Lambert Lam Tells His City’s Food Story with MACAUEAT Marketing Studio

Born and raised in Macau, Lambert Lam holds a strong connection to the colourful world of gastronomy. The former chef turned marketing master loves cooking, eating, and reporting on an industry flushed with creativity, especially in his hometown of Macau.

After studying overseas in Toronto, working as a chef in a Japanese restaurant, and writing food stories for a Canadian Asian magazine, Lambert returned to Macau. He worked with Wynn Resorts Macau until 2021, before founding MACAUEAT, a marketing and production studio offering digital services to promote the city’s culinary gems dotted along cobbled streets and glitzy casino strips.

“I was sent to Hamilton [a city neighbouring Toronto] at 17 years old to relieve pressure from the stress of exams and homework in Macau,” Lambert said in a Teams interview from Macau. “I enrolled in a hospitality and tourism course at Toronto Metropolitan University because of the many opportunities in Macau to work in hotels and casinos.”

Living in a small condo in Toronto, Lambert grew a love for cooking. Meeting his then-girlfriend forced the quality of his food to become elevated beyond a habit of eating only frozen meals. “I had to impress her!” During his university studies, he found a job cooking at a Teppanyaki restaurant in Toronto, later joining INSERT Magazine, penning food articles about Toronto’s rich international food scene.

When not occupied with his day job, Lambert would record his culinary adventures of cooking and dining in multicultural Toronto on Instagram. He quickly gained a large online following, eager for his food trips and cooking.

At the wishes of his parents missing their only child, Lambert returned to Macau in 2018, feeling upset that he could not find a suitable job in the food and beverage industry. After a senior executive at Wynn Resorts Macau took notice of Lambert’s Instagram reporting on his MACAUEAT page, he was offered a job as a marketing executive to drive engagement for Wynn Palace and Wynn Macau’s 17 restaurants and bars.

The COVID-19 pandemic drew blood out of Macau’s once-bustling, pre-2020 heartbeat, where marketing efforts for restaurants and bars went to waste, unable to reach thousands of tourists once streaming into the city. Lambert quit his job in 2021 and focused his efforts on expanding MACAUEAT, “to express what I learned in my [chef] career.”

“It was not a decision supported by my friends and family,” Lambert said, referring to the early days of the production company. “It was a risk, but a good opportunity to market lifestyle and food brands locally.”

Since the inception of MACAUEAT’s Instagram page and marketing services in 2021, Lambert has worked with resorts and hotels such as MGM, Galaxy Macau, Studio City, St. Regis Macao, and Sheraton Grand Macao to envision a lifestyle identity behind each plate and drink. “I provide solutions to restaurants and hotels who want to create intimate connections for diners, fulfil their dreams, or generate more revenue.”

“A meal is more than just food. We eat when we get married, when our child is born, for first dates, to celebrate birthdays, and even when we die.”

Amassing more than 42,000 followers on Instagram, Lambert wants to educate his audience on the variety of food in Macau and its power to create memories for diners coming to the glamorous city.

Offering digital marketing services to Macau’s restaurants, Lambert focuses on the promotion of fine dining, positioning MACAUEAT as a key storyteller for big brands in Macau, whilst also supporting the business with an inflow of funds.

On his Instagram page, you can expect pristinely lit photos of Japanese sushi bites, hearty Portuguese plates, Chinese banquets, cute cocktails, delicate afternoon teas, and scenes of Macau’s top culinary events, a staple for Lambert’s food reporting with MACAUEAT.

In a bid to counter the trend of local Macanese foregoing local hotspots for weekend trips to China, spurred by the border opening in early 2023 after the pandemic, Lambert created a series on Instagram titled “Edible City,” profiling chefs and menus at Macau’s local restaurants in Macau, Taipa, Coloane, and the Cotai Strip.

Tucked inside a residential building beside Macau’s Nam Van Lake, Lambert’s professional studio enables him and his team of team to create multimedia projects to promote Macau’s top food makers and offerings.

Since the beginning of summer 2023, he has hosted parties in his studio space, creating a community of food-loving Macanese and engaging his audience beyond Instagram content. “I want a place for people [in F&B] to gather, [meet, and collaborate]!”

Lambert’s following and community has extended beyond the camera and Instagram since the start of this year. The foodie regularly attends food awards and landmark culinary events, and stays eager with his camera for the latest pop-ups and restaurants to open in Macau.

Towards the end of this year and early 2024, Lambert wants to expand his sister Instagram page and company, HONGKONGEAT, to report on the neighbouring SAR’s expansive collection of great restaurants. “You can finish all the restaurants in Macau in a month [laughs]!”

To keep up with Lambert’s foodie adventures and marketing of Macau’s top restaurants and bars, check out MACAUEAT on Instagram.