Unpolished Raw and Real

Six years of drifting through surf towns, quiet villages, and DIY communities lead Chop Suey to the rugged stillness of Alentejo. It’s unpolished, raw and real.

The trail starts in São Miguel de Poiares, a small town known for its goat traditions. Here, people still cook Chanfana, old goat meat slow-cooked in red wine, garlic and bay leaves, inside the famous black pottery of Bisalhães. The traditional ‘poor-mans’ old goat dish is now often prepared with tender lamb or young goat.

For over 500 years, Bisalhães has been running the same old  pottery tradition. No shortcuts, no upgrades, just pure craft, now passed on by only a few masters. That’s why Vila Real pushed UNESCO to protect it.

Clay gets crushed by hand, cleaned, kneaded, and spun slow on the wheel, every piece one of a kind. Then it’s fired old-school in pits in the ground, burned with broom and wild brush, buried in earth till it turns deep black. Some swear it even flavors the food. It’s family work, ancestral knowledge, but tough labor, respected by the community who get involved in the process as well.

In 2016 UNESCO calls the Bisalhães pottery Cultural Heritage in need of urgent safeguarding, Chop Suey calls it 'a keeper'.

On the Banks of the Mondego River

Coimbra’s steep hills carry layers of medieval history. A stroll through the botanical gardens, with the aquaduct towering above, takes you to the Paco das Escolas, the oldest university in Europe. The students give the city a lively buzz.

Traditional cafes and trendy hipster spots go hand in hand, offering their regulars a hot cup of brew. Every turn offers a mix of old and new. And then, out of nowhere, from a shadowed alley drifts the sound of fado, raw and melancholic. Outside a pastelaria, where Chop Suey enjoys buttery pasteis de Santa Clara, a spontaneous dance sparks in the street.

Soaked in Castle-Core Energy

Next comes Montemor-o-Velho, rising over the River Mondego, bringing Coimbra’s students in bright canoes and kayaks. Here, time bends. Chop Suey tucks into a tiny blue-collar house in the old town, just below the castle walls. Once a strategic town, defending the Southern frontier of Portugal, now Chop Suey’s quiet Covid hide-away. Across the street, the Art Deco Theater stands silent, waiting for the pandemic to fade. Its bold façade longs for applause, echoing memories of a time when life was loud, bright, and alive. A handful of outdoor performances are staged at the castle, along with a striking concert by the Orquestrina de Pigmeos collective at the Salinas, the salt fields of Figueira da Foz. While floating on the salty water, silhouettes and music reclaim the space.

When the World Locks Down

The castle stairs become Chop Suey’s gym. The ancient gardens transform into an outdoor studio and Zoom stage. The river mist and the echo of bells, create a new rhythm, half medieval dream, half modern survival. The perfect space to develop new content, with colonial fabrics as an inspiration, here history meets texture and design. Portugal’s own Romeo and Juliet, the 14th century love story of Inês de Castro and King Pedro I, bubble to the surface. Forbidden love, family pressure, violence, loss, same themes, different century. Inês and Pedro’s story keeps showing up in Portuguese art, theatre, music, poetry, and fashion. Today, artists remix it visually, using symbolism, romance, and darkness to talk about love that refuses to behave.