You’d rarely see Fernando’s restaurant looking like this. The famed Portuguese beach-side restaurant is packed to the rafters almost every single night. It’s the must-try in any guide book, from Lonely Planet to Frommers. Even Taiwanese, Japanese and Chinese tourists stumble in with slightly crazed looks, clutching  articles cut from magazines and newspapers with pictures of pig ear salad and baccalau (salted cod). Located at what seems the end of the world (by Macau standards), by Hac Sa Beach in Colaone (Macau’s countryside), it seems like a whole different country from the bright lights of the casinos 20 minutes away.

Humble however, Fernando’s isn’t. Which is why, for 8 months, I tried my darnedest to stay away. I’d heard horror stories about how the restaurant owners and staff, big-headed with a never ending crowd of patrons would treat patrons. Turning them away, despite making the pilgrimage from faraway lands to try the famed sangria and clams, without even a small apology.

I’d been warned, that they didn’t take reservations. In the event they made an exception for a large group or important occasion, dare to venture in even 1 minute late, and your table would be given away and you’d meet an angry stare, and be banished to the waiting area.

However, friends have also raved to me about the tasty salads and grilled meats. The must-try sangria which enhances the flavors of the food - sooo, on Tuesday, my curiosity got the better of me.

Five of us headed down to Hac Sa beach on a windy Tuesday night. I put on my best smile and approached the portly Portuguese staff/owner(?) at the counter. He only lifted his head after I requested a seat, and grunted a few words and pointed to a corner table before going back to whatever he was distracted with.

The 2 locals in our group suggested sitting out in the courtyard, where the atmosphere is a little more pub-like and cherry, but it was packed full of expats that looked like they’d be there all night. In the front of the house, it was more of a mixed crowd of tourists that ranged from PRC visitors, construction workers, still wearing their bright vests, families and a group of men in suits.

Although the main menus are in Chinese and Portuguese, there is thankfully a booklet illustrated with pictures and English, making selection simple. We ordered the cod-fish rice, (tasted like Chinese fried rice), grilled chicken (tastes like it sounds), grilled squid, served with olive oil sauce, a simple salad, boiled baccalau and Portuguese-style clams. We avoided the suckling pig and veal  (I don’t eat babies) and the very popular pig ear salad. *warning* People who aren’t used to salty flavors should ere on the cautious side when ordering baccalau which has always been salty enough to make every single guest scrunch their face in distaste  or reach for water. On the whole, it was a very simple style of cooking, with basic cooking style and natural flavors. Not bad, but not the mind-blowing experience some had hyped it up to be.

The grilled squid has us fazed for a minute about whether we had the right order. Served in mussel shells, my shellfish avoiding dining partner wondered allowed whether it was off limits - we decided it wasn’t. The  sangria was delicious, with the right amount of sweet and tangy flavors. The price was very reasonable, and yes, the clams were rather tasty. However, we didn’t particularly find it worth raving about - nor did we find the mediocre service worth complaining about.

The very simple open air restaurant doesn’t have a beach view - more a view of the car park, and it isn’t exactly an atmospheric place to stay for hours and chat - although if we’d had a few more jugs of sangria, I might change my mind.

We decided to head to Morton’s Steakhouse at The Venetian for New York Cheese Cake (flown in by DHL direct from NYC), Godiva Hot Chocolate Cake and a large helping of their warm and friendly service. I don’t think I’ll be returning to Fernando’s anytime soon, unless I get a hankering for sangria.

This entry was posted on Friday, October 17th, 2008 at 1:41 pm and is filed under Dining, Macau. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.