly due to the 500 millisecond latency.

This is particularly impressive with the free talk feature.

Instant subtitles appear right in your glasses when others speak.

And then everything I say is translated into French.

And then everything I say is translated into French?

In a place like this, that matters.

Background noise, multiple overlapping voices, no problem.

The 4 -mic array and noise reduction helps isolate speech, so you never miss what's being said.

They're also pretty comfortable.

lightweight design, that classic brow line design, you almost forget they're there, which I suppose is kind of the point.

Battery life is solid too.

Six to eight hours on the glasses and the charging case can recharge the glasses up to 12 times.

Ideal for packed itineraries.

And with its teleprompter features and AI Q &A feature, this feels less like tech and more like a travel superpower.

For travelers, I think this might be the best use of AR I've ever seen.

Leon is currently running an early bird promotion from January 6th to January 31st. More details below.

Like Macau itself, the food seen here is a confluence of cultures, primarily Portuguese and Chinese.

So a great place to start is Henry's, a beloved culinary and cultural checkpoint for locals and travelers alike.

Its owner, celebrated chef Raymond Vuong, is our host and expert on Macanese cuisine.

Macau is unique.

There's a big influence on Portuguese because of the port.

We're the oldest transport port in Asia for Portugal even more than Hong Kong 400 years ago.

So all the spices from India, Malaysia and stuff and just go through Macau to transport around the world.

So we have a lot of influence from all the cooking.

So spices were coming through Macau from India, Malaysia, and you were going, oh, that looks interesting.

I might...

You see a lot of different races in Macau.

So the culture will create different cooking styles and then they will mix in between.

So Macanese food is.. constantly changing based on...

It's constantly changing based on the population.

A signature dish of Raymond's is representative of Macau's entire culinary ethos.

Tell me about the African chicken.

My knowledge of how they become a famous nation of Calais, 400 years ago, the troop arranged from Portugal.

It's not from Portugal.

It's from South Africa, Mozambique.

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So the troop was here and they were cooking the chicken.

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And the locals see the cooking.

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Oh, they're cooking the chicken.

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They're black, of course.

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African, right?

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Oh, fei chow, fei chow.

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That's like African chicken.

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So, you know in London and other countries, they have peri peri chicken, right?

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Which is very similar.

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Like the ingredients and stuff.

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But we call it African chicken because we know the truth.

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It's from Mozambique, so it's feijau.

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So it's called African chicken.

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Wow, so there really is an influence from all, not just Portugal and not just China.

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All of whoever come to Macau back in the old days, I think they have influence somehow.

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I truly believe that to understand a culture, you must eat its food and you must do that in a place that does it well.

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I make you some baccalao brash.

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It's a stuff for baccalao.

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I make you a nice Portuguese soup.

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Green soup, hard of very much.

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I mean some spicy prawn.

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- And African chicken.

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- Amazing.

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A true blend of cultures and influences.

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Soups, beautifully prepared fish, and some of the biggest prawns I have ever seen.

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- He set the bar very high.

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- And then the star of the show, African chicken.

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- Perfect.

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It's absolutely delicious.

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So perfect, so famous, and so revered that they put the recipe right there on the placemat.

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Oh, I took a picture of it.

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Stuffed, educated, and inspired, Raymond sends us on our way with a few tips of where to find more of Macau's culinary gems.

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What I have in my hand might not necessarily be traditionally Macanese, but it is iconically Macanese.

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And it is beautiful in its simplicity.

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It can trace its ancestry back to the Portuguese Bifana pork sandwich.

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And it is simply a thinly sliced, freshly fried, bone -in pork chop, which has been marinated in a blend of Chinese five spice,

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garlic powder, salt, sugar, soy sauce, black and white pepper.

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And then it's placed on this bun, locally known as a piggy bun, which I rather like which is crispy, crunchy on the outside and beautifully soft in the middle.

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And the result, I mean, it's a fried pork sandwich.

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What more do you want?

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I don't think it needs any further exclamation.

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I'm just going to eat it.

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Oh my gosh.

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Thank you.

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- Oh.

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Fried pork.

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You're hungry for more, but don't worry, we've saved room for dessert.

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The classic Macau egg tart is not some ancient colonial relic.

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It's actually younger than most backpackers.

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It was created by a British expat, believe it or not, Andrew Stowe, who looked at the Portuguese custard tart and thought,

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"Yeah, but what if..." And what he created is neither Portuguese nor Chinese, really.

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The classic Hong Kong Dan Tat is an exercise in restraint.

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It's a smooth, sweet custard.

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The Portuguese version is denser, richer, blistered with caramel.

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What's still created is something else completely.

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pastry.

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You can call it fusion if you want, but really it's a British take on a Portuguese classic perfected in Macau,

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and they are absolutely delicious.

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And while it may look similar to those other variations on the classic egg tart, you won't actually notice the difference or appreciate the difference until you actually eat it.

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Beautiful.

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Macau uses the pataka as its currency, indicated as mop next to prices.

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But, and this is crucial, Hong Kong dollars are accepted everywhere.

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Shops, restaurants, taxis, all fine.

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So if you arrive with a fistful of Hong Kong dollars, don't bother exchanging them.

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The only caveat to that is if you pay in Hong Kong dollars, you might get your change in potakush.

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But because the dollar and the potakush are pegged one to one, really doesn't matter.

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Visa, MasterCard and American Express cards are widely accepted in major restaurants, hotels, stores and the ferry terminal.

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But some smaller merchants may require a minimum purchase amount.

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Smaller cafes and family -run eateries may prefer cash, so have a little bit on you.

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But is Macau an expensive place to visit?

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Well, on that note, Let's do the rundown.

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A cup of jet lag busting coffee will cost you around 25 Potakish.

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A kind of beautiful Macanese beer will cost you around 35 Potakish.

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And for the most reliable indicator of a nation's cost of good old Big Mac, you're going to pay 25 Macanese Potakish or around $3 .10 US.

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Despite living in Hong Kong for years, I'd never actually been to Macau before this trip.

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And to this day, I'm not sure why.

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It just always remained a blind spot, close enough to feel familiar but easy enough to put off.

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Perhaps I convinced myself I understood it by proximity alone, that there would always be time to go.

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But there wasn't, at least not then.

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And now, having been here, I understand that Macau isn't a place you can grasp at a distance.

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It is an impossibly and enchantingly incongruous place, filled with contradiction and contrast wherever one looks.

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they'll sound ridiculous.

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Casinos and Catholic churches side by side.

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Portuguese street signs pointing you to the nearest purveyor of African chicken perfected by a Chinese chef.

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But when you get here, you'll see how well it all comes together.

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It doesn't just work on a functional level.

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It produces some of the most delicious bizarre captivating creations that I have ever come across

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This video has 186 sentences and 2153 words to shadow. The speech runs for 14:38. The speaker talks at a steady 147 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. Only 77% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.

Key vocabulary in this video

15 less common words from the video, with pronunciation and meaning:

taxi /ˈtæksi/ (noun) — A vehicle that may be hired for single journeys by members of the public, particularly one with an automated meter to calculate the fare.
delicious /dɪˈlɪ.ʃəs/ (adjective) — Pleasing to the sense of taste; tasty.
amongst /əˈmʌŋst/ — Denotes a mingling or intermixing with distinct or separable objects. See usage note at amidst.
spice /spaɪs/ (noun) — Aromatic or pungent plant matter (usually dried) used to season or flavor food.
fry /fɹaɪ/ (verb) — To cook (something) in hot fat.
culinary /ˈkʌlɪˌnɛɹi/ (adjective) — Relating to the practice of cookery or the activity of cooking.
contrast /kənˈt(ʃ)ɹæst/ (noun) — The degree of this difference.
smooth /smuːð/ (adjective) — Having a texture that lacks friction. Not rough.
translation /tɹænzˈleɪʃən/ (noun) — The conversion of text from one language to another.
arrive /əˈɹaɪv/ (verb) — To reach; to get to a certain place.
explore /ɪkˈsploɹ/ (verb) — To examine or investigate something systematically.
terminal /ˈtɚmɪnəl/ (noun) — A building in an airport where passengers transfer from ground transportation to the facilities that allow them to board airplanes.
phrase /ˈfɹeɪ̯z/ (noun) — A short written or spoken expression.
chef /ʃɛf/ (noun) — The presiding cook in the kitchen of a large household.
casino /kəˈsiːnəʊ/ (noun) — A public building or room for gambling.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

get around (verb) — To move to the other side of (something, such as an obstruction) by deviating from a direct course or following a curved path.
come across (verb) — To change sides; to cross over to work for the opposition.
live in (verb) — To reside on the premises of one's employer (used especially of domestic staff such as nannies, cooks, maids, etc.)
look at (verb) — To observe or watch.
back in (verb) — To reverse a vehicle into a space.
bear in (verb) — To move quickly and sharply in an inward direction during a race; to veer in.
come through (verb) — To come into a room or other space through a door or passageway.
come together /ˈkʌm tʊˈɡɛðɚ/ (verb) — To assemble; to congregate; to combine.

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 33 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, I'm, they're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “th” sounds: smooth /smuːð/, bother /ˈbɑðɚ/, ethos /ˈiθɑs/
The “sh” and “zh” sounds: delicious /dɪˈlɪ.ʃəs/, contrast /kənˈt(ʃ)ɹæst/, translation /tɹænzˈleɪʃən/, chef /ʃɛf/, unusual /ʌnˈjuːʒ(u)əl/
Long words — get the stress right: culinary /ˈkʌlɪˌnɛɹi/, helicopter /ˈheliːˌkɔptə(ɹ)/, beautifully /ˈbju.tɪ.fə.li/, ingredient /ɪnˈɡɹiːdi.ənt/, necessarily /ˌnɛs.əˈsɛɹ.ə.li/

How to practise with this video

Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like taxi, delicious, amongst.

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	has been achieved · being said · is translated
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	has been achieved · I've ever seen · have ever seen
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing	chop, which has · like which is

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

Shadowing Practice: Is this the strangest city in Asia? - Learn English Speaking with Video

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